New Guy considering an older Checkmate...

[DropTop5.0]

Pete - Don't settle on a boat just because it's close and it could fit the bill. There are tons of cheap boats out there for people with time and ambition. It will save you many many hours to find a boat with a rotted floor but has great original gel coat. I'd wait for a boat to come along that has a great original finish unless your a paint guy and that's your thing (paint materials are expensive too).

 

[PetefromTn]

agreed....

Pete - Don't settle on a boat just because it's close and it could fit the bill. There are tons of cheap boats out there for people with time and ambition. It will save you many many hours to find a boat with a rotted floor but has great original gel coat. I'd wait for a boat to come along that has a great original finish unless your a paint guy and that's your thing (paint materials are expensive too).

Please do not mistake my enthusiasm for blind ambition to get ANY boat. If I am to do all this work to arrive at a beautiful boat it will undoubtedly have to be a vessel that I have a LOT of affinity for as well as something that has the potential to become what I am after. I have been looking at the various models and while this particular boat is nearby and relatively inexpensive it is not the boat I am after. I really want more of a 21 foot speedboat than thus model is. The starflite is a beauty as is the starliner but I also like the pulse and similar models. It will probably take awhile to find the right boat for me and I am in no hurry to leap without looking. There are many for sale even now so I will continue reading here and try to sell my Jwcrawford 5.2 meter catamaran and look for my next boat. Thanks for the advice. Peace

Pete

 

[slingblade]

http://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/boa/3956426024.html

Guy must be looking to sell fast, his price has dropped A LOT.

This is a great deal If it is what the owner says It's ready to go .

 

[PetefromTn]

Damn that is a smoking deal....

http://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/boa/3956426024.html

Guy must be looking to sell fast, his price has dropped A LOT.

This is a great deal If it is what the owner says It's ready to go .

I think for a boat of that caliber to go for that cheap is crazy. maybe there is something wrong with it but he did say he bought a newer one. Who knows maybe he just needs it gone. Honestly that is way too much boat for me I don't have a vehicle that can tow it and there is no mention of a trailer either. Sure looks sweet tho. I think I am about max 21 foot unless these boats are a lot heavier than they look.

Had a fellow come over yesterday to look at my Nacra catamaran, he seemed to like it and said he was gonna think it over and let me know by the weekend. Hopefully he buys it and I can move closer to getting a project boat here. This is gonna take awhile I think to find the right boat for the right price in repairable condition. In the mean time I will just read thru these posts here and drool all over my screen at all the beautiful Checkmates that are on these pages. Peace

Pete

 

[PetefromTn]

WOW GUYS...

Been reading thru quite a few of the various build threads on here. MAN do you guys do some good work. Rob I just looked at the paint thread for your enforcer and that boat looks fantastic!! The build you are doing with Sam I am on the liner also looks awesome. It makes me even more anxious to get into a nice project boat. I am quite sure you folks have put a LOT of money into these boats but the hard work pays off. That Enforcer looks like a $50.000 brand new boat now. I only hope I can find a suitable project boat for my meager funds so I can play too. I REALLY like the 21 foot or longer boats especially the bow riders like the starliner and similar. that boat just looks so clean and the bow rider setup does not take away from the sleek lines of the boat especially when you install the tarp cover over the bow seats. This will probably take me awhile to do but I was showing my wife some of the threads here and even where folks have redone the transoms etc and she was kinda like, well, there is no way we can afford a $50k boat brand new so if we want a boat that nice this is the only way. That and we can do it so it will never rot again and be the colors we want it seemed to appeal to her. She is dead set against NOT having a bowrider tho. She REALLY wants the bowrider setup for friends and family so bowrider it is. After all she is gonna be helping me with this whole thing so she has gotta love the boat as much as I do or it will never get done.

Anyways, thanks so much for all of your kind advice and ideas here, especially ROb for your help and suggestions. It is clear to me you know your way around a boat. Damn that enforcer looks awesome!! Peace

Pete

 

[Rob B]

Been reading thru quite a few of the various build threads on here. MAN do you guys do some good work. Rob I just looked at the paint thread for your enforcer and that boat looks fantastic!! The build you are doing with Sam I am on the liner also looks awesome. It makes me even more anxious to get into a nice project boat. I am quite sure you folks have put a LOT of money into these boats but the hard work pays off. That Enforcer looks like a $50.000 brand new boat now. I only hope I can find a suitable project boat for my meager funds so I can play too. I REALLY like the 21 foot or longer boats especially the bow riders like the starliner and similar. that boat just looks so clean and the bow rider setup does not take away from the sleek lines of the boat especially when you install the tarp cover over the bow seats. This will probably take me awhile to do but I was showing my wife some of the threads here and even where folks have redone the transoms etc and she was kinda like, well, there is no way we can afford a $50k boat brand new so if we want a boat that nice this is the only way. That and we can do it so it will never rot again and be the colors we want it seemed to appeal to her. She is dead set against NOT having a bowrider tho. She REALLY wants the bowrider setup for friends and family so bowrider it is. After all she is gonna be helping me with this whole thing so she has gotta love the boat as much as I do or it will never get done.

