• 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.

Story about Checkmate Boats, Inc.

C

Craig

Active member
A little story about this company. I bought the boat I have now (2000 Pulsare) in June of 2000. Picked it up from the dealer, which was about a 3 hour drive away. About half way home I notice a slight wave in the hull just below the rub rail. Took me half way home before I noticed it in the review mirror. I was pissed ofcourse. As soon as I got home I called the dealer and they said don't worry about it, told me to take some photos and mail them, and go ahead and drive it through the summer and bring it back in the fall. I even wrote in a letter to Checkmate and laid into them pretty hard.

Well, the summer ended and I drove it back to the dealer, they decided to send it back to C'mate to have it fixed instead of fixing it locally. Ended up just being a bulkhead that was fastened to tighly to the hull. It was a fairly big job though, they had to take the deck off the hull and everything. All in all I ended up being happy with the way they handled things, I kind of felt bad about the letter I wrote, (but when you're the customer and you don't get what you expected you have to let them know.)

Here's what separates Checkmate from the rest...The next year I was at a little boat show in Cedar Falls, IA. There was a Baja display there and a buddy of mine was really interested in an H2X. I saw probably 3 spots on the hull that were similar to what I had on my Pulsare and also areas where the graphics were screwed up. Where the strips met at the point of the hull, one side was a good inch lower then the other side. I pointed this all out to the dealer and he acted like he couldn't even see them. Finally got him to "see" them and we asked if he was going to have Baja do any repairs or reduce the price some. The answer was "no, you'll have that in fiberglass, look at other mfr's hulls, they're worse". (I would actually agree with him, Baja is way better then most, especially Fountain.)

Long story short: Checkmate will repair a defect that other mfr's view as commonplace.

-Craig
 
Thanks for telling your story. So many times you only here about the bad things and never the good. It's not a perfect world and naturally you want the most for your money, but boats are man made and s..t happens. As long as the manufacture stands behind their product and the dealer takes care of you after the sale. What more can you ask for? Thanks, it takes balls to say something good.
 
Fountain???? Must have been dock shots Every Fountain I have ever seen... was pretty flawless and I work on @ a Marina on very busy river in Michigan so I've seen alot. I love Checkmates but they don't compare to a Fountain $$$$$$(sorry you get what you pay for) Reggie Rocks!!

Life's A Bore on Shore!!
 
Hello gentleman.......it's been awhile. Hope everyone has has a fun & safe summer! All i have to say about all this is kind of stuff is........This is your site say what you want!...If i personally didn't want to hear what you guys had to say i wouldn't be hear! No company can build a boat that no one couldn't find something wrong with! It's impossible! The simple fact that we have been around for over 40 years says we must be doing something right!So does about what 95% or better of the comments on this site! I (we )value you guys opinions/stories good or bad! That's what this forum is all about ....right........ talking Checkmate!
 
I can personally say I love my boat. When I pull up to a dock anywhere on the lake people ask me about my Mate. And my boat is anything but mint. I go to the corner store and people stop me when they see my cap or shirt and ask me if I'm the guy with "the Checkmate". My boat always gets lots of nice comments and kids are always asking me how fast it goes and if they can go for a ride.

Mate must be doing something right. :thumb:
 
Bakedgoods, I have to be 100% in disagreement with you. My local Checkmate dealer had both Checkmate and Fountain in the showroom at the same time when he was selling both. With several of them side by side over the course of a year +, the dealer dropped Fountain like a box of hot rocks. Fountain does not even come close to Checkmate when you're comparing quality and price and features. No comparison.
 
Fountain? Give me a break. Yeah they're fast, but that's where it ends. They paint on their graphics, at least every one I've ever seen. There is very little detail in the fiberglass work, very simple surfaces. Look at the sides, and the top of the deck, basically flatwork, there might be a high ridge running down the bow. Then look at the quality, waves along the hull/deck seam, rockers, hooks....

Now look at the sides and deck on a Mate, not to mention the in-gel graphics/strips. (Read JW's article on S&F)

Your entitled to your opinion, I'm just stating a few facts, but maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Fountain anyway. We're really not camparing apples and oranges, their smallest boat is 27 ft long.

Bill, sorry to hear you had problems with the quality of your boat, it can be frustrating...All I can say is, looking at photos of your boat on this site, I don't see the kind of problems I'm referring to. What I'm taling about, shows up in photos.

