I just dont get it, you have Checkmate guys going nuts on their forums claiming the new boat is crap and cant hold a candle to a "real' Check, you have Baja guys on their forums claiming the new one will be inferior to "the real thing."

No offense to anyone, but we are not talking about MTIs, Outerlimits, Cigarettes, Panteras, or Apaches here. Checkmate and Baja are both entry level performance boats, people need to get over it.

Exactly.

I restarted this thread to get honest comments from the Baja guys without the boat bashing back and forth.

Not everyone shares the same views, some people agree and some don't. People will defend the brand of boat they own. You are never going to get everyone to share the same views. Some people like to stir it up a little, don't take everything serious, have fun. As far as the new Checkmate, I allways liked the H2X, so I also like the new Checkmate version except for the seats. I think they could of changed the deck or something to make it their own. I hope Baja and Checkmate both make it through these tough times, it will be hard.

I get that, but for a Baja owner to call a Checkmate crap, or a Checkmate owner to call a Baja cheap, that is just the pot calling the kettle black.

And it seems all of them are building their boats up to be better than they really are.

"And it seems all of them are building their boats up to be better than they really are"

Come on, we all know Baja's are better than Checkmates.

Ive always been a fan of both brands for obvious reasons. I didnt realize the Checkmate/Baja rivalry ran so deep until reading some posts on the Checkmate Forums. Its not fair for them to assume all Bajas are poor quality though. For example, the 2000 29 Outlaw my brother (XT) owned until he sold it last FEB. That boat has seen more rough water than you can imagine. If we entered a Poker Run, we seemed to always get the roughest water possible. The best was out of Cleveland when guys in their big bad Apaches and Cigs were putting them back on the trailer, and we stayed out there with a small handful of boats to finish the run. Anyway (getting lost in thought here!) I remember looking at his boat the last time it was in the factory to get winterized thinking about how well it was built, and sitting in there with those new boats coming down the line, it could have passed for a new one. I felt the same way after crawling all over Docks 36 and riding with him in Port Clinton.

What the heck is wrong with those seats?

(Quoting myself)

I guess its like being a fan of both the Bengals and the Browns!

Haha, Im sure the Check guys would say the opposite. I have no experience directly with either in terms of build quality, but in general I prefer the look of the Bajas. The H2X definately is not my favorite Baja though.