First time out in L.I. Sound-Checkmate 259
 

Put the 259 Checkmate Convincer in the big water for the first time today from all fresh water inland lakes. There is definately something really nice about being able to plan going "Somewhere" instead of the usual local haunts. The boat was definately a bit light and caught some air, but the hull seemed pretty solid structurally. Does anyone else run out here on a regular basis with similar boat?

were in the sound do/will you run? My boat is almost back in runngon condition. I am on the northshore of LI between glen cove and oyster bay. When she's runnind i am in the sound all the time.

i jst looek dup skaneatles NY on mapquest and it appear to be way upstate. Did you move south or do you just like to trailer 8 hours to the sound?

I use to own a 259 checkmate It was like a large waverunner in the ocean! I often wondered if the
K-planes would have made a difference rather than them little sissy trim tabs

I have a 259 with k Planes. they will keep the nose down.

I had a 98 253 with a Procharged 502 and used to run the Sound all the time. Used to go around Orient Pt., thru the Gut. The sound can be unpredictable. Lots of big swells, sloppy chop and boat wakes can make for an exciting ride. The boat definately likes to fly. It handles water well but has it's limitations. I had it for 2 seasons and the boat developed alot of stress cracks and things started to come loose. I was very happy with it but feel it could be built a little stronger.

I just moved to Westport CT from Skaneateles NY...little bit different out here ! We ran from Norwalk to Bridgeport and anchored in a cove called Cockieco (i think). I was commenting yesterday on how the tabs seemed pretty much worthless (and it was really the first time I've ever really needed them). How big of a production is switching to k-planes? Puder, let me know once your boat is back together - we'll have to get together.

definatly.

As for converting to k-planes it isn't taht big of a deal. Check out the eddie marine billet trib tabs. I installed them on my boat. They look good (and stonger than merc parts) and were 1/2 price of merc kplanes alone. Plus they came with trim pumps for $1600. Just remove your bennets, fill the old mounting holes with gelcote drill the new hoels for the planes and bolt the new ones in place. Just make sure that you place them so you avoid drilling into any stringers. If you do get eth eddie marine parts orer the hardware from mcmaster or some other hardware supplier. Eddie marine doen;t supply that and i found that the normal bolts (with hex heads) were a tad big for the mounting plates and had trouble fittign a socket wrench on them. It woudl be way easier to get socket head bolts. good luck.

when my baot gets rungnian again i'll let you know!

Thanks for the info. I'm going to look into the Eddie Tabs. In the mean time I made the mistake of stopping at Ocean Performance. They have some really nice larger used boats that might not be too far out of my price range. The finance rates seem pretty damn good too....
We'll see.

JROMY, do you run the dual-ram Bennetts? If so, I'm currently offering an upgrade for both the single and dual ram kits. They simply bolt up to your original tab mounts. Overall length is just over 18" for the dual ram and about 14" overall length for the singles. Both styles measure 12" wide and taper down to 8" at the tip. I've had great success and reviews with this new product. Let me know if you're interested. $399CDN.-dual $379CDN.-single

Shown are a couple of prototypes just out of the paint booth.

Brian Kamrath