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My first boat, What Was Your's?
- Thread starter john lamon
- Start date
yellowfiero88
Well-known member
Nope, I sold it
. You dont want one, trust me! They are VERY poorly made, VERY thin fiberglass. You can feel the boat twisting as you go over any type of rough water. The added power of the 85 made it just stupid fast and fun but at 45-50, it would rock back and forth and I would not push it any more. The acceleration was neck snapping from 18-45+mph. A must is power trim if adding power. I would say, it would easily be a 65+mph boat with the motor and prop setup, but no way stable enough to get past 50mph!BTW, mine was in near perfect(minor fading) condition so it was not a case of it being rotten like so many of them are!
T
TheNerd
Guest
My first boat was an old beat up 1968 Duo, my dad bought it for my bother and I when I was about 11 or so, was a whopping $600.00. It was the classic old boat, white bottom red top, powered by a 40 hp Johnson.
For a slow little boat that thing sure used some gas. The motor had a little door that opened on the front so you could pull start it. When I was about 14 some coons made a nest in it, so I built some "new seats" out of plywood. Boy I wish I had some pics of that. I will have to ask my mom if she has any.
For a slow little boat that thing sure used some gas. The motor had a little door that opened on the front so you could pull start it. When I was about 14 some coons made a nest in it, so I built some "new seats" out of plywood. Boy I wish I had some pics of that. I will have to ask my mom if she has any.
Check This
Banned
Here is a pic of my Sidewinder 1972 I was 15 years old!!!CHIT!!! Where has the time gone.
Pic taken in GreenWood Lake New York at the family summer home
Pic taken in GreenWood Lake New York at the family summer home
Old Hickory
Active member
My first was a 12' Klamath. Used it initially as a drift boat for flyfishing. After my wife decided we could use it to tow the kids around on a tube; I put a 20hp merc on her. Man could she fly! I don't even want to know how fast I was going! She was made as a bay boat, and I can attest to her sea worthiness. I put her on the Gulf about 8 years ago w/ the merc; and she handled 4-6 ft swells w/o a hitch. My family and I had alot of fun with that old boat. She was sold to make room for a 18ft Wareagle( 3 little boys fishing in a 12 footer is more harrowing than any 6 ft swell on the Gulf
) Hated to see her go; but I love my Wareagle
Hick
BTW these are pics of when I sold her; I bought the boat in 1999 for $100. Best bang for buck I ever spent. Sold her for $750 in 2007.
) Hated to see her go; but I love my WareagleHick
BTW these are pics of when I sold her; I bought the boat in 1999 for $100. Best bang for buck I ever spent. Sold her for $750 in 2007.
Last edited:
H2ocean
New member
My f irst boat I got from a guy trailering it to the dump. To this day I don't know what it was (if there is interest I will dig up the photos). It was ugly and had no motor but following it down the road it had fins on the back like a 55 Chevy. I’m a Ford fan myself but I liked the look of it. Story short he stopped and I hitched it to my truck and brought it home. I found out it should have a 25hp motor from the local fishing experts and off I went in search of power. I was so happy to see multiple engines listed for pennies in the local rags and off I went.
Weeks later after searching through way too many "captin’ nemo" refrigerators that would have sank the boat if attached to the rear. I was walking back to my car after viewing 3 more monsters and spotted a prop hanging out the shed door, "what is that" I asked and the guy pulls this 25HP out..."it's like new I bought a larger motor for skiing" he said as he pulled a finger tight sparkplug and showed the cylinder had oil in it. I pulled the starter cord and as it ripped from my hand I heard a loud "clink,clank" my foot immediately kicked the prop with the same tinny sound. I told him I’m no outboard tech but that thing is locked up tighter than a bulls @ss. His fingers went back into the spark plug hole and produced fresh yellow oil. I told him id give him the $200.00 he wanted for one of those refrigerators for it and started walking to my truck. He asked "what do you want it for if it’s locked up"? I replied I could part it out for at least that and would have nothing to lose. when my truck started and I put my foot on the brake and hit drive the rear shook as the motor was flung in the bed..."you gotta deal" he said and I handed him the cash.
My new anchor road in the back of that truck for weeks and one day our parts driver came in and said "hey I have another motor for you" he had been on delivery and drove by a house with a complete engine just like the one in my truck set out for the trash so he grabbed it and brought it to the shop. Now having a piece of crap and another piece of crap to fix it with the mechanical adrenalin was flowing. I started to remove the lower unit and after everything was loose it would only drop ½ inch. After investigation I found the shift shaft was frozen in the housing, mmmm I bolted it back on and pulled the starter cowl, what a funny thing the pull starter worked fine and the flywheel spun freely. Put it back on and the same tinny clink was heard pulling the cord. Now all you experienced guys are peeing your pants laughing by now but it finally hit me. There is an interlock so idiots like me cant pull start the engine in gear at WOT so the boat crashes and I get ejected and drown. Unlocked the shift shaft and she ran like a beauty. Hanging off the back of the boat all it needed was steering, a few pulleys and some aircraft wing cable and we were set.
