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253 Convincor?

SOX

SOX

Member
I found a few nice 253's for sale and was wondering how these ride and handle. I boat on the upper Chesapeake Bay where it could be calm one minute and nasty the next. How do these ride and how do they perform. I found one with a 454 and one with a 500 carb. In my research I think I read they chine walk around 70, is this correct or is it a mater of properly trimming the boat.

Thanks,
Rob
 
There is a 283 in the for sale section here that IMO is underpriced a lot. Check it out. (not mine-but I have one) 283/300's are great boats!
 
Yes the boats handle and will perform well. May chine walk some but no big deal easy to handle seat time is the cure as with any boat running wide open. 70 is all that boat will run with a stock 500.
 
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Most true v hulls with a single engine will chine at 70+ when running loose. A good set of trim tabs will fix chine walk, The right prop helps too. There are other contributing factors, If you Plan on going faster than that steering will come into play, Hydraulic steering is highly recommended and a tight gimbal assembly for any boat going over that speed. The one with the 500 hp should hit 70. Just as long as everything is tight and it has good trim tabs like billet type 12" to 24" or a Lenco. It will be fine. Bennetts I find only work on slower boats due to the high pressure at the transom at higher speeds. I have seen them bend over time and not react past a certain degree of trim input. Chine walk comes from there is not much boat running surface left in the water at speed. So it is rocking back and forth from port to starboard chine. Checks have a conservative X dimension so a stern lifting prop is desirable.
When you check out the boat grab the drive by the skeg while in the up position. If you can move it up and down, If there is play the gimbal is worn, If you can move the drive by hand left to right with it in the down position the steering is worn, Or you can move the steering wheel while engine running more than a 1/4 turn without the drive moving the steering is worn. This is typical with any used boat with power assist steering. All this will make any single engine V hard to control and contribute to chine walk at higher speeds.
So my answer is, No they don't chine walk when set up correctly and driven right.
 
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I have a 97 253 that had a 502 MAG EFI (currently upgrading to a 540 EFI). It ran 66 no matter the load. It handled very well, I had no chine walk issues (not quite fast enough). I am surprised how well it takes rough water and I love the boat all around. You will be very happy with one.
 
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I have a '98 253 with the small 454 (310hp) you will be very pleased with the ride of the boat. I can't give opinion about high speed, as mine will only run 60mph, but at that speed it will ride as smooth as any boat on our lake (Kentucky Lake). With the trim tabs, you can take out the rough ride, no matter how rough the water is. Just get out and experiment with the tabs until you are comfortable with them. In rough water, bump the tabs down some and then trim the motor, you will get smooth ride and still maintain your speed. Hope this will help you some. My only problem is finding enough time to go boating.
 
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I found a '96 with a 454 carb motor. Looks pretty clean, deck gel is faded but should come back with a little work. I am considering this one, any issues with transoms? My biggest concern is the amount of wood on the boat. Are there any major areas on these boats which are prone to rot? Any words of wisdom as I consider a 253 (besides survey and sea trial)?

Thanks,
Rob
 
SOX said:
I found a '96 with a 454 carb motor. Looks pretty clean, deck gel is faded but should come back with a little work. I am considering this one, any issues with transoms? My biggest concern is the amount of wood on the boat. Are there any major areas on these boats which are prone to rot? Any words of wisdom as I consider a 253 (besides survey and sea trial)?

Thanks,
Rob
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Theirs not problem with rot in any Checkmate the problem is the previous owners and the way they neglect their boat. Yes it will be a pile of crap if it was left in the water 24/7 365 days a year. Or if it was left outside and uncovered in the rain its whole life. Their was some point of neglect if the deck is fadded.

Checkmates are strong boats. My 96 Convincor was solid as a rock with 0 fade and it was red but then again I take care of my stuff.

Their no excuse for any boat to rot or fade its called the owner being lazy.
 
