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New Guy from Maryland

J

jbodensteiner

New member
Hi,

I posted a question last week and realized that I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Joe and I am very new to boating. I am about to purchase waterfront property on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that has a dock and 1,500 lb. boat lift. Because the creek in my back yard has a 1' MLW level, I'd like to get a small boat (after all, I'm new at this!) that I can use any time of day without worries of the tide.

I've been researching all different types and makes of boat on-line and stopped when I saw a Checkmate -- I found exactly what I was looking for! I hope....

I'm interested in getting a smaller Checkmate with outboard motor that will get me in and out of the creek to bigger water (for the real fun!) and that I can put on the existing lift. I hope I'm not out of luck, because these boats look good (and fast), even when sitting on a trailer.

Recommendations?? Thanks everyone!

I hope to join the Checkmate Owners Club soon.

Joe
 
welcome Joe....well 1500lb lift not good for much more than a 3 seat jet ski I'm afraid so ?? what was the checkmate you saw ? model year etc ? Rob
 
I have to disagree on this one. A 1600 pulsare with a 125 fits the order with some change left over. A 2000BRX and 115/125 will also be in this weight range. In the older models, the Predictor and a few others would be close to 1500 or less. My 2000CD and 225opti is only 1700 to 1800 range.
 
One of the smaller (16 - 18ft) Mates might be doable on that lift but would be right around the max. I believe a 21 Starflite is right around 1400lbs with no motor or gear so with a motor your in the 2000lbs range. I would imagine one of the smaller ones with a 4cyl outboard would be right around your capacity. Im going to assume that the 1' water is where you dock and that it gets deeper out a little? I would think you might have trouble getting the boat on the lift in just a foot of water but I never used one so I don't know for sure.

John
 
I do like some of the older Predictors I've seen online for sale The price is right and starting with a smaller boat may be a good idea for a beginner like myself.

Any issues with a Predictor travelling about 1/4 mile up and down a creek not on plane in 1' of water? If no problem, I may have found my the answer to my dreams! Actually, my wife is the first answer to my dreams, and my kids are #2 and #3, but this would definately be answer #4!

Joe (the Dreamer)
 
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on picking up piece of waterfront property. It's a nice way of life.
As for the question of using a 1 foot deep waterway for accessing real water. I would think that anything with a propeller is going to have issues. A Predictor could probably float in 1 foot of water but the question is how are you going to propel it. Back when I had my Predictor I remember a few times that I took it real shallow and slow with the engine trimmed up so far that it couldn't even take in cooling water. Sometimes it worked, sometimes I was stuck and had to get out and push. Certainly it's not recommended for a variety of reasons. (cooling, manueverability, noise regs, prop strikes, etc.)
You might be best off looking at something with jet drive like seadoos or jetskis. I could be wrong and I'm sure there are those who would disagree but that's my opinion.
If you're really heartset on a Checkmate (like so many of us here) here's an idea- Get a jetski (you can name it your "Checkmate Mate") and use it to tow your predictor (engine up) up and down the creek. When you get to the main body of water you can anchor the jet ski and leave it there as your tender. Much like the tugs that bring the big boys in and out of crowded harbors and channels. I'm just sayin'.....
 
Thanks Sim,

Good advice. Fortunately the 1' of water is at low tide, so I will usually be working with more. And I might have more depth a few feet further from my dock, but I just don't know yet. I like the idea of using the jetski when needed (because that too is part of my master plan!!). Would a jackplate help much?

And as I saw referenced in another thread, I will not be taking out any "porkasaurus" at low tide!

Joe
 
I was wondering about the tidal thing myself. If 1 foot is your absolute worst case scenario you can always take tides into consideration and work with it.
If it was me I would go for it! :bigthumb::bigthumb: (That's a double thumbs up emoticon).
 
Maryland guy also

Hay, welcome. Like some of the guy's have already said, a foot of water is not much to operate any boat in with a prop. Even if you purchased a jet boat, I would not want to do it on a regular basis because you will be sucking mud and sand into the jet drive. An out board has to pump water through it also to cool the motor. You can damage the outboard water pump as well as the prop and lower unit. :thumb:

"72" Jetmate:
http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14018
 
Welcome brother Marylander!
Dredge it out. I'm sure its not cheap, but hey if you live on the water its useless if you can't use it! Everyone I know that lives off the bay on the rivers has it done every few years. My neighbors with shallow water and big boats basically have paths dredged to get out a little to deeper water.
 
welcome Joe. a predictor would be a great first boat and if you trim up and idle without pushing a wake you should be OK. I also boat on the eastern shore and access a creek to the Sasafras river which gets very low at low tide but have no trouble with a trimmed up outboard just taking it easy. good luck and welcome aboard.
 
Thanks. I hope to be living on the Wye River by the July 4th weekend. The tides typically rise about a foot from MLW twice a day. I really like the Predictor, but if Checkmate makes a similar looking model at 16', I'd be interested in that too. I'm assuming that if I stay away from a 200 HP outboard (which would likely act the same as an anchor at 1' foot of water), I should be able to ease in an out of my dock. I think I have deeper water less than 200 feet away.

Now to find the boat....

Joe
 
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