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New checkmate Guy!! Which one to get

J

Jet Mate

New member
Hello everybody,


I have owned numerous boats over the years but I am new to Checkmates. I am interested in a sportfire and a predictor. I am kinda torn between the two. Both of these boats are more of a project but I have done quite a few boat builds and am familiar with transom/stringer/floor rebuilds. I dont mind the projects, they are very rewarding when finished. Plus I save money. I have 2 motors, a 94 johnson fast strike 150, and a 89 merc 135 black max. I am curious if anyone's experience can help me out with the best combo before I get into the build. I will be riding the mid Hudson river in NY. It is tidal and calm days are far and few so the little bit beefier sportfire appeals to me. However I don't want to sacrifice performance also. I like to dock my boats for a few weeks at a time and pull out to clean it. So the weight of a big motor hanging from the back concerns me also with the big ocean liners that occasionally fly through a no wake zone. Any thoughts or input would be appreciated on which setup between the 2 boats based on owners experiences.



Thanks.
 
I will say that with the same motor and prop, my speeds increased the longer the Checkmate I got. I went from Predictor to Eluder to Enchanter. I would be worried about docking a Predictor with a V6 motor on the back, not much freeboard back there at all.
 
Checkmate sold a ton of 135 Merc powered sportfires. It’s actually a nice little package. In 1990 I bought a 89 sportfire with a inline 90 on it, upgraded to a fresh in-line 150 and my buddy with 135 V6 on his sportfire would drive circles around me.
Sportfire has a pad not sure of the predictor, and I like the update look of the sportfire vs the dated lines of the predictor.
The only problem was the damn passengers grabbing the top of the windshield to hang on and they would pull up separating the frame from from the glass.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I ended up picking up the sportfire. Seems like this model starthed the updated looks of the mates moving forward. It came with the merc 135 on it but has a blown piston. I have my 94 150 fast strike built so I think I will give that a run and in the meantime rebuild the mercury. I am doing the floors and the transom. Floor was rotted, transom was wet but surprisingly not rotted. Very good job by them sealing it in. The transom wood runs about the entire width of the boat so I am going to pop the entire top off the boat so I can get it and seal the new transom in good. The paint and outside is great and will polish right up.
 
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