-Craig
 
O.K truce I love my 16' Predictor and also get lot's of attention Please don't get me wrong if I didn't love Checkmates I wouldn't be on the site and like "factory man" said every boat has something, someone will find something wrong with it.
 
I always find it funny that people bash Baja. I think it is because they produce so many boats, thus you see a lot of them. Last Friday, I toured both Baja and Checkmate. The main difference was size!!! They both had women glassing the hull's. My bother has a 29 outlaw and there are no waves in his hull. He had another Baja (94' 260) before this one. There were no stress cracks on that. On my 97 280zt there is. I think that both make a good boat and a good price. Baja is starting to vacuum bag there outlaws, starting with the 30 outlaw. Fountain doesn't do that??? As far as fountain goes, I have 3 friends that have them.(2-35' and a 42') They are faster than my brother's, but his rides a hell of a lot better when the waves come. And the customer service at Fountain SUCKS!!! I can also tell you that if Checkmate ran 5 page ad's the magazine would say that they are the best in boating too!!!!
The new 30 outlaw will run 80+ with 496ho's in it. The Baja dealer by me is going to have one to demo the end of sept. This is my opinion, there is a hand full of v builders that are on top (cig, apache, active thunder, skater, nor-tech, and OL) and then everyone else.
 
Craig, I just chose not to post the photos of the defects, not fair to Checkmate. It is still by far, better glass work than most. I still stand and stare at it when parked on the beach or even the trailer. :thumb:
 
I know glsingers brother and his Baja, he is right THere is not a wave to be found, actually the in gel graphics and glass work are every bit as good as Checkmate. I could not have been any closer and scrutinized it any, more, I polished it for him.
 
No manufacture today builds a bad boat. Some just build better boats that others. Does that make since to you? If not let me help. There are corporate boat manufactures (Brunswick, Genmar that are mass producers) and there are independent boat builders. Neither one wants to build a flawed unit.
The use of chopper guns and plastic reinforced hulls have made boats looks almost perfect. There is no more craftsmanship to building boats in the corporate world. Just how fast can we make them and how much money can we make.
It’s good to see the pride and craftsmanship Checkmate puts in every boat. No chopper guns and no plastic hulls. I’m sure Checkmate had a chance to make bubble boats that all look the same. But they choose to keep their colors. When you see a Checkmate on the water, you know that it’s a Checkmate. Some of the other manufactures boats all look the same.
Everyone talks about the ride and other boats and their ability to handle rough water. You call it a smooth ride. I call it boring . Learn to drive Captain. If wanted a boat to perform like a sled, I would buy a cruiser. At least I would have all the comforts of home then. Checkmate builds a boat that’s fun to drive. Checkmates separate the men from the boys. So they might have a wave or two. Maybe that’s why they’re so much fun to drive. Maybe that’s by design. Maybe that’s why Checkmate has such a following. How many people do you know trade a Baja in for another Baja or a Bayliner in for another Bayliner? Not many, because you’ll only own one. People don’t like making the same mistake twice. (Unless that all they can afford.)

:thumb:

Go to http://pub47.ezboard.com/fteambajamarinefrm5
and see what some Baja owners have to say. :sick:
 
Freyed,

You seem to understand.....I just can't stand it when people compare production chopper gun boats with handcrafted boats. And it really drives me nuts when people can't see the difference.

-Craig
 
Ya, know what I hate Craig? when peole ask me, what is a Checkmate? Oh, it is like a Baja... The boys at Hawkeye have been trying to convince me that Mate's are entry level boats. I had to laugh, kind of pissed the salesman off. Oh well... :lol:
 
Hey Fryed.

I checked out the Baja board. A lot of unhappy Baja owners reside there, I think the complaint department is their busiest forum.

I dare someone to go into that forum and post something about buying a Checkmate.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
Originally posted by Chris:
Hey Fryed.

I checked out the Baja board. A lot of unhappy Baja owners reside there, I think the complaint department is their busiest forum.

I dare someone to go into that forum and post something about buying a Checkmate.
icon_biggrin.gif
Click to expand...


I'd do something like that!!!!!!!
icon_biggrin.gif
I will, I will do that. Hows the username CHECKMATES_FOREVER sound????
icon_biggrin.gif
 
LOL I got a reply...
This was too good to delete, I have to leave this up for all to see. This guy has balls and he did make us click into the thread. He gets a 10 for execution a 1 for choice of boats
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top