Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Because this is a Checkmate outboard, there seems to be this misconception about the size; it's why I had to go see it myself.

This video from Peter's Marine where the guy walks around and through the boat will better show the overall dimensions. We've been seeing flat, sleek, 16-21' Checkmate boats our whole lives, so we can't get our brains to erase that type of boat from our memory. This might help get our brains around more of a true, V-bottom outboard with some size to her. This boat has all the 'sleekness' though.

And here is a Scarab 26.

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Hard to tell how tall he is. I guess you could stand in it... you will definitely be much more in the wind.
The bow space is awesome... love the gel coated storage and the anchor locker. Fit and finish appears to be top notch. Interior has tons of room and storage. Ice chest would barely hold beer though..LOL
We hang out on the back of our boat when at the lake... swim platform and sun deck, can't imagine not having that. I long for a boat deep enough to stand at... after a weekend on the water my low back is talking to me. Its hard to have it all. In a perfect world i would live on the water with a boat house and 4 or 5 boats to suit every need LOL.
Good luck with whatever new boat you get.

 

[CC245]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Nice boat! It seems to fit most of your criteria. One small issue that I was wondering about is how many people do you usually boat with? With your Scarab and most go-fasts the cockpit only holds 4-5 people. So everyone has a good seat for the hammer down runs. That Checkmate has the huge bow so you can bring more friends along, but then what do you do with them when it's go-fast time? It seems like your getting alot more room than the Scarab, but not anymore passenger capacity. Not a big deal, but I know what it was like going from a go-fast to an open bow. I used to have an excuse to only bring 4 people, now everyone wants to go out because I have all that room. :facepalm:

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Wife and four kids.

The rear bench of the Checkmate is bigger than the rear bench of the Scarab.

I go with the wife and four kids ... or four adults w/out kids. Been boating a long time and I don't need to deal with six adults unless I own a cruiser.

 

[CC245]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Wife and four kids.

The rear bench of the Checkmate is bigger than the rear bench of the Scarab.

I go with the wife and four kids ... or four adults w/out kids. Been boating a long time and I don't need to deal with six adults unless I own a cruiser.

I hear ya, I like to keep the numbers small myself. You will just have to get a big stick to beat away all your friends when they see that pretty Checkmate with the huge open bow.

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Here's an update after the dealer sent someone to inspect my Scarab, which I am attempting to sell outright or possibly sell via broker (them) or trade in:

The Scarab got a pretty good review overall. Not a true survey, but the Checkmate dealer was willing to buy her practically sight-unseen, but sent out his field guy to look her over. She is winterized, and dealer is willing to accept her as a trade without running her. His guy showed up and did all the usual stuff.

My Scarab has a two round hatches/access on the cockpit floor. He opens that aft round 8" hatch and the glass is sort of rough at the edges. The hatch is in the aisle and get walked over constantly. The guy claims this hatch was added by someone to air out moisture. Well, I know it wasn't me, but I got on the net and got some other Scarab 26 owners to email pics of their floor and bingo: They have two hatches and the aft one is beat up, because it's practically unsupported around it and is in a terrible location.

He was about to haul the Scarab away and then dropped the price 3500 bucks because of this! SAY WHAT?!

Well, deal off for now. Yeah, I can send in pics to the dealer and proof that there is nothing awry here, but even if the dealer offers me some more, then the boat I am buying suddenly will be harder to discount.

The Checkmate fits all my needs, but in the background I am still comparing, etc. I've contacted other dealers and even Wildman (well-known Checkmate dealer/enthusiast) down in Florida who has some nice deals with his custom rigging and jackplates.

We are locked into the 24-foot range, outboard, and open bow. Budget is 50-60k.... if you have any other suggestions for boats I might be missing, let me know. It's gotta look slick, too --- the wife is totally on board if it meets all criteria.

.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CIGA...r_Motorboats&hash=item5890da0967#ht_727wt_843

Too big??

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Way too big!

UPDATE, while I am here: Trying to get more of a fair market value for my boat. Who knows, maybe she'll sell in the off season. It's all math now, between paying for the Scarab over the next 5-6 months vs what I get on the market now, later or via a trade right now.

