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My seats are the same and could swivel but as you can see they are so close to the edge of boat that they will only turn about 2”. They are like a sit down only bolster seat I guess.

Should still be able to spin them around. The driver seat is a pain because of the wheel but the passenger seat should be no issue. Go counter clockwise. Mine are just as close. Not a great angle but you get the idea:

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Haha, I'm lucky that I can park mine next to the house, though it was a consideration when we bought the place. Cleaning definitely gets addicting and boats are definitely harder than cars. Don't get discouraged by everyone on here. There's a lot of gorgeous boats for sure. But also a lot of trailer queens that get used four times a year. Also a lot are either brand new or original owners that love them like we do and took care of them correctly. Some of us inherit previous owner neglect and just work on improving it. Post up some pictures for sure! I have plenty of blemishes and not so pretty spots to restore, just reality is all.

Very well written.

And many are cared for by others.

One of my favorite parts of buying used boats, cars, motorcycles is, what you end up with when we’re done.

We buy cheap because we can do that work and/or, it’s the only way we can afford what we want.

A couple yrs ago my wife was sick of me working on, and *****ing about my multi yr boat restoration project.

So she suggested we buy one that’s ready to go.
Partially in fear of losing my man card if I said OK, I agreed.

We bought a 25’ Checkmate 454/Bravo boat, as clean as any I had seen.
I then spent a month working on it!

She was *****ing about it to our friends one time and said, we buy this beautiful boat and then he still spends a month in the shop Garyizing it!!!

Notice the name on it😂


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Hahaha that's an awesome story. Unless it's your passion and something you love to do, you won't understand. My wife's the same way. Love the checkmate. My brother has a 242 convicor with a 5.7 and the little bugger bought it before I did. A comical annoyance because I've always been the one into boats and he is my younger brother... But he is the cool uncle with no kids, lol. Really looking forward to both of us out on the lake with both boats in the coming years making memories. I'm sure we will have a blast. I almost had to not tell him he is running the wrong prop on his boat and could pick up 3-5 mph... I need to be faster than him, lol.


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I am with you guys 100%. I definitely don’t need new, but I do like what I have to function well and look good for its age.

Up here in MI the boating season is so short, I feel you have to have a project to work on to help the dreaded winter seem to go quicker. I love to head to the back garage, turn the heat up, radio on, and work on the boat. My wife knows who my mistress is and she is fine with it!

Exactly.

Mine is in a heated shop behind my house and is my therapy.

On the functionality, we mostly do Lake Eire and a 25’ boat on there………, you need the weather to be on your side but also, having a boat you can trust is paramount!

Often we make it to our destination Friday night snd it’s nice.
But Sunday for the return trip, maybe not.

Making that decision when you have a boat you’ve been through from stem to stern……, is totally different than one you just bought.

Also the satisfaction of what you ended up with Vs what you started with.

Enjoy your first boat! You will remember it forever. No matter what may follow the first will always be the one and only first.

Checkmate MX 13, will never forget that one some 55 years ago. Would die for that one back today!

Hey CW, haven’t heard from you in a while, just curious if you had a chance to sea trial her yet? Hope your having fun working on and figuring everything out!

Hey bud! Not yet, been cleaning it up a bit, replacing bulbs (thanks for the bulb parts list btw), fuses, etc. Doing water pump impeller and spark plugs this week if the weather holds up and starting it up on the hose to make sure the pump re-install went fine, but supposed to rain so might do it next week. Planning on splash day to be on April 8th weather depending.

Stoked to run it though. I was going to give it a full 2 step paint correction and wax but pollen is starting in so I'll have to wait about 3-4 weeks for the pollen to die down.


Of course I had plenty of brews and hung out on the boat while cleaning it. Hit 80 last weekend here. 🤣. I'm ready!!!!!

Prob going to reupholster all the interior cushions to freshen up the cabin a bit.

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Noticed how well the faria tach looks compared to the factory VDO gauges in case anyone needs to swap any out and was curious.