1986 Checkmate Starflite

Drewski

"Invictus Maneo" - I remain unvanquished!
DTT SUPPORTER
DTT BOTM WINNER
Well, for me this just might be the "project to end all projects"...

:p

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I say that because in order to get this done, I'm going to have to sell off a good number of bikes. In fact I'll likely sell all of them except for the 'Faux' z1. :-\ That one's a 'keeper'. :)



Boats are actually my 'first love'. I grew up with summers on the lake. Swimming, canoeing, boats and water skiing were all part of that growing up. It was an idyllic time of life for me and my family. 8) My brother, Seaglider, still owns the old family cottage and it's amazing to be able to still go there and remember all those tremendous times! :D

Some time back in 2000 or 2001, I took possession of the old family runabout. It was in a sad state of disrepair, and really worth nothin'. My bro decided he wanted something a little more modern and sporty and bought his own rig to ski behind and cruise the lakes.

I took the old boat, rebuilt it (with considerable help from some pros) and re-launched it in 2003. It was a blast to get it back in the water and re-live some of the 'old days'. A couple of years later, we were buying a little business and needed every nickel to do that, so the old girl had to go! A very sad day! :'( But the truth is, it was too small for the kind of boating I really wanted to do, so it was time to move on. :)

From there however, I got back into bikes in 2005 and resurrected my kz1000 that had been sitting for over 20 years and bought a h2b 750 Triple to 'mess with'. I've had some amazing times with those bikes and other 2 wheeled projects over these last 12 years, may of which have been chronicled here on the pages of DTT. :D You folks have been a big part of those years. :-*

As I've now reached my 60's, I've come to the place where I want to get back into boating. Partially because my wife also enjoys it, it's something we can do together and along with other non-biking (or biking!) friends. ;)

So, here we go... on to phase II... or is that III? Probably more like IV or V, but who cares?!? I guess more accurately it's Phase Next! ;D


Here's the 'original' circa 1983:




Here it is in 2004:






Let's get this show on the road! ;D 8)


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Now I'm going to have to start a build thread too!

Good looking boat (both of 'em).
I bet it will scoot with that 225 on the back.
What's the plan?
 
SONIC. said:
Now I'm going to have to start a build thread too!

Yes. Yes you do! ;D



SONIC. said:
Good looking boat (both of 'em).
I bet it will scoot with that 225 on the back.
What's the plan?

Well, I'm sure it does scoot pretty good with that 225. However, my plan includes a late model Merc Optimax 250, properly rigged and set up if all my 'ducks line up'! ;) ;D

The first order of business is to access the integrity of the floor, core, stringers and transom. I've been down this path before and it's not worth scrimping here. :) Then it's the cosmetics including carpet, upholstery, gel coat, hardware, etc. It doesn't ALL have to be done right away. Some of this can be put off until later, depending upon how much needs to be done structurally and how much of it I can do myself. :D
 
its a great little boat

i had one with a two thirsty five johnrude and a land and seas hydraulic jack plate

it would fly

had to have the transom rebuilt as it cracked but that was no biggy
 
Late model 2 strokes are crazy expensive !! My dad was thinking about replacing his 250 Merc till he started pricing them !! :eek:
 
That Checkmate was made here in Bucyrus, Ohio. Next time you come down this way (Mid-Ohio is right down the road.) hit me up and I'll take you out there. Baja Boats was here too, but they went under. From what I hear Checkmate still produces, but I guess they are only made "to order".
 
ridesolo said:
That Checkmate was made here in Bucyrus, Ohio. Next time you come down this way (Mid-Ohio is right down the road.) hit me up and I'll take you out there. Baja Boats was here too, but they went under. From what I hear Checkmate still produces, but I guess they are only made "to order".

Yessir! A trip to Bucyrus, Ohio sounds like fun! :D
 
Drewski said:
Yessir! A trip to Bucyrus, Ohio sounds like fun! :D
That's the funniest thing I've heard all day

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
ridesolo said:
Yeah, it's not a terrible place, but Disneyland it aint! :D :D :D

Ever since they shut down my favorite Chinese buffet, Bucyrus has been dead to me lol
 
HURCO550 said:
Ever since they shut down my favorite Chinese buffet, Bucyrus has been dead to me lol

What can I say, they ran out of stray cats:

"Moo Goo Meow Pan"
"Sweet n Sour Siamese"
"Tabby Lo Main"
"Maine Coon n Bean Sprouts"
"Manx Fried Rice"

Yup, they had all the classics!
 
HURCO550 said:
Ever since they shut down my favorite Chinese buffet, Bucyrus has been dead to me lol


Haha! Well, 'favorite Chinese buffet' and 'Bucyrus, OH' don't seem to belong in the same sentence either! ;D
 
Well, not much done on the restoration yet. :p Still pluggin' away trying to sell a couple of bikes for descent money before the snow starts to fly. Not the easiest thing to do, but with a little patience...

:D



I started to get at some of the simplest work. The vinyl needs to be removed off the hull and deck so that the gel-coat can be wet-sanded and buffed. Hopefully, the gel is deep enough for us to get the shine back! :D



This is what we're starting with:

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This is what it looks like after some of the vinyl is stripped:

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You can see what the original 'red' gel looks like under that vinyl. The years have taken their toll. :)

It's pretty tedious work as the vinyl has tons of nicks and cuts in it. Most of the starboard side came off in tiny pieces. :p A heat gun and patient, gentle work with a flexible scraper eventually yields the desired result.


BxMSdMv.jpg



A few hours labour and I'm half way there. The port side is still left to do. 8)
 
As mentioned at the beginning of this thread, my desire is to eventually re-power the hull with a much newer Merc 250XS, maybe a 2010 to 2012 version.
Something like one of these!?

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Of course, if I 'strike the mother-lode' a 300 OptiMax XS would be the ultimate! ;D

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In the meantime, I've offered the '86 Johnson 225 VRO "out there" on a few websites. I've had a few nibbles but no serious bites. Not shocking, considering the time of year and the fact that it IS an older unit. :) I'm considering keeping the Johnson for a season or 2 now. It'll need a thorough 'going over' so we'll see after that.

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Lots to think about and to keep me engaged in the process. :D
 
Before you dive in too deeply on the finish you might want to consider looking into Poli Glow. The fiberglass end caps on the 5th wheel camper I just bought were needing some serious attention. I researched this stuff and decided to try it. We're very happy with it. Originally made for boats and now popular w/ just about any application that has fiberglass needing attention. Scrub on their cleaner and wash off, then wipe on the finish stuff; it sort of reminds me of liquid floor wax. Keep applying additional coats of the finish until it looks right. First time will probably require 6-8 coats but then once a year after you'll only need a couple of coats to maintain it. My '02 5th wheel looks great. People look at and and think it's new. There are several good You Tube vids on it.
 
ridesolo said:
Before you dive in too deeply on the finish you might want to consider looking into Poli Glow. The fiberglass end caps on the 5th wheel camper I just bought were needing some serious attention. I researched this stuff and decided to try it. We're very happy with it. Originally made for boats and now popular w/ just about any application that has fiberglass needing attention. Scrub on their cleaner and wash off, then wipe on the finish stuff; it sort of reminds me of liquid floor wax. Keep applying additional coats of the finish until it looks right. First time will probably require 6-8 coats but then once a year after you'll only need a couple of coats to maintain it. My '02 5th wheel looks great. People look at and and think it's new. There are several good You Tube vids on it.


Once we get the chalky areas matching the original red, that sounds like a good plan! :D

Thanks for the input! 8)
 
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