15ft Checkmate

[tb2054]

BILL I was gona make some dumbass comment,,, but then I looked at your page,,, wow very very nice stuff ....same for me one more bucket list

[Baja170]

This might be a moot point, but if you were to want to do a restore on a small V-Pad boat, this would be about as easy a restore as one could do, IMO.
Even popping the deck off and rebuilding the transom was no sweat.

I have done 2 of these Checkmates, a 15' and a 16'. Both were Mid 70 models.

Not a complicated design, floor glassed to hull, no stringers, no balsa core to replace, "if" my memory serves me from about 40 years ago . My Checkmates were this way and easy to do.
The 15' was my first ever restore. If you can measure and cut wood, and can mix and apply fiberglass, you can do this boat. It is not a complex design.

What makes this one even easier is that if the gel-coat is decent, you won't have to repaint. That might ( will ) require more expertise than the glass work.

Yes, it will be rough in any kind of choppy water, but so will most any 15' light fast boat. Great boat even way overpowered!!

I put 200 Merc's on both the 15' and the 16'.

A trailer for a boat that small would be inexpensive as well. Whole lotta fun for a few bucks !

James

Thanks James. I think I am going to find an old hull and get it going. I have a 91 200EFI to put on one. Our lake is not that rough and I would love to restore one of these old Checkmates just to have something old on the lake. It seems like people with money on this lake just go for the cookie cutter new stuff that sucks honestly. There are no cool boats on the lake. I think my Cougar and the Shadow will be the coolest two on there. Nobody seems to appreciate the older 70-80's boats anymore they just let them rot away or bury them if they have a skid steer or backhoe. It is kinda sad. When I was growing up on the lake I was always drawn to the cool old stuff that actually had striking lines to them. My Dad always got production boats because he was not a mechanic he was a doctor. I was the one who always maintained our boats unless they needed skilled mechanic work. The Shadow is a start an 85. My Cougar is a 99 but I hope to sell it to fund a project that is an older classic. I can't really do wood boats because they are way too much maintenance for me because I don't leave anything but our pontoon in the water. I want a very cool old boat with a screaming 200 on it just to see people's reaction and for the satisfaction of doing it myself.

[Scot naughtin]

Hi Bill just wondering if you have any Feathercraft boats you would be interested in selling thanks Scot like 12' or 13'