Just a big game. I might get X for the Scarab in trade but have a ton of leverage as the Checkmate factory sits idle around Xmas and wants boats to build. When they get busy in March, I might get more for the Scarab and find out the law of supply and demand at the Checkmate factory means ridiculous discounts are no longer around. Then ya got interest rate issues that could rise, 401k loans and well... I could be dead tomorrow...

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

I might have a buyer for the Scarab.

Couple of updates: The Scarab's deadrise is 23? and the Checkmate is 22? and got two very good reviews for handling chop and snotty water.

On the Checkmate, I've decided on this equipment:

>Optimax 300xs
>10" hydrualic jackplate
>dual batteries
>some fancy shmancy stuff like color keyed bezels and steering wheel
>high speed bimini
>alum trailer
>bow filler cushion (not a fan, but wife is)
>high-speed bimini

This paint scheme (let me hear it... I want to hear it):

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

That color scheme is completely badass.

 

[QC]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Good thing you got the high speed Bimini twice. That will help . . .

I love the red . . . but my experience is, and the facts are that red fades faster than anything else. I'd go with a primary white and blue accent color scheme. The blue does not fade in comparison to reds at all. And yes, I am talking gelcoat, but even more obvious with canvas. Walk any Marina.

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Good thing you got the high speed Bimini twice. That will help . . .

.

Bwahahaha. Good one.

I know the red deal, but I see two local red trailered boats 'round these parts that are from the 90's and darned if they don't look sweet still!

The only time this puppy will see the sun is when she's in use. She'll be garaged! Still gonna think over your comments, QC.

~Phil

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

That color scheme is completely badass.

I am thinking about QA's remarks and the issue about red fading. If I swap in blue for the red, I think it'll look just about as bada$ss.

Thoughts?

 

[Blue Crabber]

That's a really tough call. My favorite color scheme on a boat has always been Navy Blue with a splash of yellow. (Like a pin stripe for example)

However, my current boat has a lot of red in the interior and I love it. Red can look really sharp on a boat if it's kept in good condition.

From the sounds of how you are going to use it, I don't think you would have to worry about the red fading to much. And by the looks of your current boat, it looks like you keep it in really good condition.

Bottom line, I don't think you could go wrong with either one!

Looking forward to seeing it at a raft-up next year

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

That red,black,white,silver color scheme looks frig'in awesome !!! The best combo of the ones you have showed so far.

I looked at buying a solid red gel-coat boat here in Texas last year that was 15 years old. It was well used, but well kept and still looked new. If you are a clean and wax once a season kinda guy i bet you will be fine. Especially if stored indoors.

That thing looks like its haul'in butt just sitting there!

Now those trailer rims are a different story, puke !

 

[QC]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

I had a boat that was primary white and blue, with 5 or 6 shades of red and pink that looked really sweet. Covered and waxed it's entire life. I replaced the interior, and when I removed it all of the red based gelcoat stripes that ran under the interior had faded and none og the blue shades had changed at all. I did some serious rubbing compound type work and it brought the reds back some, but it had faded deep into the "gelcoat" so I could still tell where the interior stopped and started, but again, only the reds and pinks. This gelcoat was not oxidized either still as shiny as new. That experience is why I always comment about red. To be fare, the faded reds and pinks still looked pretty, and again, they were still glossy, but definitely faded when the blues didn't.

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Yeah, the trailer would be alum and the wheels wouldn't be anything close to that.

Here are some more pics.

 

[lamphega]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Go with the red. I had a red/white Larson for years and never saw any fade. Take care of anything and keep it out of sun and you will be fine. Looks great-if I had the dough I would get exactly that boat.

 

[Philster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Boat name: since the Checkmate logo is the black Knight from the chess set, I've come up with this name:

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Talk me out of... err, umm... or into this boat purchase...?

Boat name: since the Checkmate logo is the black Knight from the chess set, I've come up with this name:

That name sounds about perfect !!! It's plural, so are you sure it reflects your first mates personality ???