Good Day
 

I have always wondered how a 259 Convincor would run with a Baja 25 Outlaw. Today I finally had the chance to fulfill that curiosity. While exiting the Marina I noticed an Outlaw zoom by. I decided to pick a race and it was on. I pulled beside the Outlaw at about 55MPH (speedo) and gave a race signal. The driver of the Outlaw gave a positive head nod and off we went. The Checkmate slowly started to pull away. Don't get me wrong the boats were similar in speed, but after a mile or two the Checkmate was a couple of boat lengths in front. After running out of room entering a no wake zone the Baja pulled beside me and asked what I had for power. A 454MAG I replied, and no response. I then asked what he had for power. He responded, "same thing". Well hot damn, I thought, you just made my day.
Go Checkmate,
Rob

Re: Good Day
 

When I had my stock 454 Magnum, I ran a 27 Baja a few times with a 502. The results were the same as yours. I would egde him out a bit everytime.

Re: Good Day
 

Why are the Checkmates outrunning the Bajas with the same power? Maybe this is to general of a statement, but since I just outran a 25 Outlaw with the same power I am going to run with it. Common sense would tell me it's weight, any thoughts?

Re: Good Day
 

Could be a million factors,weight,fuel load,propping,anything.My 272 baja stock with a 502 went 65 propped perfect w/virtually no fuel,62 w/full tank and 3 people. I hear that checkmates porpoise at part throttle and bajas usually don't due to hook built into the hull. If thats the case and you had a 25 outlaw and 259 side by side w/same power AND they were identical in weight then the checkmate would outrun it every time IF it had less or no hook in the hull. I had a friend with a sunsation aggressor w/330hp 454 with just a cam and no other mods,his boat was 7 mph faster(68-72mph) than my boat stock with a 502,of course his boat was only 7 feet wide too,Smitty

Re: Good Day
 

They've always been running faster than same size Baja's. Your 259 is 4000lbs, the 25OL is 4750lbs. Your 259 has a narrow bottom (approx. 6'-3" wide at transom), the 25OL is almost as wide at the bottom as it is at the hull/deck joint. Your 259 has a far better overall hull design, aggressive strakes, tapered transom, weight shifted more to the rear, natural bow lift, and so on. Not that the 25OL is a bad design, it's actually easier to drive than the 259.

I'm surprized you weren't out in front of that Baja even farther...I'm wondering if he actually had a 502 in it. I own a 259 that runs low 70's (72 GPS) with a 496HO/425hp. I know one guy with a 25OL with same power and runs low 60's, might hit 65. I know another guy with a Baja 272 with 502/415hp that runs mid 60's also.....I can actually squeak by 25' Bajas with HP500's, honestly. Even though I am a Checkmate fan, I truley think the Bajas are a decent boat, there are many of them where I live and I am just as familiar with the Baja models as I am the Checkmates, they are just a little slower.

Re: Good Day
 

Narrow bottom, I never thought about that. The beam on the 259 is 103 inches according to Checkmate but the bottom is narrow due to the tapered hull design. It gives the appearance of a wide body boat from the topside but it actually has a narrow running surface. I am learning more about our boat everyday. Good stuff.

Re: Good Day
 

RJBBC, maybe it was driver skill? :rolleyes:

Re: Good Day
 

My 25OL with HO does 69 on GPS, if others are getting low 60's they're not driving the boat.

Re: Good Day
 

I doubt that. Not on GPS and Not with 425hp / 496HO..... If you are being honest, that is an exception. I'll give you 65. There are tons of 25 OL's around here, I'm around them all the time. Never seen one push 70 with stock power. With HP500's they run low 70's....

Re: Good Day
 

I doubt that, although I have logged 180 hours behind the wheel so I am getting comfortable with the WOT trim. :eek:

Re: Good Day
 

Rob, your boat runs very well for a stock single engine boat. If I remember right, I had my hands full running you in my 24 Outlaw with a 502. If you decide to pump it a little you'll lead the pack on our pond!

Re: Good Day
 

The goal this week is to get at least 300 hours out of our current powerplant before we start pumping the displacement and compression ratio up.

Re: Good Day
 

This was with two adults and a full cooler....and please note the fuel level.

Re: Good Day
 

We witnessed a Baja H2X run 109MPH at the 2005 LOTO Shootout, wow. Maybe a big power Checkmate owner can step up next year.

Re: Good Day
 

You're just the man to do it. No offense, but I'll just watch from the sidelines when you bust 109! :eek:

Re: Good Day
 

i am a big checkmate fan and im a baja owner. i own a 25 ol. i was going to buy a zt28. i know checkmates are li1ghter but some are faster then others. i have two friends that have checkmates and every time we go out im the one in front. both checks are 25s not sure what years. one is a 1988 or something but the other is late 90s. 88 has a 454 and the late 90s has 502. i have 496 ho and i seem to pull a little more then they do.

Re: Good Day
 

I was going to say the opposite. There is a 27 Baja around where I boat with a stock 502 MPI , fairly new, not sure what year. Anyway, when I had my stock 454 Magnum, I ran him a few times and always was a bit faster.

Re: Good Day
 

mayb the 20 or so more years of designing hulls? :D

Re: Good Day
 

by far the checkmate is a better and faster boat i am in both factorys about once a month so i see them from ground up :drink: :drink: