Checkmates first dealer

[street rodder]

Hi, Has anyone purchased a Checkmate from O'Neill's Boatyard in East Rockaway, NY. I understand that they were the first dealer and largest for about 15-20 years. They also raced a number of Checkmates from 13' to 25' in APBA OPC class. Anyone have any info?

 

[dlbasta]

Just seeing this post.. Yes, I worked there when I was a kid in the late 80’s. Marty O’Neill Sr was the owner, His son Marty Jr, expanded the operation into a high and dry, large performance marina operation. Jr. was a World Champion Racer on the Formula 1 Tunnel Circuit. Sponsored by Marlboro, the old hull was in the high and dry when the marina was sold in mid 90’s. Not sure what happened to the tunnel hull. A couple of folks on Scream and Fly had a photo of it. Not sure if your heard of Tony Caliguire from Ocean Outboard who worked there for years… he raced a 25 Convincer with twin 225s on the back. He left the boatyard to open what became the World Famous Ocean Outboard. Yes O’Neill’s was the largest Checkmate Dealer, they were so large that they had a lot of influence in design and development with the Combs family. Boats that were sent to the East Coast were built heavier and stronger because the boats were being used in the bay and ocean.

 

[JakeNYC]

All that dlbasta wrote is true. I was friends with Marty and went to the Checkmate factory a number of times with him. Marty sold many Checkmates. It's amazing to me how Checkmate is practically non-existent on Long Island.