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Hello all

S

splbuilder

New member
Hello everyone, I just picked up my first Checkmate. It's a '74 MX 16 with a '79 inline 6 115 hp Merc. I picked it up real cheap because it reminded me of one of my dad's friends' boats from when I was little. I remember it being the coolest boat in the world when I was 7. I want to give my kids that same thing. Anyway, I brought it home 2 nights ago to find that the floors were way worse than expected. I have already stripped most of everything out of the interior and cut half the floor out. I'm going to have to put new stringers and all in it. I figure I'll pull the engine off and paint the bottom, and since I have a buddy that does graphics wraps I plan to give it a nice new look to get excited about. So hello everyone! I'll probably need lots of advice in the next couple months. LOL.

Jeff
 
welcome and good luck with rebuild. you are in the right place for any info you may need on your way.
 
Well....welcome to the world of boating. I would think you expected to find some rot and moisture in a boat from 74. See what you can do with the finish before paint and a wrap. From what I have seen it makes an old boat look far worse trying to make it look new.
 
I too fell in love with Checkmates when I was a kid - a friend of our family had an MX-16 with a Merc 150. I thought that was absolutely the coolest boat in the world, first thing in the morning I'd hear an engine screaming and see a big rooster tail flying across the lake and wish I was riding along.

I finally bought an Eluder a bit over a year ago and wound up doing a complete rebuild, sounds like your boat is in a similar condition. Are you planning on replacing the transom? Chances are that it needs it - if nothing else check it very carefully because once a boat needs the stringers and deck replaced the transom is usually bad as well.

Good luck, and post some photos.
 
Just got 1989 Checkmate Convencer 25.1

Needs lots of work but after removing motor I found a 502 Hp not the 454.
My big ? is, has any one used Bigs Performance. and if so did you use his carbers and how did it work.
 
Welcome to the board and congrats on the new boat. Have a real good look at the transom since you have it apart.
 
:welcome: You are in the right place. These guys around here know their stuff when it comes to our Checkmates. Good luck with your project.
 
support

Thanks for the support guys. I haven't pulled the engine yet but I plan to next weekend. replacing the transom kind of scares me. Don't I have to cut the top half of the boat off to do that? I looked through one of the rebuilds and wow, that is really intimidating for someone with limited knowledge and time.

Jeff
Loveland Ohio
 
Congrats

Funny how memories like these lead to boat restorations.:bigthumb:



splbuilder said:
Hello everyone, I just picked up my first Checkmate. It's a '74 MX 16 with a '79 inline 6 115 hp Merc. I picked it up real cheap because it reminded me of one of my dad's friends' boats from when I was little. I remember it being the coolest boat in the world when I was 7. I want to give my kids that same thing. Anyway, I brought it home 2 nights ago to find that the floors were way worse than expected. I have already stripped most of everything out of the interior and cut half the floor out. I'm going to have to put new stringers and all in it. I figure I'll pull the engine off and paint the bottom, and since I have a buddy that does graphics wraps I plan to give it a nice new look to get excited about. So hello everyone! I'll probably need lots of advice in the next couple months. LOL.

Jeff
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