'95 Checkmate 2100BR / 1995 225 Promax

[JW]

Just purchased from original owner. He has it rigged for ski, with just the stock CMC manual jack and a 23" Tempest prop. No bow cover. He has seen 68 on GPS.
I'm going to add a bow cover, add set-back, get a bigger Tempest or Chopper or Trophy prop. Keeping it simple and stock. Not shooting for all-out top speed or drag racer hole-shot, just better all-around performance.

[aaron bjerke]

Did you sell your other checkmate? I am curious what type of speed you can get out of it now? I run a starflight ( which is slower ) with a 200 merc and want to find something exactly like what you got. Just curious what did they ask for it?

Looks awesome! Congrats!~

[delawarerick]

It looks new really nice. Good luck boat is immaculate give some performance numbers when you test it. Rick

[JW]

I raised the jack plate to the middle and ran it Sunday in the cold. 6200 rpm, speedo said 78-79. I figure closer to 70 true. Propshaft is approx 3.5" below the pad now. Wind was screaming up the bow into the interior. I'm checking with Checkmate for a factory bow cover this month.

The boat wasn't advertised for sale. The previous owner noticed a post I did a while ago where I said I was selling my Persuader and wanted to replace it with a Pulsare BR. He contacted me and said he was considering selling his and named his price. I offered a couple grand less after adding it up on NADAguides.com, and he agreed to it. I ran over to Milwaukee and grabbed it! It was a fair price for both parties. He took the time to take several digital pix and described the boat accurately. He took fantastic care of the boat. I'm picky, and this package looks like a one year old well cared for boat, not a 7 year old well cared for boat! :D
Love it!! So far so good. What a great package. I've wanted one of these since 1994!

[Checkmark]

I have the same thing except it's a closed bow and no deck rails.
Took it out last night and the speedo said 80 before it started
walking like crazy and I had to back off. I think I have to raise
the engine on the plate. Nice rig huh? Enjoy!

[JW]

This is the best Vhull I've ever driven. I tightened my steering, and the Promax has solid mounts, so I have zero chine walk with this boat even when I have it trimmed high. Propshaft still deep, about 3.5" below the pad. It handles the large wakes much better than my Persuader did. I think they got the 21' hull dialed in pretty good. Did you know they plan on replacing the Pulse line with smaller versions of the Pulsare? I also like how thick and beefed up this small transom is. I'll have no worries adding setback.
I like the closed bow style and speed better than my open bow, but I got spoiled with the open bow Persuader's people carrying capacity. I can stick 4 kids up front! Or how about 8 skinny supermodels spread out all over the boat :D

[Checkmark]

I measured mine last night, and I'm at 3.5" below the pad also.
I am fine at 6100 r's, but once I start to trim a bit more, she starts
walking hard. I have solid mounts and Hydraulic steering. Tried to
drive through it several times to no avail. I have 11" of setback,
so I think I'm going to raise it 2 bolt holes. I have all kinds of downward travel if I need to bury it. I'm running a 25" Mach right
now, but will probably buy a Trophy or Hydromotive T4-X thru hub,
once I get rid of my other props. I added a Hydraulic Cook jack to
the manual that was on the boat. E-mailed Cook, and they said
they designed the two to work back to back, so it was easy to
bolt up.
I know of 2 guys (now 3) with this same engine/boat combo, and
they both run Trophy 24" 4 blades right near the rev limiter of 6750. Both are running 76-78 on GPS. One has 8" of setback with
the engine at 1.25 below pad, the other 11" with 1" below pad. A
Merc mechanic told me that these engines are built to be run at
or near the upper operating rpm range (6500) or your losing %10
of your horsepower. I also disengaged the oil injection on mine, since it has a nylon gear on the crank that can strip at high RPM.
I plan on running it in the 6500-6700 range.
Don't ya just love it!!

[JW]

Raised it to 1.5" below the pad. Tach now gets to around 6400, still trimmed pretty high. Was losing water pressure at medium speeds, even with negative trim. I pulled it back down to around 2" below the pad, that might be pretty good for only 5.5" setback. No idea what speed, the speedo line came out of the lower unit tonight. Too much pressure I guess :D

I'm wondering about my 23" Tempest. It's the original version, not the Plus, and it's been re-worked. I'd love to try a small hub Tropy Plus and a 25" Tempest Plus back to back to see how it runs. No chine walk still, but a little more steering torque. Not nearly as much torque steer as my 23" Laser II though. That prop does NOT work on this boat/motor combo. Not enough diameter I guess.
I do worry about the oil injection at this rpm, but if they made the motor to spin to 6500 per the manual, then the injection should be good for that. Maybe disconnecting it would be a good winter project.
I have a 10,000 rpm mercury tack, I want to trade it for an 8,000 tach. 10k tach kind of wasted on a motor that'll never see 7k.
How often do you bleed your steering? I have a friend with a closed bow Pulsare and a 300PM. He bleeds his every couple months to keep it tight.

[Checkmark]

I haven't done anything to the steering yet, but I will check for
play. It's a hydraulic, and I know it doesn't have much play, but
will check it out anyway. Could be letting that engine slop just enough to get things rockin'.

