I think it will be worth the haul. I understand an Awesome Powerboat Regatta will be going on at the same time, nice bonus. If you have to choose one weekend next year I would recommend the weekend before Labor Day. The LOTO Shootout is outstanding.

The only thing I would worry about is the weather that time of the year. It could be cold or raining and that is a long haul with a boat to sit and watch rain fall.

thank's for the good tip's

checkmate454mag,
You should consider running your boat in next year's shootout. I understand it is a long haul from NY, but many people come from CA and FL to participate and witness the event. You would have alot of Checkmate fans pulling for you. Checkmate had a strong presence in 2005 watching others race, but no boats participating. The class your boat would run V1M1 is competitive, however I am sure your boat would run with the best of them in your HP range. If you would like more info on the event you can visit www.lakeshootout.com

RJBBC,
Yes it would be nice. I do have the means of getting there but I think it is just toooooooo far away from the East coast. My luck I would get there and break the drive the first day out.

Being too far away is a legitimate concern. Boat or no boat I think you would enjoy the event.

I heard he is a dork.

Chi-Town Huslter used to be a Checkmate. 710hp - 253 Convincor. 91 mph

Good to see an old Checkmate owner chime in. How did you get 710hp out of your Checkmate? We are considering repowering our 454MAG or buying a cat, any recommendations?

502 gen VI block, reworked & bench flowed the heads, Isky cam, B&M 6-71 Mega Blower, Nickerson 850 Hollys, MSD 7 series ignition,JE pistons, Corilla Rods, Lunati crank........

Don't repower Checkmate unless you go stock Merc such as 500 or 525. Checkmates run out of boat.

Don't buy a small cat unless your nuts.

35 V-Fountain 38 Cig TG or 35/36 cat with stock power. Look at a boat purchase as a 3 year investment. Buy it and sell it in 3 years. The boats true cost is the difference in $.

Mark

Nice hatch scoop on the Checkmate. Our re-power was originally planned to be less than 600HP, although your insight is much appreciated. A smaller boat is appealing to us for two reasons, water sports and the size of our local lake. We can only hope one of our boating friends (RainorShine) pulls the trigger this year on a 36 Cat so he can give me a ride.