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Chucker's V-Mate II

Chucker

Chucker

Member
Hey all, I was getting ready to winterize the boat, and realized I had not taken any pictures of it. It is a 1978 V Mate II with a 1978 150hp Black Max. I bought it in April of this year, did a little work to the engine (new stator and a few other minor repairs) and enjoyed the hell out of it the rest of the summer. The boat is in relly good shape for its age, although I do plan on re-covering the interior this winter. It doesn't look bad in the photos, but it is really faded and dirty, along with a few tears. I need something to keep me busy in the off season anyway.
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My top speed this summer was 53.8mph (gps) @ 5600rpm with a 19p aluminum Vortex prop. Right around 52mph it starts to chine walk, (possibly because of the narrow 3" pad?) and at 53.8, it was getting out of control, so I backed off. This model seems to be uncommon, I think I've only seen one or two others on the forum, anyone know the history? Well, let me know what you guys think.
CheckmateV-Mate210-05007b.jpg
CheckmateV-Mate210-05015b.jpg
CheckmateV-Mate210-05016b.jpg
 
Hey all, I was getting ready to winterize the boat, and realized I had not taken any pictures of it. It is a 1978 V Mate II with a 1978 150hp Black Max. I bought it in April of this year, did a little work to the engine (new stator and a few other minor repairs) and enjoyed the hell out of it the rest of the summer. The boat is in relly good shape for its age, although I do plan on re-covering the interior this winter. It doesn't look bad in the photos, but it is really faded and dirty, along with a few tears. I need something to keep me busy in the off season anyway.
icon_smile.gif
My top speed this summer was 53.8mph (gps) @ 5600rpm with a 19p aluminum Vortex prop. Right around 52mph it starts to chine walk, (possibly because of the narrow 3" pad?) and at 53.8, it was getting out of control, so I backed off. This model seems to be uncommon, I think I've only seen one or two others on the forum, anyone know the history? Well, let me know what you guys think.
CheckmateV-Mate210-05007b.jpg
CheckmateV-Mate210-05015b.jpg
CheckmateV-Mate210-05016b.jpg
 
Chucker

Nice boat. Interior looks great in photos but if it needs to be redone, winter is a good time for it. Are those old American Torq Thrust wheels on the trailer!?
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Those are getting rare!
 
NICE! You do have dual-cable steering right? And the forward cable is tightened out against the inner cable right? That'll help chine walk a lot. On top of that, you probably have really old soft rubber engine mounts. Get them replaced with solid mounts, and you'll love the handling....................
 
Thanks for all the compliments guys!

ynnad - The rims were on the trailer when I got it, I thought they were kinda cool! They are an older set of E-T's. The guy I bought it from was also into restoring old Chevys, and said he had them laying around so he threw them on the trailer.

JW - I actually don't have dual cable steering, sounds like that is something I should definately look into though. As far as the engine mounts, I'm not really sure, I've never looked at them.

Matt - I agree, we should get out sometime next season! I'd love to get a closer look at your setup, and possibly talk you into to taking me for a little cruise. Your boat does 20+ more mph than mine, I'm sure its quite a rush! As for the space, it's not bad. Although I am tossing around the idea of getting rid of the storage compartment, and make the back seat one long bench. Room for one more would be nice on occasion.
 
Nice boat. I have a 76 V-Mate II. There are pictures around here somewhere, but none recent. I just have a 115 Tower of Power, but it runs great and I'm still working on setup. I haven't had time to run it much this summer due to our 8 month old son. My boat does not have a pad, it has a sort of a step at the back of the hull. Can you give us a picture?
 
Hey Ben, glad to see at least one other V-Mate II owner around!!
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Anyway, I assume you wanted to see pics of the pad...or lack there of. Mine has the same "step" that you referred to. Here are a couple pics.
CheckmateV-Mate210-05031b.jpg
CheckmateV-Mate210-05030b.jpg
 
Sorry, you're right, that's exactly what mine has. Like you said, that ain't much of a pad. It probably won't ever matter to me with a 115 anyway, but I don't care, I just love the boat. That console in the rear of yours is pretty cool. Mine has the lounge seats along the sides and a ski pole inthe center against the rear bulkhead.
 
Hey Ben, I bet your boat moves out just fine with that 115!! I'd love to see some pics. Sounds like your interior is quite a bit different than mine. I searched, but just found a bunch of red x's. Lets see some fresh new pics!!
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Just a little over a year. I bought it from the second owner (who had it since about 85). It had lived with an Evinrude 200 on it until the previous owner decided he was too old to ski (he claimed 70 mph - speedo). He put the motor on a new center console and sold the Mate. I bought it on ebay, bought the Merc from it's original owner (a friend), rewired the boat, rigged it and had it moving in June. I used a jackplate to adapt the funky bolt pattern on the Merc so I wouldn't have to redrill my good hull. The inside isn't as good as it looks, but hopefully I'll be able to have the factory recover the seats one day.
 
Great looking boat.

I to have a 78 V Mate II. I have enjoyed it greatly. When i got mine, The seats were rotten, the floor was soft and the clearcoat was pretty well gone. After replacig the flor, upholstery and the clear, it looks great. I like the stability of the Low and wide stance of the V Mate.

Mine has an Evinrude xp 150 (1988) in it and has gotten up to 62 with a 26 pitch. However, pulling my large girth out of the water with that prop took half the lake. went to a 21 which is great for sking but looses the top end.

Pictures are in the For sale forum
VMateII for sale

lastly you will see that on my boat I gave up the larger cockpit for additional seating.
 
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