1986 checkmate enchanter jet drive INFO NEEDED!

[Chrisg82]

Hello to all,I just purchased this “rare” 1986 checkmate enchanter with a factory 454/Berkeley jet drive .im trying to find out The H.P. of the original engine .i would imagine it would have to be more then just a stock 330 hp to accommodate the jet drive.i contacted checkmate on the boat ,unfortunately all that was in the file was,the royal blue/silver metalflake gelcoat and that it was built with the 454/jet drive (didn’t show H.P.) also that the order was placed through Kunkels Marine in Ontario Ohio.i Spoke to kunkels marine ,but their files also just showed the color,motor,drive as well .i was hoping someone might recognize the boat ,.maybe possibly knew the owner of this boat at one point,maybe i can get some further info ..From the info I have gathered so far,there were very few of these boats built ,two others I have seen have 460 fords in them .my plans are to give the boat a heavy detailing ,compound and wax .and leave it as original as possible .shouldnt take much ,the boat looks like it’s had an easy life,and is in great shape! Thanks in advance for any help ,chris

 

[Chrisg82]

More pics

MORe pics

 

[JW]

It's a beauty!

 

[DropTop5.0]

Sweet boat!

 

[CheckmateFever]

That's awesome!! I didn't think by '86 they even had the option for a big block/jet package in the Enchanter, the few i've seen (online, not in person) were always '79's or very early '80's. My Enchanter is also an '86, but has the more run of the mill 350/Alpha 1 drivetrain. You got a very cool find, great looking boat!!

 

[Chrisg82]

Thanks for all the feedback!

According to kip from checkmate ,the jet drive was always an option on the enchanters just wasn’t very popular.he also stated that this was probably the only one built in the mid 80’s.the 350/alpha package was a great running setup .my father had a 1982 25’ CONVINCOR years ago and his good friend had the 21’ enchanter .the enchanter would walk right by us!

 

[Jimway]

Does it have a name cast into the exhaust manifolds. I'm guessing that you will be tidying up a couple of wiring terminations too.

 

[ezstriper]

just from what little I can see, looks like a 330 they put a adapter on to mount the holley, if it does have iron Q-jet intake and oval port heads thats what it would be I would guess, cool boat

 

[Jimway]

If memory serves, the 330 was 8 to 1 compression. 9 to 1 brought another 70 hp to the table. An 11 quart oil pan versus a 6 quart might bring a smile to the face, along with another 25 hp.

 

[Chrisg82]

The motor was replaced about 3 years ago .not sure of what H.P. Is in it now I have to look around for some numbers.also want to check the heads to see if they are round or square ports..the original valve covers are on it .it was a INDMAR motor .

 

[Chrisg82]

SO, I did some investigating and tracked down the owner who did a lot of work to the boat .the gentlemen was from Ohio and purchased the boat from the original owner with a cracked block.he bought the boat with the bad Motor because of the rarety of the boat .he told me that there were very few built and that out of the “few” there were only 2 built with chevy powerplants and that this was one of them .he pulled the Motor and had a new one built ,unfortunatly the paperwork with the engine specs went with the boat when it was sold and were lost along the way .only thing he could tell me is the Motor was making right around 425 h.p. And 500 ft lbs of torque.