• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

Help! I found some soft spots!

cheapbeater

New member
Well, i pulled the tank out of my new 1996 186 pulse for cleaning, and didnt like what i found.. the floor was soft and crunchy under the rear bench on the driver side. The floor was soft about half way to the transom on both sides where there is no carpet. The stringers? that run along the tank were also squishy feeling about half way to the transom. The transom, knees and pad of the boat seem solid probably because some halfwit didnt run screws into them.. should i be worried? Can the boat still be structurally sound if these spots are soft? I have a 3 liter hanging off of it now..
Please help!
Thanks..
 
Needs a total tear-down and rebuild. You will find that it needs floor, stringers, transom, and core. At your risk, you could try to run it for a little while, but if you hit a big enough wave to crack the bottom from the outside it becomes a much much more difficult job to save the boat than if you do it now. What you have found is pretty much the same story in every 90s checkmate outboard boat.
There are lots of really good rebuild threads here on the site you can follow and if you are handy you can have that boat better than the factory built it in a manner of weeks.
 
Is it that different for Checkmate I/O's?

YES,
I/o's for whatever reason seem to get less wet inside. less water sports , higher gunnells maybe. Not too many restos on i/o's

Sorry to hear you just got it and found soft spots.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sim
The theory from one of the owners was that Cmate was cranking out so many outboard boats in the '90's that they cut corners on build quality. Not on purpose so much as just being sloppy trying to keep up. The finish was still second to none, but the assembly was hurried.
 
The theory from one of the owners was that Cmate was cranking out so many outboard boats in the '90's that they cut corners on build quality. Not on purpose so much as just being sloppy trying to keep up. The finish was still second to none, but the assembly was hurried.

Or the better workers went out and found better jobs. :sssh:
 
  • Like
Reactions: JW
Im not sure what im going to do yet.. i would like to at least run it to see if i even like it before piling money into the thing.. thanks for the replys
 
Just a thought, I think you'd probably be okay if you took it out on a calm day when there wasn't a lot boat traffic making it too choppy. I'm no expert, but I think that while the stringers offer some structural support they serve as more of a support for the floor. So as long as your transom, pad and knees are solid you should be okay for a test ride. I'd just take it easy. I'm sure after you drive her for a little bit you'll decide she worth keeping and fixing. As for piling more money into it, you'll have an absolutely fun and fantastic boat when your done. As member JW pointed out there are plenty of threads and links on here to give you step by step procedures to follow to repair/replace what you've found. Best of luck with which ever direction you chose to go with her.:thumb: Jim
 
Looks like i will be dropping it off at a local boat resto shop to have the work done. Should have it back within a month.. maybe then ill post some pics..
 
Make sure they know what they're doing. I looked at a Hydro stream Vegas last year that had been 'redone' by a shop close to me and they just blew in a bunch of chppped fiberglass and it was a disaster. Make sure they understand how to properly restore a balsa cored boat.
 
In that boat, you could run it with no floor or stringers in it. Take a ride in it before you tear it down, you'll like it.
 
Im pretty confident in this guys work. He has done work for several people i know. I talked with him today when i dropped the boat off. He is very anal. He is going to add longer knees to help support the extra weight of the 3 liter as well.. im not sure if we are going to get into the core or not- there was 1 small spot that had a chip under the gas tank and there was some soft wood there.. he said he will cut out the rot, repair it, and reglass it. Does that sound right?
 
Im pretty confident in this guys work. He has done work for several people i know. I talked with him today when i dropped the boat off. He is very anal. He is going to add longer knees to help support the extra weight of the 3 liter as well.. im not sure if we are going to get into the core or not- there was 1 small spot that had a chip under the gas tank and there was some soft wood there.. he said he will cut out the rot, repair it, and reglass it. Does that sound right?

Yep! A friend and myself replaced over half of his core in an Enchanter. Water had gotten underneath the glass and spread like wildfire. Here's how to repair core: http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27838
 
  • Like
Reactions: JW
also comes down to how the boat was cared for...if sat out uncovered with lots of rain/snow laying in it will kill any of them.
 
I assumed the boat was well cared for because the exterior is in excellent shape, and i was told its origional. I was very surprised to find rot, but i suppose it doesnt take long to rot once you start running screws through the glass into the wood..
 
Back
Top