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Checkmate for Checkmate Article.....

Dumping product on ebay at or below dealer cost is fine too. At least Checkmate got the money from selling to them, and some people got a deal on some nice boats.
 
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This sums up the key problems with the sportboat market right now. It is sad but true. You can get one heck of a two or three year old boat for what a new smaller single engine model would cost. Let alone the change in demographics causing its own sales shift. Many budget production hulls are running between 50-60 mph where ten and fifteen years ago tjey were much slower with same power. I think a bayliner or a chapparal, or crownline that can hit 55 miles an hour is appealing and speed enough for most seeking a thrill on water. In michigan if you boat inland lakes and rivers you get tickets and fines for being radated above 55mph anyways and they are cracking down bigtime anymore. Really discourages "standing out" from the crowd in a sleek loud sportboat
 
would it be possible for someone to copy the article over to here? i cant get on OSO at work...

Rumors of Checkmate Powerboats’ struggle to keep the doors open have been swirling for months. Six weeks ago, those rumors became reality when the Bucyrus, Ohio, V-bottom sportboat builder laid off its staff. Though I’ve been unable to confirm it through anyone at Checkmate—the company’s phone lines appear to be either out of order or shut down—the builder reportedly is in receivership.
Dark times, it seems, have come to Bucyrus. Again. Last time, it was Baja Marine that turned out the lights.
So what happened? After all, the company appeared to be on a hot streak with a reported ten sales of its new 260 Convincor in the six months after its introduction in late 2012. Baja, the company’s only real competition, was—and still is—cautiously restarting production. There appeared to be a void in the new single-engine sportboat market, and Checkmate looked perfectly positioned to fill it.
The problem is the market for new single-engine sportboats—especially at retail prices from $80,000 to $100,000 needed for builders and dealers to make a reasonable profit—is limited at best. The buyers, many of which financed their boats, have all but disappeared, as has much of the financing for all but the most qualified customers. As Scott Sjogren of Pier 57 Marine, a Cigarette, Marine Technology, Inc., and Checkmate dealer in Waukegan, Ill., says, the market itself is mostly gone.
“The single-engine sportboat buyer was the first to go in the recession,” says Sjogren. “That buyer will be the last to come back. Just look at what’s selling in new models these days, boats with [Mercury Racing] 1350 and 1100 engines.
“That single-engine sportboat buyer was buying on loans and bonuses and overtime pay,” he continues. “Those things barely exist anymore.”
According to every boat builder I’ve ever spoken with, the only way to profit on manufacturing single-engine sportboats is through sales volume—the thin margins required to keep retail prices from being crazier than they already are demand it. To that end, Checkmate rapidly expanded its dealer network during the past two years. Yet that, too, might have backfired on the company.

Checkmate was among the few builders of V-bottom sportboats to offer outboard and stern-drive power options.
“In the beginning, they did a very good job with their dealer network,” said Sjogren. “By the end they were signing up anybody who wanted to be a dealer. If you had no overhead and ordered a boat, you were a dealer. Signing up dealers that had no overhead made it tough on the dealers who did, and that caused dealers not to reorder product.
“They were more focused on selling to their dealers than sell-through,” he continues. “A manufacturer has to be a partner with its dealer. They have to be concerned with helping the dealer sell product to the end user, not just selling to the dealer. In the entire time we carried the Checkmate line, we had two referrals from the company.”
Lest you think that Sjogren is a kicking a company when it’s down, think again. Despite losing money on the Checkmate line last year, he kept it in his new-boat stable. Sjogren considers Doug Smith, the owner of Checkmate, a good friend. (As do I.) But in an arena as tough as the single-engine sportboat market, even small mistakes have big consequences. And big mistakes can close your doors.
There is buzz about a possible resurrection for Checkmate, but this, too, I have not been able to confirm. Of course, I hope for it, as do a lot of people. Checkmate built affordable sportboats that brought people into the market for 50 years. More than a few big-buck custom go-fast owners started with small Checkmates. And when companies such as Donzi and Fountain were getting away from single-engine sportboats (Donzi’s Classic Series was a notable exception) in the early 2000s, Checkmate stuck to its smaller-boat guns and gained market share.
Comeback or not, Checkmate faces at least one very harsh reality: It is not much more expensive to build a 35-foot boat than it is to build a 30-foot boat—you’re talking fiberglass and resin and the cost to rig a second engine—and builders can charge a lot more for the 35-footer. A new single-engine sportboat at a reasonable price, at least in the eyes of the few people in the market for them, could be a thing of the past.
“If you could get a new 26-foot, single-engine Checkmate for $85,000 to $100,000 or a used 35-foot Fountain with twin 525s for the same price, which one would you choose,” says Sjogren. “I hate to say it, but I’m not sure if there’s really much of a place left for new single-engine sportboats. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am.”
___________________________________________
Matt Trulio is an award-winning journalist who has covered the high-performance powerboat world since 1995. He wrote for Powerboat magazine for 17 years and was the magazine’s editor at large until it ceased publication in 2011. Trulio is the founder, editor-in-chief and publisher of speedonthewater.com, a daily news site that covers the high-performance powerboat realm. He’s also the former editor of Sportboat magazine.
 
Sad but true on are lake the new thing is pontoons with 3 toons under it and big outboard power 300hp and up and I haft to say they really can haul the mail however my checkmate is probably the loudest small block on the lake and I get people talking to me all the time how much they love it when im screaming up the lake.
 
This is an example of the single engine 'sport' boat of today. New one just like this showed up last night at a neighbors house. No real sport in these boats except the graphics
 

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actual pic taken from my phone (max zoom) via my spotting scope (at 15X) :rof:
 

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They forgot to mention one factor in the ownership equation: fuel. Personally, I'd rather only feed one engine, not two. Especially now that 91 is around $4.50 a gallon where I'm at.