Anyways, thanks so much for all of your kind advice and ideas here, especially ROb for your help and suggestions. It is clear to me you know your way around a boat. Damn that enforcer looks awesome!! Peace

Pete

Thanks for the compliments!!! I sold the Enforcer to a member on here, as my wife prefers a bow rider as well. The starliner is sold as well to a guy with a Starflite not far from where I live. So now I don't own a Checkmate, only a Ranger Bass boat and a Key Largo center console at the moment. However always looking for another checkmate project!!

 

[PetefromTn]

REALLY!!

Thanks for the compliments!!! I sold the Enforcer to a member on here, as my wife prefers a bow rider as well. The starliner is sold as well to a guy with a Starflite not far from where I live. So now I don't own a Checkmate, only a Ranger Bass boat and a Key Largo center console at the moment. However always looking for another checkmate project!!

Man I cannot imagine doing that much work and having it come out so nice and then selling it. Jeez that boat looked amazing. Oh well we do what we want to do right. A Key West is a nice boat as well, seen lots of those down in florida when I used to live there. I think I MAY have sold my Nacra Catamaran. The guy kinda wants it for nothing but I kinda met him in the middle somewhere. We shall see if it does sell tomorrow. I will be sad to see it go tho. I did a bunch of work on this Custom Kitchen I am building for a customer over this weekend so hopefully that will be finished soon and I can add that cash to the piggy bank for the project boat. My wife was helping me rip the plywood in the shop today and I commented on how we could be ripping material for the boat transom and stringers etc soon and she smiled and said, you get the boat here and we'll get it done. Damn I am a lucky guy to have such a beautiful and helpful wife. I cannot wait to be cruising in a refurbished Checkmate with her sunning on the bow while we scream down the lake LOL...

Speaking of that, what is involved in making a Checkmate with say an outboard setup salt water safe? Is that something I need to be looking for in the purchase? We intend to be moving back to Florida at some point so it would be nice to not have to worry about it. Of course that would be a trailered boat that never sits in the water for more than the time we are actually riding on it. I plan to buy or build a small carport style enclosure for the boat to keep it purty and safe. Peace

Pete

 

[atc250r]

I would say a thorough rinse of the trailer with fresh water, a quick wash of the boat's exterior, and a thorough flush of the motor with fresh water will do the trick.

 

[DropTop5.0]

If your planning to go back to Florida having an eye out for a galvanized trailer will be helpful. When the salt sits on unprotected metal, it really does damage pretty fast. The galvanized protection buys you quite a bit of time.

Generally speaking running your boat in salt water and cleaning & flushing it properly when your done will make it last a really long time. Let that salt sit in your motors passage ways and thermostats and stuff and it'll speed up the life cycle of your motor.

 

[PetefromTn]

That's what I figured......

If your planning to go back to Florida having an eye out for a galvanized trailer will be helpful. When the salt sits on unprotected metal, it really does damage pretty fast. The galvanized protection buys you quite a bit of time.

Generally speaking running your boat in salt water and cleaning & flushing it properly when your done will make it last a really long time. Let that salt sit in your motors passage ways and thermostats and stuff and it'll speed up the life cycle of your motor.

Having owned and operated many boats as a youth with my family down in Florida I am used to the suction cup flushing of the outboard motor to flush out the salt water from the engines internals but I guess I figured that all of the boats we bought and operated down there were designed for it and possibly lake only boats have something different about them.

The trailer is also a consideration. My Parents once bought a boat from Tennessee and trailered it down to Florida because it was a smoking deal and the trailer was painted steel. It did rot a bit despite our best efforts to keep it washed down. Finding a galvanized trailer for one of these project boats might be a bit difficult as most seem to have painted steel to match the boat. Peace

Pete

 

[Cushman]

21' Starliner.

Olympia is a bit out of your way but there are good possibilities for a bit extra effort.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/4025647382.html

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pml/boa/4028324475.html

Matt

 

[PetefromTn]

Olympia is a bit out of your way but there are good possibilities for a bit extra effort.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/4025647382.html

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pml/boa/4028324475.html

Matt

Matt,
Hey man thanks so much for the heads up. Yeah those are some VERY nice boats but for one they are WAY far away and would probably cost as much to bring them here as they are asking and two I just had a little setback. One of the custom cabinet jobs I was counting on backed out on me at the last minute. So I am gonna be in a holding pattern for the boat until I can get some more jobs in here. also we just put our home up for sale and we are trying to move back to florida so we may just wait until we are settled in there before we buy. That way we do not have to deal with moving the boat again. Not giving up here that is for sure but we are gonna have to wait for a bit. Peace

Pete