Why a Checkmate?

[wired]

Let's hear some more 'first Checkmate' stories!

I don't know. I went to the dealer with my dad 34 years ago. We spent 3 or 4 hours there and we picked out the one I have now. He paid $8000 for it. Kind of anticlimactic.

 

[Sam I am]

I was lucky enough to grow up on a lake in MN, but we were a single income family and there wan't any extra $$ for a speed boat. I always wanted a speed boat, but had to settle for watching from shore. THe best boats were the Checkmates. There 3 on our lake: 2 with Black Max's and 1 with a Yamaha. I finally got to ride in a Checkmate (the one with the Yamaha) after I did something pretty stupid, but that's a whole nother thread.

http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16813&highlight=moron

We finally got an old Rinkerbuilt Tri Hull that was a water logged POS, but it was better than nothing. But I still drooled over the Checkmate and knew I would own my own one day! To date, I've owned four. I'm sick.

 

[JT Patroni]

Back in the early 60's the only boats I remember as a kid were aluminium row boats with 5 and 7 hp Mercs. At 13, I built a 10' plywood hull that weighed 90 lbs and clamped on a 56 Johnson 30 hp and a 17P Michigan 2 blade bronze prop that weighed about 110 lbs. Wow, was I in heaven. Never knew how fast I was going because I very seldom could see where I was going.
Never ever saw a Checkmate until 2001. There was a Enchanter I/O for sale a few blocks away from my house. I fell in love with Mates at that time. I went back for a second look and it was gone. In 2009 I saw a 85 Starflite on Craigs List for $2500. Went to look and bought it for $1500.

That is the boat I have now and will probably never own anything but a Mate. Next one will probably be a 253. The wife does not like being in the Flite if the motor is over 3000 rpm. (She is always with me) So I need bigger to get a better ride so the wife doesn't complain. I always feel the need for speed. My body is finding it hard to keep up with my brain and the brain won't quit thinking of speed. (I must be doomed)

Checkmate is the way to go!

 

[Jimway]

I found her sitting on some rolled up carpeting next to a garage in a rainstorm. Cockpit cover was on with a couple of gallons of water on top of the cover. Trailer was sitting on end, leaning against the garage. The owner was talking about cutting up the hull to access the motor to sell on EBay. I liked the lines of the little hull and looked at the fit and finish, and knew she was special. I walked across the street from the job I was on and asked if it was for sale. Guy seemed to be surprised that I was interested in the whole boat. Took several weeks to get together with him to charge batteries and give it a whirl but it wouldn't fire. The whole time, he continued to come down on the price with no urging from me. When I told the guy that I would take it 'as she sits', he about fell over. Four of us easily lifted her back on her trailer. I was surprised at how nice the bottom of the hull was, the rolls of carpet had saved it. Man it was dirty. Near as I could tell, geese had been using it for a landing pad (apparently, geese immedietly make a deposit when they land), and a skunk and a raccoon had been shacked up in the bow and neither one of them was a good housekeeper. Bought a brand new set of transom tie downs to replace the zip ties, yellow rope, and bailing wire that had been previously used to hold the vessel down to the trailer. Cleaned the entire fuel system and replaced all of the ignition system when it refused to provide spark to the plugs but would generously provide spark to me with the least provocation. We've had a lot of fun with it and it gets lots of compliments wherever it goes. Joined up on here and have really enjoyed it.

 

[karzrus]

My parents had a 20' RV trailer on a lot at a local lake because the cabin on the property was so old it was un-useable. The only boat we ever had was a small old used 14' sail boat. But I was out at the lake every nice weekend in the summer as a teenager. I had a friend who's parents bought a 14' trihull with a 70hp Johnson that we learnd to ski behind at that lake and later at his parents lake as well.(they bought the boat, then later a lake cabin) I never saw a Checkmate growing up. But I knew I wanted a boat if I could, when I got married and had a family.