I do think Checkmate should make a wakeboard boat, though. When they're charging $100K for uninspired hulls and graphics, and the kids and they're parents are lining up around the block to spend their $$ on it, that's pretty hard to ignore. An I/O 2400BRX with a wake tower and ballasts would make a great wake and haul a ton of people. I know... sacrilegious. But...you gotta do what you gotta do.

Additionally, there are so many people up here in the midwest dropping $80K on Ranger Multispecies Boats...I'd really take a look that segment too. Most of the multi species boats (not Bass Boats) such as Lund, Alumacraft, Crestview, Stratos, Skeeter, Ranger and even Nitro aren't that good looking. I know it's a pipe dream, but you have to go where the money is being spent.

My cousin just bought a brand new Nitro Z21 Walleye boat with a 300 Supercharged Verado, 9.9 kicker and about $8K in graphs and electronics on the thing. $70K. Looks like a tub with flake on it. Having said that...I want one.

C;mon Viper! Let's hear the good news, already!

Edit: I just read your new thread Viper! lol...well timed! I will add that I help run my family's business...Wells Concrete (check us out on the web) so I do understand the implications of trying new things and owning the success and the failure. Failure is expensive. And it hurts...a lot. Our business is capital intensive with high over head and low margin. So, just wanted to throw it out there that I do understand the business implications of what I suggest. What I don't understand at all is how to make boats! lol...I know it's real easy to say, make a wakeboard board, but I have no idea how to actually do that. I freely admit I'm an armchair QB on boat manufacturing. And like most people, I probably think I'm a Superbowl Calibre QB who could take you to the Championship! lol...one thing we can all agree on though, is we;re pulling for Checkmate and we love these boats.
 
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would it be possible for someone to copy the article over to here? i cant get on OSO at work...

The problem is the market for new single-engine sportboats—especially at retail prices from $80,000 to $100,000 needed for builders and dealers to make a reasonable profit—is limited at best. The buyers, many of which financed their boats, have all but disappeared, as has much of the financing for all but the most qualified customers. As Scott Sjogren of Pier 57 Marine, a Cigarette, Marine Technology, Inc., and Checkmate dealer in Waukegan, Ill., says, the market itself is mostly gone.
“The single-engine sportboat buyer was the first to go in the recession,” says Sjogren. “That buyer will be the last to come back. Just look at what’s selling in new models these days, boats with [Mercury Racing] 1350 and 1100 engines.
“That single-engine sportboat buyer was buying on loans and bonuses and overtime pay,” he continues. “Those things barely exist anymore.”

Scott put it correct. I bought a Fountain from Scott in 2006 and to this day he calls me back if I need a question answered. The market is flooded with used boats. Why buy a single engine new for $100,000 when you can buy a 1-2 year old twin set up for $125,000. I purchased a 2008 Pulsare 2100 from Sandy Beach up in Ohio ,dealer left over ,in 2009 it was a good deal for me and got the boat off the floor plan which had expired. We all need to ask what can we do to help turn the economy around. PS I went to the factory and met Doug and his family they were down home people no fancy frills just trying to keep the factory open for the family and employees. They could only build at that time what was ordered and financed by the dealers. The factory support by Kipp was first class when I changed my tube pick up to GPS style with Eddie Marine interface.
 
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The guys with wake boards tend to like heavy iron not out boards , for the weight and safety of an inboard. Mastercraft (190) and Centurian (barefoot warrior) both had out boards for their speed in 1987-1990. But the following didn't catch on due to market change from skiing and barefooting to monster wakes for "air".
 
I would rather have a broke checkmate than that POS

Since I took that pic, I've now watched that boat go through the water several times and I've gotta say, that new body style goes through the water REALLY WELL. That hull rides high and dry with the proper bow-up attitude at normal speeds. I was actually quite surprised. I don't know if the bottom has been refined any as compared to older models, but I might have to buddy up and ask for a ride :shakehead:
 
IMO one of the things that has to happen to get the economy rolling is the guys ordering $500000 boats with two 1350's need to start paying their employees better. Wages for blue collar workers have been stagnant for a decade or more. I was talking to a guy driving a pump truck today and he was saying the local garbage companies pay their garbage truck cdl divers about $14 an hour. I'm not saying this is a 6 figure job but that's not even enough to buy a modest house around here once you have to factor in the property taxes. That's the kind of guy that might buy a 16 footer with a 150 if he weren't paid so little and the boat didn't cost so much.
 
IMO one of the things that has to happen to get the economy rolling is the guys ordering $500000 boats with two 1350's need to start paying their employees better. Wages for blue collar workers have been stagnant for a decade or more. I was talking to a guy driving a pump truck today and he was saying the local garbage companies pay their garbage truck cdl divers about $14 an hour. I'm not saying this is a 6 figure job but that's not even enough to buy a modest house around here once you have to factor in the property taxes. That's the kind of guy that might buy a 16 footer with a 150 if he weren't paid so little and the boat didn't cost so much.
Thats part of why I left Checkmate, and the main reason I don't have a job anywhere else in this town. Nobody pays a real wage around here.
 
Since I took that pic, I've now watched that boat go through the water several times and I've gotta say, that new body style goes through the water REALLY WELL. That hull rides high and dry with the proper bow-up attitude at normal speeds. I was actually quite surprised. I don't know if the bottom has been refined any as compared to older models, but I might have to buddy up and ask for a ride :shakehead:

There was a guy unloading a brand new Four Winns with that same color combo but the outboard version at my lake last weekend, I'll have to track it down and have a better look, he said he was going to put it on the new lift he bought with it, looked not too bad in person, better than a bayliner :rof:
 
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