I would also like to test a Trophy and Tempest for comparison. I have 4 props now, but only the mach 25, and possibly my 26 chopper reworked into a lightning will work with this hull. I have a 28 chopper and a 25 cleaver that I will sell. Tough trying to figure out which will work best. I want one to run 90% of the time with good overall performance, (a 4 blade like a trophy or hydromotive quad 4) and a top end prop, (tempest or the cut chopper).

I just raised the engine to 1" below pad at it's highest point. Still need to have the gearcase re-sealed, so I'm out of the water this
week. Driving me nuts! I need seat time, not mind racing time!

I had the speedo tube fly off on my Enchanter a few years ago as I was hanging it out. Freaked me out, and I jerked the wheel and almost came out of the seat it rolled so hard. I put a hose clamp right on top of the speedo fitting.

How was the Checkmate tour? I was out there, but didn't have the time to do that. Did you see Shannon's boat? NICE!!

[JW]

When we broke for lunch, he took us over to the T-hangar that he was keeping it in. It is the hottest boat I've ever seen, all red with the white/black stripes and a 300PM hanging on the back. After that, I returned to the factory and got over 60 pictures. I still have to do an article, but will probably wait until the Pulsare is put away for the winter. Bill Combs gave me the run of the place. Unescorted.
Keep that Mach 25 until you FOR SURE find a better all-around prop. The Mach line was supposed to be one of the best for a Checkmate style hull configuration. Is the Mach factory or re-done? If you decide to sell it, LET ME KNOW.

[Checkmark]

I figured I'd keep the Mach, and maybe have it blueprinted if it
proves to be a fast prop. I have about 1/2 hour of actual wide open seat time, so I still don't know what I've got yet. Waiting
to get it back and run it with the engine raised. The Mach looks
rather ratty to be honest. Blades don't look uniform, although it
hasn't been repaired or nicked in anyway. Still haven't got the
other props on the board yet, need to do that.

Wish I had taken the tour when I was out there. I've talked to
Mike Combs on the phone several times, and he has always been
very accomidating. Shannon's boat was a beauty, and I loved the
idea of running 90 with the 300. Just to good a deal on what I
got. Figure I can trade up to a 300 in a few years if need be.

[JW]

But if it sucks MORE gas than this 225 Promax, I'd have to take out a loan to feed it! I can burn through 20 gallons of Premium so easy on a Saturday. Good thing my lake is only 330 acres. I got used to that Persuader with the 4.3 I/O lasting forever on a tank of gas. IF gas prices go up and up, one of those heavy direct injected models may be the ticket..........

[Instigator]

Beauty boat Bro!!
Every time I go out to work on my paper thin, Kleenex weight Vector I think about all of the deals I see on the Checkmates!
Something to be said about being able to run 70 - 80 when ever you want for as long as you want:D
Has Shannon run his boat with the 300 on it yet??
I have'nt heard anything.
Gary
P.S. You guys are right though, I met him up at Lake Erie one weekend last Summer and he had his boat with him (last years Rumble too), it is gorgeous!!

[JW]

I guess it's scaryfast :D. He's been playing with props, trying to dial in the top speed versus hole shot trade-off.

Believe it or not, his plan now is to sell the red closed bow rigged with the 225 3.0 motor, and buy a beautifull white with blue and yellow Pulsare bow-rider from his dad/B.C. and hang his 300 on it. You might be interested in the red one! I'd bet he'd make you a heck of a deal on it.
Here's a shot of the one he wants from our C'mate tour (the one you should have gone to!):

[Instigator]

That things ORAGASMIC!!!
Yeah I know, tried like hell to make it up North for your get together.
Just been spreading myself too thin lately.
Hell, I can't afford to pay attention let alone buy another boat!
Gary

[JW]

I needed some professional lighting but of course I have none. Here's a close-up that shows the color better..

[Checkmark]

Why the switch to a BR? I thought his boat was just as nice.
How's your dial in going?

I've had mine up to 6400 with the 25 mach and the speedo reading 78. I'm hitting the sweet spot about once every 5 attempts! Between the jack and the trim, I end up breaking loose
with the mach alot. About an 1"-1.5" below pad seems best to
me with a little positive trim. Hard to tell how much lift I'm getting,
as the curved nose of the Pulsare is misleading. I'm going to try
my 26 Chopper so I can compare to my Enchanter. The chopper
used to lift that hull pretty well.

[JW]

But I did bury the jack plate again. Been pulling my daughter and her friends (and even me :D) and I wanted the prop to hook up at 2500 - 3100 rpm range to save a little gas. There's a 400 rpm difference between it running 'loose' and 'hooked up' at that speed.
I was worried about this promax when I bought it, but it's been fantastic. This motor runs like a dream. My only complaint is the gas mileage, but you gotta pay to play. As soon as I find a 8" setback bracket, I'll add that to it.

I think Shannon is going to the bow rider because they are just so dang practicle! And he is going to put his 96 225 EFI back on the red 96 pulsare and sell it as a package, and hang his newer 300 PM on the back of this 2002 hull. When you're slow-boating with friends, you just can't beat that open bow. It definately hurts top end though...................