Now being a newbie and not thinking we should float the boat first, I went to work on the interior (there was none) it had 2 small landings for where the floor perched. What holds it up in the middle I thought? We learned a little about stringers that day and I fibreglasses a set in, put in a floor and seats and we were ready!!!!
Painted it a beautiful red and white and installed those classic 57 Chevy taillights in the rear wings, took it to the local river and launched we did….had a great day on calm water at 20 or so MPH and everyone thought the boat was great. Next weekend went to the bay and found out the reason there were no stringers was the hull was made to flex and was worn out (the reason for being dump bound) with the stiff new hull when any wave 3 inches or taller were encountered the boat stopped in its tracks and everything would slide violently forward on the new floor. I sold the motor with complete spare parts motor for a killing, sent the boat to the dump where she belonged at the start of this story and kept the trailer.
I put a deck on the trailer and some sides and till this day she hauls my crap to the dump behind the truck that took her home. All I can say is true irony lives here.
I laughed at folks for years after that and truly agreed when everyone said a boat is a hole in the water to throw money in. I later helped a guy build a blown 500Cid rodac motor for his speedboat. I helped him on startup and break-in as a mechanic/passenger and it was fun but again a hole to sink money into.
A few months later I was at the marina to help a friend fix a V8 with a misfire. James was there and said I really needed to take the speedboat out and see what your rodac would do. I said ok and explained I knew little to nothing about boating and waterway rules. 5 guys laughed and said “just don’t hit anything” that’s the rules so off I went…it was fun wide open no roads or boundaries so we opened her up a bit, the Speedo said 52 when I slammed the throttle and the boat seemed to jump straight up 2 feet and landed haul’in ass. I lost track of the Speedo and was enjoying the acceleration when the world started to rock. You techies here call it chine walking, to me it was a projectile violently bouncing from one side to the other with me being shook like a ragdoll. I turned the key off (many have told me was a really bad thing to do) but the boat squatted and with a little spray in the air came to a halt. Now I have flown planes most men’s buts will never warm the seats of, I have driven alcohol rails and nitro funny cars but let me tell you that was the scariest and least in control I have ever felt in my life.
I since have had a shamrock keel drive fishing boat that was slow and boring and what a fuel hog….30.00 for a day out and I could ride my motorcycle for a month on that, so I sold it. Driving down the road I spotted this boat for sale, it was fast looking with a 200 Hp eggbeater hanging off the back….2500.00 later this checkmate owner was born.
Weeks later after searching through way too many "captin’ nemo" refrigerators that would have sank the boat if attached to the rear. I was walking back to my car after viewing 3 more monsters and spotted a prop hanging out the shed door, "what is that" I asked and the guy pulls this 25HP out..."it's like new I bought a larger motor for skiing" he said as he pulled a finger tight sparkplug and showed the cylinder had oil in it. I pulled the starter cord and as it ripped from my hand I heard a loud "clink,clank" my foot immediately kicked the prop with the same tinny sound. I told him I’m no outboard tech but that thing is locked up tighter than a bulls @ss. His fingers went back into the spark plug hole and produced fresh yellow oil. I told him id give him the $200.00 he wanted for one of those refrigerators for it and started walking to my truck. He asked "what do you want it for if it’s locked up"? I replied I could part it out for at least that and would have nothing to lose. when my truck started and I put my foot on the brake and hit drive the rear shook as the motor was flung in the bed..."you gotta deal" he said and I handed him the cash.
My new anchor road in the back of that truck for weeks and one day our parts driver came in and said "hey I have another motor for you" he had been on delivery and drove by a house with a complete engine just like the one in my truck set out for the trash so he grabbed it and brought it to the shop. Now having a piece of crap and another piece of crap to fix it with the mechanical adrenalin was flowing. I started to remove the lower unit and after everything was loose it would only drop ½ inch. After investigation I found the shift shaft was frozen in the housing, mmmm I bolted it back on and pulled the starter cowl, what a funny thing the pull starter worked fine and the flywheel spun freely. Put it back on and the same tinny clink was heard pulling the cord. Now all you experienced guys are peeing your pants laughing by now but it finally hit me. There is an interlock so idiots like me cant pull start the engine in gear at WOT so the boat crashes and I get ejected and drown. Unlocked the shift shaft and she ran like a beauty. Hanging off the back of the boat all it needed was steering, a few pulleys and some aircraft wing cable and we were set.
Now being a newbie and not thinking we should float the boat first, I went to work on the interior (there was none) it had 2 small landings for where the floor perched. What holds it up in the middle I thought? We learned a little about stringers that day and I fibreglasses a set in, put in a floor and seats and we were ready!!!!
