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Is it ok to leave out floor in V Mate 1?

Rlg999

New member
Hey all, just acquired a 1976 Checkmate V Mate 1 a couple weeks ago, and am in the process of cleaning it up. I removed all the carpet and remnants of the floor and pedestals and such. I've been reading alot of the restoration posts and some of you guys have some really awesome skills. I don't have the patience for a 2-3 year rebuild, so I'm thinking of just putting a bench across the front to mount a couple fold down seats to and then maybe a bench across the back. I was wondering if it would be ok to leave out the floor stringer and floor, and just leave the floor with the v shape to it? It seems that it would be much easier to keep water drained out of the hull. Is the stringer there for any structural support for the hull? My core looks ok, no dark spots or soft spots. I was just thinking about putting some resin and maybe a thin layer of fiberglass down to cover up where I ground the pedestals, rear bench frames, and battery boxes out. The transom will need doing in a year or so, if I keep it that long. Right now I just want to get it ready to get out on the water. It only has a 50 Merc inline 4 on it now, but I think the motor is gonna be ok. I've always wanted one of the old checkmates, and this one came up and was cheap, so here's to a new project. I'm located in North Carolina, near Shelby, about an hour west of Charlotte if there are any other members nearby. Here's a few pics to show what I've got done so far.


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I'm not saying yes or no but I had an MX13 that only had a little 6" runner down the middle and a cross member for a single seat, no full floor. I did not have any trouble

Good luck-
 

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I would think that you absolutely need to put the stringers back in. I always thought of the stringers as the skeleton structure of the boat and the fiberglass as the muscle. The hull will flex and the stringers are there to minimize it. Also, I would think that the transom would need more stiffening by tying it into the stringers.
At least that is the way I view it. Maybe with a smaller boat like yours it isn't so much of an issue. I will be interested to see what others think.
Either way great looking older "check"!
 
Thanks for the quick answers. It only had a single stringer running from the bow to the back, stopping about a foot before the transom. It was just a piece of 1x4, maybe 1x6, it was so rotten it fell apart. That's why I'm thinking I could just leave it out. All it was doing was supporting the center of the tiny 2ft wide floor piece. And I'm only running a 50hp Mercury on the back, no huge monsters like some of the mate's carry. I can pick it up and lift it off the back by myself, although it's a little awkward. Also, anyone ever just painted the interior like the mx 13 pic above? Seems like not having any carpet to collect and hold water would be a plus. Although, any future repair work to the fiberglass would be a pain. Thanks again! Hope to have the motor back on by this weekend and maybe even see if she floats... LOL
 
I have a MX-14 and had Instigator replace the transom, I replaced the stringer, added knees to the transom and finally painted the interior with Rustolium semi gloss white, turned out pretty nice and touch up is easy, good luck
 
Congrats on your new ride. How do you know it’s a V mate I. Do you know the LOA ? Does your boat have factory tabs? Thanks
 
Keep in mind sitting on the floor will make for a rough ride.

My grandparents had an old Fiberglass boat with a bench seat in it and no floor and taking a wave could launch you into the air!

-Chris
 
Well, the Checkmate has a new owner now. I think it went to South Carolina. I had too many projects and not enough time to work on them.
 
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