Re: Restoration Question...
What kind of Checkmate did you get?
I recently finished a total rebuild of a '79 Checkmate Eluder (now just sorting out engine issues). Take a look at my restoration (and others) at the Checkmate forum and you can get an idea of what to look for.
http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15673
Yes, Checkmates are built really really well. Unfortunately they're not immune to neglect. One thing Checkmate has always done well is gelcoat, being 31 years old the gelcoat on my boat is still in amazingly good shape. You'll also learn that the hull is cored with end-grain balsa which gives a very strong yet light hull. Some manufacturers who used that method of construction had problems with the balsa getting wet and rotting after several years, but there are precious few instances of core rot in Checkmates (only when some idiot puts a screw through the hull and invites water in).
Since yours was left sitting outside I'd really poke around the flotation boxes in the rear looking for any sign of softness, check for any sign of soft spots in the deck, and moisture in flotation foam.
Also, you need to join the Checkmate forum, there's people on there (including people that work for Checkmate now or have worked at Checkmate in the past) that can answer any specific questions. What I've found is that there's probably more knowledge about generic fiberglass repair, etc. here on iboats, but far more knowledge specefic to Checkmates (as would be expected) on the Checkmate forum.