With the exception of the slight fading on the deck the rest of the boat is in very good conditon. I guess I should have mentioned how well the rest of the boat looks. The cabin is original and looks like it was never used. Absolutly no wear or funny smells at all. The cockpit is nearly spotless with just a few signs of its age. The boat has no signs of neglect with the deck exception. Any boat can have problems I am just asking if there are any that are common with this model.
 
Big Red said:
Theirs not problem with rot in any Checkmate the problem is the previous owners and the way they neglect their boat. Yes it will be a pile of crap if it was left in the water 24/7 365 days a year. Or if it was left outside and uncovered in the rain its whole life. Their was some point of neglect if the deck is fadded.

Checkmates are strong boats. My 96 Convincor was solid as a rock with 0 fade and it was red but then again I take care of my stuff.

Their no excuse for any boat to rot or fade its called the owner being lazy.
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I agree,
When I first got my 98 convincor, It was well taking care of by the first owner, but it was not a dry boat, It was never left in the water long and never stored out side by the first owner or rained in. No rot anywhere Bilge was clean and no stress cracks, When I first took it out I had to use the bilge pump and I drained water out on the ramp after a days use.

I ended up Taking everything off the transom and re-rigged it and sealed everything. The transom is thick and the stringers are strong. I have big power in mine with no structural issues and I run solid offshore mounts. I have a dry boat and it never has been stored outside by me either, Everyone that see it thinks it's new. So if I was you I would judge by the way it was stored and how it was kept up.
 
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Thanks for the input, WOW 1000 hp!!! I am new here so pardon me but can I see some pics of your boat and how fast does it run with that power?
 
SOX said:
Thanks for the input, WOW 1000 hp!!! I am new here so pardon me but can I see some pics of your boat and how fast does it run with that power?
Click to expand...

You can click my user name to see some pics, I need to post some more. It will run over 100. This is the second procharger motor in it. The first one was a stock hp 500 w/ a procharger. This one is a whole new ball game. I re rigged the whole boat from helm to transom it's awsome.

I see Big Red made it to boat of the month congrats BR. I would like to get mine there too.




MKHammer
 
well I began negotiating the price. It seems that when it was taken in on trade they thought it had many expensive upgrades (EFI,Hyd. steering,pressurized water etc.) which it does not. When I told the sales guy it is not equiped as he thought, he is going back to look over the price again with the owner.

This boat is a 1996 with a carb. 454. Is that a 385 hp or a 330 hp? If it is the 330hp I guesss it would not even break 60mph.
 
SOX said:
well I began negotiating the price. It seems that when it was taken in on trade they thought it had many expensive upgrades (EFI,Hyd. steering,pressurized water etc.) which it does not. When I told the sales guy it is not equiped as he thought, he is going back to look over the price again with the owner.

This boat is a 1996 with a carb. 454. Is that a 385 hp or a 330 hp? If it is the 330hp I guesss it would not even break 60mph.
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Can you go take some pics, I can tell you what I know and so will the other guys.
you can put some power upgrades to it. beat em up on the price it's a buyers market.

How much did you say they are asking?
 
they are asking 19,500. They said they will take 17,500. But that was with it all optioned out. The boat NADA's for just under 15,000.
 
Gimme Fuel said:
I have a 97 253 that had a 502 MAG EFI (currently upgrading to a 540 EFI). It ran 66 no matter the load. It handled very well, I had no chine walk issues (not quite fast enough). I am surprised how well it takes rough water and I love the boat all around. You will be very happy with one.
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I have to completely agree with Gimme Fuel and his post. I have a very clean '96 253 with a 502 Mag EFI and with a 24p B1 on it it runs, drives, and handles very well. Mine has a tendency to want to porpoise in the mid rpm's but a little bit pull the trim in and it goes right away. I do not have a GPS speed confirmed, but mine will touch 70 on the speedo every time. I figure that it's probably around 65'ish.

I think it is an awesome boat.:D
 
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