• 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.

how big of a checkmate for 6 people

I

insearchof

New member
Hi all, I am new to the forum and fairly new to boats as well.

My question is what checkmate would be good for my family of 6 for water skiing. My kids range in age from 4 to 18.

I currently have a 1986 Baja Sport160 with a 115 Merc. It is a 16' boat with a max capcity of 4 persons. I love the boat, it just isn't big enough.

I like to go fast, ski, wakeboard, and tube. The current boat goes about 58 (speedo). I bought a GPS for this year, but the lakes are still forzen here (WI).

It looks like a should be able to find a nice used Checkmate without traveling to far, I just need to know the minimum length and model so I can search effectively.

Thanks.
 
I have a 20 ft. BR easy to store or tow. 4 children wife and I and we have plenty of room.. and sometimes my dog too ....
 
Wow - that ZT looks like a much *much* nicer version of my stinkray. Beautiful do-it-all boat if that's in your budget.

If you're looking for something cheaper, I'd say that just about any 18-21' checkmate BR would be good for you. IMO, the starliner is the nicest, biggest OB BR. The pulse 2100 or 20' are faster and newer and more modern, but if you can find a nice starliner, they are usually cheaper and do everything well.

Post your budget and location. At this time of you, you might just get a LOT of help from the guys here.
 
Thanks for all the responses!

To answer Anthony's question, I am thinking of spending between $3k to $5K and it depends on what I can get for my Baja Sport160.

I actually like the look of the closed bow 80's speed boats. I am on the fence about going to a bow rider. The sace would be great, but I have to decide if it will make the same "speed Boat" statement on the water.

Another problem I have is my location, I live in NE Wisconsin and most of the inland lakes are pretty small. That's why I origionally bought the 16 footer. With a bigger boat I could go out on lake michigan but it is usually too cold for skiing. So I am thinking the smallest cosed bow boat that will leagally hold 6 people would be the best.

Since I am looking in the lower price category I am thinking outboard motor is best. That way if I have motor trouble I have option to replace vs rebuild.
 
If I remember right, my Exciter was rated for 6 people...and there is no way I'd ever try and have that many onboard a closed bow- ever. There just isn't enough room imo. The most I ever had onboard a closed bow was 5 and it was only for a few hours.

If you really want to carry 6 onboard a small boat comfortably, I'd go with a bowrider like an Eluder (18'6").
 
I agree with that superboat guy (isn't this a checkmate site?!) :sssh:. In any case, my old sportfire (~17' closed bow) was only OK with 4 people. And at the time 2 of them were under 3 yrs old!

A diplomat (same 17' hull as a sportfire) or eluder would be nice - and the checkmate BR's are about the raciest looking open bows on the water (check some pic's). You can pick some of those up for that price range. I'd go as big as you can afford, an extra few feet in the light OB boats aren't going to kill your maneuverability in tight lakes and will provide a LOT more room. They may actually draft slightly less water and would be much better for bigger water.
 
ndaniels said:
If I remember right, my Exciter was rated for 6 people...and there is no way I'd ever try and have that many onboard a closed bow- ever. There just isn't enough room imo. The most I ever had onboard a closed bow was 5 and it was only for a few hours.

If you really want to carry 6 onboard a small boat comfortably, I'd go with a bowrider like an Eluder (18'6").
Click to expand...

Yeah I would recommend the Eluder, my Eluder is rated for 10 people but it seats 7 adults comfortably, we regularly go out with 4 adults and 5 kids on board and it does fine.

I still think it has that go fast speed boat look even with the open bow, I know I whore this Boat of the month pic all over town but here it is again, good luck in your search.



And IMO the long front end still looks bad a$$.



put a bow cover on and you've got a closed deck

 
Last edited:
go bow rider..... I was on the fence as well when i got my 2100br but since then I am sold as it is a perfect family / performance boat. One time I had 6 adults and 6 kids in the boat, it was a little tight but we had a good day on the water considering 12 people in a 21ft boat. Normally we have about 6 people and lots of room with the open bow. Almost any bowrider will give you the space in an 18-21ft range

Good luch in your search
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top