My wife's Father had a boat when she was young and one day she made the mistake of saying we could "maybe" get a boat one day. I started looking for something I could afford the next minute, as I only heard "get a boat". I knew she might change her mind at any time. I found a used Searay or Reinell that looked OK and was about $5000(top of my price range) back in 1993 and took it to a shop for an inspection on a friends advice. Well the boat failed badly (everything mechanical was in poor shape), I was so bummed out, I paid for the inspection and knew my wife was going to kill me for wasting some money(looking back it was the best money I ever spent not to buy something). Then the shop forman said I should look at a customers boat that they had maintained for the last 5-6 years and was in great shape and was for sale a month or two back for a little more money then the POS I brought in. He found the guys phone # and called to see if it was still for sale, it was. I talked to the guy, he wanted $7000 for a 11yr. old, 1982 19 foot Checkmate. I had no idea what the heck it was, but took the shop forman's advice that it was a good boat and drove 1.5 hours to see a boat that was out of my price range.

That Blue and Silver metalflake Eluder looked beautiful and "stupid fast" just sitting on the trailer. My wallet never stood a chance, I was pulling out deposit money and signing a contract to buy, without even thinking if my Wife would have a concern. I love my Wife, but she knows the boat is a close second.

I have 2 mates now, I can't use two boats and the Eluder is suppose to go, but I will be heartbroken when it does and I haven't listed it yet. My Boss knows I should be selling the Eluder and knows it's looked after and keeps asking if he can have it, when I sell it.

I have no evidence that selling it will kill me, but it might?

 

[back in black]

I grew up around St. Pete Beach, FL. At the time, lots of taylor jet boats, Checkmates, and Hydrostreams, along with a lot of other kinds of boats I knew I would never own. We used to go to the 'Checkmate store' when we were young and broke because I always knew that was the boat for me. In Feb. '87 I found a beautiful black/silver metalflake '83 Entertainer near Orlando, stuck a hitch on my '84 TransAm and brought her back home. Years of skiing, wakeboarding, barefootin with friends, teaching my kids and most of their friends the same…man we even take it lobstering in the Keys! Still live in the same area, still have the same boat, still do the same stuff. Total restoration on her last year and she's better than ever! Done a lot of living in that boat. Glad to see a few more getting restored and back on the water around here. Classic lines, good speed & just pretty... hard to beat. I've had that boat 27 years so far and just never found a good reason for anything else. We spent this weekend boating and that boat still puts a smile on my face every time I fire it up!

 

[john lamon]

There were a few Checkmates on my lake growing up, we had a 1972 18' Fiberform with a 3.0 I/O, topped out at around 35, tons of great memories in that boat but I would always stare and drool when I would see a Checkmate, in May of 1989 when I was 11 one of our neighbours pulled up to the lake with a brand new Eluder with a Mariner 220 magnum EFI, at the time I thought it was the nicest most bad ass boat I'd ever seen, I would stand on the dock and just stare at it as a kid, always told my parents I would own a boat like that one day and they would just laugh as if to say yeah right.

Fast forward 20 years to May of 2009 and same neighbour pulls up to the lake with a brand new 1850 BR, my first thought was not how nice it was but what the hell, where's the blue and silver Eluder? He traded it in he said so 5 mins later I was on the phone to the dealer, I know the dealer well from previous motors and stuff I bought from him, no way I could afford it at the time but we worked out a deal, I gave him $500 deposit and I could pay the rest whenever I wanted and pick it up, even a year down the road he said would be fine, so I was happier than could be, only one problem, here I had made a deal without consulting the boss so I had to work on that, lol, hey wouldn't it be a great idea to get that mate I've always wanted, lol, by the time I picked it up she was fine with it and loves the boat now, I never told anyone I made the deal and had to wait all summer knowing that it was almost mine, finally picked it up mid September when boating season was pretty much over, first place I went with it was my Dads house, pulled up there and I've never seen a bigger smile on his face, he jumped in and we went for the water test, awesome day that was!

This is our 5th summer with it and she's like a part of the family, when I talk about maybe selling it one day my son freaks out, no way your not selling it lol, he was only 10 months old when we got it so it's all he knows, he can't imagine having something else.

 

[arcticsnoman]

I grew up on Pelican Lake in Minnesota, some of my relatives owned the marina (Simison Marine) on the lake which they sold Checkmates. So we were always getting rides in new demo boats or boats where they were testing out props. My releatives were very happy when we got our Checkmate, then they wouldn't have to clean the drool off of the showroom models.

Love to get a newer and bigger boat, but our boat house limits the size of boat we can have.