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New to me 86 Exciter

Ramifications

Ramifications

Well-known member
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Despite the approaching hurricane, I drove to DE on Friday to pickup the new (to me) 1986 Checkmate Exciter. The drive down was smooth and traffic free, not to mention toll free since everyone was evacuating.(they made all of the tolls free to keep the traffic moving) However, there was a lot of north bound traffic, and knew I would spend some time in it on the way home. I made it to the boat, where everything went great! The boat and trailer are in better condition than I expected. I hooked up the trailer, tested the lights and off I went.

I put the cover on the boat in prep of the hurricane, since she will sit outside until I get my garage organized. The storm passed without and problems for me. Come Monday I registered the boat and installed the license plate. One step closer to splashing her. I also picked up a new battery, since it didn't come with one.

My goal is to get the boat in the water this year to get a starting point for this winters projects. I ordered a new starter, Since the existing isn't working. Hopefully that will be here by this weekend and allow me to take a ride on Sunday or Monday.

I plan on doing the minimum in the next month or two, but this winter I want to redo most everything. All new gauges, Interior, Stereo, wet sand/buff/wax and rewire everything. Maybe next year there will a new 200hp Mercury on the back.

What are your thoughts at this point? The floor and transom appear to be newer, from what I can see. Is there anything I should check closely or plan on replacing/redoing? The motor has a hydrofoil currently on it. Should I remove it, or try it with and without to decide?
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welcome! ......no battery and non working starter? did you hear the engine run before you bought it?
 
SippyRat said:
welcome! ......no battery and non working starter? did you hear the engine run before you bought it?
Click to expand...

I did not hear the engine run prior to the purchase. I feel as though I got a fair deal, regardless if the engine runs. The boat is in overall good shape and the previous owner took good care of it, stored it indoors and has all of the service records. I will take his word for it that the engine will run once the starter is replaced, of which, I will find out soon enough. If not, the deal wasn't as good for me! Either way, I will be doing a bit of work to the engine this winter.
 
Nice looking boat (and dog). Are you primarily looking for speed or also watersports? A hydrofoil helps my predictor get on plan quicker and provides some stability, but it did scrub 1-2 mph of the top end.
 
OzarkKing said:
Nice looking boat (and dog). Are you primarily looking for speed or also watersports? A hydrofoil helps my predictor get on plan quicker and provides some stability, but it did scrub 1-2 mph of the top end.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment! Funny you noticed the out of focus dog in the background. I'm not worried about water sports, nor top end, at this point. Of course I will want to go fast, after all, it is a Checkmate! Just looking for the pros and cons of the hydrofoil for now. Thanks for any and all advice!
 
SippyRat said:
welcome! ......no battery and non working starter? did you hear the engine run before you bought it?
Click to expand...

After I finished my "honey do" list for the day by early afternoon, so I started on the boat. I install the new starter that came in the mail yesterday and cranked it over. It turned over and sounded good, but no fire. I checked voltage on a few things and all checked out ok, so I pulled the plugs and cleaned them. After that it sputtered a little, so I moved on to the carbs. I sprayed a little carb cleaner in them, and let it sit for awhile. After ten minutes I turned it over again. Bingo! She fired right up and ran well. I will drop her in the water tomorrow and take a test ride with a buddy boat just in case. I will post pics tomorrow of her in the water!
 
Nice boat looks just like mine. Hope the test drive goes well. I'd call checkmate and see what they want for a matching rear seat. Enjoy!
 
Just put the boat away from the test run! Things went well, and she ran ok. I had a buddy boat tag along for the just in case factor. Once started, it had a bit of a rough idle, and it continued through about 1500 rpms. Once above that point it ran perfect. One thing I did notice was anything above the 1500 rpms it was moving water through the "pee hole", so I cut the ride a little short as a precaution. It rode and ran well for the short period a had out, so I'm happy everything thus far. Tomorrow I will remove the lower unit to check/replace the impeller and clean all of the lines along cleaning the low rpm jets. While I'm at it, I will likely change the lower unit oil.

I didn't get any action shots, but I get a couple from the ramp while we were waiting for others to get theirs boats in the water:brickwall:. Comical to say the least! The others are from back at my house after I washed it.

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Nice buy and it sounds like the price was right. What part of NJ are you in? I'm up on the NY side of the NY/NJ border and boat on Greenwood Lake all the time. Also wondering how you came across the boat? Craigslist? A buddy of mine from work is getting ready to take the plunge and buy a Mate.

John
 
atc250r said:
Nice buy and it sounds like the price was right. What part of NJ are you in? I'm up on the NY side of the NY/NJ border and boat on Greenwood Lake all the time. Also wondering how you came across the boat? Craigslist? A buddy of mine from work is getting ready to take the plunge and buy a Mate.

John
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I have been looking on and off for the past two years, but never pulled the trigger. I kept an eye on this forum, ebay, craigslist etc... I found this particular boat in several locations, but ultimately bought it on ebay. I live in southern NJ near Philadelphia, Moorestown to be exact. Next year I would like to meet up with fellow forum members and do some group runs!
 
I wanted to get some feedback on an idea I have. I'm looking to install a few things on the boat this winter when I update the boat. I plan on installing a VHF, GPS, Stereo, new gauges and switches. I want to have everything flush mounted because I don't like the under mount look and didn't want to cut everything into the dash.

I was thinking I would fabricate a mahogany panel to go centered between the two front seats but below the dash area. This would put everything in a central location for both the driver and passenger and the mahogany would match the floor access hatch. I would also be able to install the sub behind the panel to have it hidden and keep it from blasting in your face. I would also install the switch panel in the same area, thus allowing me to relocate the tach to the location of the stock switches. I noticed when I was out it was difficult to see where it currently is.

My thoughts on wiring everything; I'm going to run a conduit under the gunwale on the starboard side for running all of the wires. I'm going to install a battery selector switch under the rear seat with a feed to a distributor behind the dash area. There would also be a switch to fire up the amps and other electronics, along with the other necessary switches. I would also leave a pull line in the conduit, similar to the way wires are run in a larger vessel. The pull line is three times the length of the conduit, allowing you to pull it each direction without pulling it all the way through.

I basically just putting all of my thoughts down, so pardon my rambling. My main question is, what do you think of my idea for the wiring and mahogany panel? I will tackle the question of a VHF antenna and speaker location at a later date, unless someone has an idea...

Thank you for any and all input!

Spencer
 
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