Painted it a beautiful red and white and installed those classic 57 Chevy taillights in the rear wings, took it to the local river and launched we did….had a great day on calm water at 20 or so MPH and everyone thought the boat was great. Next weekend went to the bay and found out the reason there were no stringers was the hull was made to flex and was worn out (the reason for being dump bound) with the stiff new hull when any wave 3 inches or taller were encountered the boat stopped in its tracks and everything would slide violently forward on the new floor. I sold the motor with complete spare parts motor for a killing, sent the boat to the dump where she belonged at the start of this story and kept the trailer.
I put a deck on the trailer and some sides and till this day she hauls my crap to the dump behind the truck that took her home. All I can say is true irony lives here.
I laughed at folks for years after that and truly agreed when everyone said a boat is a hole in the water to throw money in. I later helped a guy build a blown 500Cid rodac motor for his speedboat. I helped him on startup and break-in as a mechanic/passenger and it was fun but again a hole to sink money into.
A few months later I was at the marina to help a friend fix a V8 with a misfire. James was there and said I really needed to take the speedboat out and see what your rodac would do. I said ok and explained I knew little to nothing about boating and waterway rules. 5 guys laughed and said “just don’t hit anything” that’s the rules so off I went…it was fun wide open no roads or boundaries so we opened her up a bit, the Speedo said 52 when I slammed the throttle and the boat seemed to jump straight up 2 feet and landed haul’in ass. I lost track of the Speedo and was enjoying the acceleration when the world started to rock. You techies here call it chine walking, to me it was a projectile violently bouncing from one side to the other with me being shook like a ragdoll. I turned the key off (many have told me was a really bad thing to do) but the boat squatted and with a little spray in the air came to a halt. Now I have flown planes most men’s buts will never warm the seats of, I have driven alcohol rails and nitro funny cars but let me tell you that was the scariest and least in control I have ever felt in my life.
I since have had a shamrock keel drive fishing boat that was slow and boring and what a fuel hog….30.00 for a day out and I could ride my motorcycle for a month on that, so I sold it. Driving down the road I spotted this boat for sale, it was fast looking with a 200 Hp eggbeater hanging off the back….2500.00 later this checkmate owner was born.
ckmate225
Active member
I was 9-10 years old I had 1970's sears gamefisher fiberglass 12' with a Ted Williams air cooled 7.5 hp. That dam fiberglass skiff weighed so much that I wasnt strong enough to pull it up on shore. Whenever we stopped somewhere I would think I pulled it up enough and 10 min later I would check on it and it would be floating out in the middle of the lake. I was to lazy to tie it up to something but was always pissed when I had to swim after it. I wasn't a very quick lerner.
JT Patroni
Well-known member
My first boat, I built when I was 13. All wood. Got a stem from an old Chris Craft 16 kit. Had decks, steering wheel and controls. Motor was
a 56 Johnson 30. Boat weighed 90 lbs and the motor weighed 110.
At that age I thought I was doing 100 mph. Don't really know how fast
it was but at full throttle everything was a blur. My father wanted to commit me to a mental hospital. Real fun boat. Used it a few times on Greenwood Lake, NY but mostly 1000 Islands, NY and the Hackensack River in north Jersey. Gave it away when I was 19 when I joined the Coast Guard in 1965. Still have the motor.
a 56 Johnson 30. Boat weighed 90 lbs and the motor weighed 110.
At that age I thought I was doing 100 mph. Don't really know how fast
it was but at full throttle everything was a blur. My father wanted to commit me to a mental hospital. Real fun boat. Used it a few times on Greenwood Lake, NY but mostly 1000 Islands, NY and the Hackensack River in north Jersey. Gave it away when I was 19 when I joined the Coast Guard in 1965. Still have the motor.
Rob'Z
Member
The first boat that I owned (not a family member) is my '87 Starflite. I bought it when I was 23. Our neighbors in MN had a '92 Starliner with a 225 FI Yamaha and it was THE coolest thing on water (in my opinion) and I knew that if I was ever a boat owner it would be a Checkmate. I still don't have any desire to own any other make.
Rob
Rob
ianz
Active member
My first was a 12ft Sterling Aluminum with a 68 Johnson 10. (the motor is older than me) First fiberglass boat was a 12 Bonzi (scaled down Cigarette) with w 35 merc....
this past weeken I drove a Talon 22 with a 250xs and was more than impressed.... I will always have a love for checkmate but the Talon was like having and affair.
this past weeken I drove a Talon 22 with a 250xs and was more than impressed.... I will always have a love for checkmate but the Talon was like having and affair.
Chris E
Well-known member
Funny!
my first boat was 1980 sterling 12 footer with a 1977 merc 7.5 electric start. Now it's my oldest son's boat. Throwing a new transom on it in the next week and he'll be boating in no time.
