metriccrescentwrench
Commander
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 2,598
As if one boat project isn't enough, I'm getting a second one tomorrow. I'm nearing completion of a transom replacement on my 15 ft fish-n-ski, so we'll soon have that boat ready to use for the rest of the year.
Tomorrow I'm getting a '79 Checkmate Eluder. I'd always kinda' dreamt of having a Checkmate since I was a teenager when a friend of my dad's had one. My wife wants something with more room than our current boat, and since the Eluder is an 18 ft. bowrider it fulfills her requirements. This boat came up for sale (without an engine) very recently, and cosmetically it looks very nice (especially for it's age).
The current owner has told me that there's a soft spot in the deck near one of the bow seats. I've learned enough to expect there to be more work involved than just replacing one small section of deck, so my plan is to take however much time is required to go through this boat and make it mechanically perfect before even thinking about putting her back in the water.
SO... Would there by any chance be anyone on here who's done work on a Checkmate Eluder and might have some photos to post? Any little tidbits of information I can gather on how the stringers are laid out, etc. etc. etc. will help me out. (Yes, I've also been looking on the checkmate-boats web site, but for knowledge about restorations the people in this forum can't be beat).
Tomorrow I'm getting a '79 Checkmate Eluder. I'd always kinda' dreamt of having a Checkmate since I was a teenager when a friend of my dad's had one. My wife wants something with more room than our current boat, and since the Eluder is an 18 ft. bowrider it fulfills her requirements. This boat came up for sale (without an engine) very recently, and cosmetically it looks very nice (especially for it's age).
The current owner has told me that there's a soft spot in the deck near one of the bow seats. I've learned enough to expect there to be more work involved than just replacing one small section of deck, so my plan is to take however much time is required to go through this boat and make it mechanically perfect before even thinking about putting her back in the water.
SO... Would there by any chance be anyone on here who's done work on a Checkmate Eluder and might have some photos to post? Any little tidbits of information I can gather on how the stringers are laid out, etc. etc. etc. will help me out. (Yes, I've also been looking on the checkmate-boats web site, but for knowledge about restorations the people in this forum can't be beat).