PetefromTn
New member
Hey guys and ladies,
I am new here, just found the site while pondering my next toy purchase. I currently have a nice Older Nacra 5.2 catamaran sailboat. It is tons of fun and it is not in terrible shape for its age. The only problem is my wife does not like it. I LOVE to sail this boat but it makes her nervous especially coming into the pier to load up. Therefore I am now putting the Nacra on Craigslist and looking around for a more simple boat preferably something speedy and easy to handle that she will also enjoy. I started looking at Craiglist boat sale ads and happened upon several older 70's and 80's model Checkmate boats. We ALMOST bought a Checkmate when we lived down in florida years ago. So I started to look around and found that there are quite a few nice examples that appear to need minor work for reasonable prices. There are also many that appear to need MAJOR work for super cheap. I am seriously considering getting one and fixing it up for my family boat/pleasure speeder/ski boat. I like the looks of these things, SLEEK and look fast standing still LOL... I am unsure of what model really yet as they all look nice and sporty. My wife really says she wants a bowrider version so perhaps that is the way we should go. Cannot remember the name of those models but I would love to find a running decent shape 80's model bowrider Checkmate boat for a reasonable price. I am a fair fabricator and run a custom shop building all sorts of cools stuff for customers and I even have my own Vertical Machining Center as well as pro quality paint equipment so I THINK I can tackle this project. I am even familiar with fiberglass work.
So anyways I thought I would drop in here and ask you guys for suggestions about what model boat to buy, looking for something 19-20 foot I think since I have two kids and stepkids as well. What model would you recommend and what are the point to look for/problem areas of these models? Are they a good solid boat that will last if I put some work into prettying it up or are they prone to problems? I just got this stupid grin on my face just drooling over the pictures of some of the nicer ones for sale. They look so damn sweet and fast I cannot wait to get my Nacra sold so I can purchase one. Thanks and nice to meet all of you. Peace
Pete
I am new here, just found the site while pondering my next toy purchase. I currently have a nice Older Nacra 5.2 catamaran sailboat. It is tons of fun and it is not in terrible shape for its age. The only problem is my wife does not like it. I LOVE to sail this boat but it makes her nervous especially coming into the pier to load up. Therefore I am now putting the Nacra on Craigslist and looking around for a more simple boat preferably something speedy and easy to handle that she will also enjoy. I started looking at Craiglist boat sale ads and happened upon several older 70's and 80's model Checkmate boats. We ALMOST bought a Checkmate when we lived down in florida years ago. So I started to look around and found that there are quite a few nice examples that appear to need minor work for reasonable prices. There are also many that appear to need MAJOR work for super cheap. I am seriously considering getting one and fixing it up for my family boat/pleasure speeder/ski boat. I like the looks of these things, SLEEK and look fast standing still LOL... I am unsure of what model really yet as they all look nice and sporty. My wife really says she wants a bowrider version so perhaps that is the way we should go. Cannot remember the name of those models but I would love to find a running decent shape 80's model bowrider Checkmate boat for a reasonable price. I am a fair fabricator and run a custom shop building all sorts of cools stuff for customers and I even have my own Vertical Machining Center as well as pro quality paint equipment so I THINK I can tackle this project. I am even familiar with fiberglass work.
So anyways I thought I would drop in here and ask you guys for suggestions about what model boat to buy, looking for something 19-20 foot I think since I have two kids and stepkids as well. What model would you recommend and what are the point to look for/problem areas of these models? Are they a good solid boat that will last if I put some work into prettying it up or are they prone to problems? I just got this stupid grin on my face just drooling over the pictures of some of the nicer ones for sale. They look so damn sweet and fast I cannot wait to get my Nacra sold so I can purchase one. Thanks and nice to meet all of you. Peace
Pete
