dereknkathy

looking at one. TRS boat. judging by specs and appearance it looks like they tried to find a halfway point between the 24-7's and standard 8.5 beam boats. wondering if anybody has any experience with these hulls as far as ride, speed and durability. posted in checkmate section also.

rhamor

Owned a 87 enforcer with 454 & alpha one drive. Good smaller lake boat but when is started boating on erie the deadrise just wasn't steep enough.

billy boats

I had a 85 24' enforcer . TRS drive with a 454 approx 400 HP . The boat had a pad bottom and was pretty fast for its size. 78 mph . I'd say it handled the rough water about the same as any other boat of its size. The Checkmates of that era were known for cracking from the corner of the windshield to the rubrail . It's been a long time and a lot of boats since I had that one but I remember it fondly

dereknkathy

rhamor, post before you had an 87. pretty sure completely different hull after 86. and i guess i would rather the top cap crack than the hull...

Too Stroked

I used to work at a Checkmate dealer and the Enforcer was a pretty well built boat. It didn't ride all that well and most folks claimed they were going a hell of a lot faster than they really were due to the speedometers of the time. I'd stay away from a TRS boat and the 454/330 Alpha drive combination. The TRS was just too darn heavy and the 454 / Alphas blew up pretty quick if you weren't real gentle with them. The small block / Alpha drive boats were nice, but not real fast. The limited number of 454 / Bravo boats they built were pretty quick.

If it's in really good shape, drive it first to see what you think of the ride.

dereknkathy

it is dead and less than the price of the TRS and trailer. so it is a pig in a poke. but not an expensive one. that is why i need a couple of opinions from guys like you with no dog in this fight. thanx. so a real 24-7 like a pantera-carrera-excalibur is a significantly better riding boat?

machloosy

a true 24/7 is significantly better riding (for the size) but I have always struggled with how God awful cramped they are. In my opinion, a 24/7 is a 2 person hull. A checkmate can get along with 4.

Sunrocket24

iTrader: (1)

I agree with machloosy on how cramped the 24/7 is, I never have more than 4 people on mine. Everything has to go in the cuddy for a day out on the water, coolers, etc.