Cheetah?

[Cheetah Man 3304]

I have a 1988 Cheetah 196 Fish & Ski and would love to find all the information I could on it and talk to other owners. I can't find much info on it and even Kelley Blue Book's info is a little off.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Cheetah?

Welcome to iboats!! Yes, finding information on some boats ....even some popular major brands can be an interesting treasure hunt. I will move this post to a place where it will get more attention.

Kelly Blue Book is a so so source and so is NADA but, NADA does have a listing.

The HIN Hull Identification Number will help identify the manufacturer and then you can look it up on the USCG MIC data base.

There have been a few "Cheetah" boat companies so the HIN will help.

Another great source of information is the SEARCH tab to see it there have been any other Cheetah boats discussed and played with....... check and I think you will be surprised

If you read the top 3 threads in this section you will learn how to post photos..... spend some time here and you will see we are picture junkies!! http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Anything you need parts, advice, friends....... you name it and iboats will probably help you

Once again welcome. You will enjoy it here!

So what is your 1988 Cheetah 196 Fish & Ski powered with? Do you live in an area where you can still go boating. This is really the "off season" in my part of the world in VT.

 

[tboltmike]

Re: Cheetah?

Arrow Glass made a Cheetah. A 17' 4" trihull. Not sure if the model survived an owner sell out.

 

[Ocean Airbrush]

Re: Cheetah?

An uncle of mine had a 20' Cheetah bowrider. Pretty impressive family runabout with it's 350/alpha 1 combo. Thing would knock on the door of 60mph and jerk skiers up on slaloms with ease.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Cheetah?

One of my boats is a 1985 18' bowrider made by Cheetah, out of Tennessee.

Welcome to the site!

 

[tboltmike]

Re: Cheetah?

One of my boats is a 1985 18' bowrider made by Cheetah, out of Tennessee.

Welcome to the site!

Arrow Glass's full name was Arrow Glass of Memphis. But they sold out in the late '70's to Day Marine and then to Eldo, but kept the Arrow Glass name. However, their HIN's changed.

Not sure how long they kept the Cheetah line or if there was a style change.

My avatar is a '75 Cheetah from AG of Memphis.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Cheetah?

Arrow Glass's full name was Arrow Glass of Memphis. But they sold out in the late '70's to Day Marine and then to Eldo, but kept the Arrow Glass name. However, their HIN's changed.

Not sure how long they kept the Cheetah line or if there was a style change.

My avatar is a '75 Cheetah from AG of Memphis.

My placard says:

B&D Manufacturing
Pleasant View, Tennessee

Any connection to what you mentioned?

 

[TableRock#1]

Re: Cheetah?

CHEETAH 196 F-S, I had the same boat for 9 years. I was the third owner, Cheetah 196 F-S Merc 150 xr2, lifetime trailer, minn kota troller. This was my first big boat and motor, the boat meet my needs at the time I had young family at the time so boat was great,lots of room. My only problem I had is no rod box, did have a ski storage in middle that double as rod locker. The boat was not fast only about 45-50 mph but was rated for a 200 hp, never had the cash to upgrade to 200hp. Had a lot of fun with the Cheetah, ski,tube, fish even fished a few tournaments out of her. Had one big problem with it, gas tank started to leak at the seams, metal tank, had to replace. The Cheetah took a licking but keep on ticking, had a great nine years with it. With my family getting older and I feeling the need for speed we put it up for sale. It sold in a week, I had a hard time watching the new owner pull her away. Two weeks later we went and bought a new Triton. There are days I wished we had the ole Cheetah back...Good luck with your cheetah. PS- I tried to find the Cheetah boat company when I first got her to find info but they were long out of business...

 

[tboltmike]

Re: Cheetah?

My placard says:

B&D Manufacturing
Pleasant View, Tennessee

Any connection to what you mentioned?

No Connection. Might try fiberclassics.com

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Cheetah?

I have an 86 Cheetah 19' bowrider. It's a nice boat, but it's sitting in a barn with a rotten transom, motor mounts, and deck. I love the way it looks and it's very roomy, but unfortunately it's not worth fixing up to me. I've never seen another Cheetah other than mine.

 

[Cheetah Man 3304]

Re: Cheetah?

Thanks to all the replies, guys! Bob VT, I am a state wildlife & boating officer here in Tennessee so I get my share of quality seat time (sometimes way too much) . We've got plenty of opportunities to hit the water around here and some pretty good year round fishing too! I needed a cheap boat to crappie fish out of, and the wife threw in the condition of being able to pull the kids behind so I compromised. I still feel I came out a winner!

I'm in the process of getting on ebos for more boating specs, etc. I've found out through some of my contacts in the industry that NADA tends to be a little varying in their accuracy of specs and appraisals. For instance, NADA showed that Cheetah quit making my particular model (196 Combo) in '86. Mine is an '88 with an XR2.

Once again, thanks for all the great feedback and keep it coming! I hope to make alot of new friends on here. And, if I can be of any assistance to anyone don't hesitate to ask.

Brian
Dayton, Tennessee

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Cheetah?

Okay....I'm Jealous! It's 2 (yes, two) above zero and the lakes are starting to freeze fast...... going to be even colder tonight!

Yes Nada is really so-so on the brands that changed hands or are no longer produced..... if it does the job that you need then it works

 

[Willyclay]

Re: Cheetah?

The link below is to the USCG MIC database. It only displayed one MIC (CHT) for Cheetah Boats when I looked. However, it shows them still in business since 1972 with a location change in 03/89. I called the telephone number listed for my boat's manufacturer who had been out of business for ten years and was able to speak directly with the owner. Try the Warranty Dept. and see what they might be able to tell you. Good luck!

http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic.aspx?company=Cheetah&sort=mic

EDIT: Left click on CHT in the lower line of "1 Articles Found" to get the details.