Shah Mat

What were the differences besides the beam?

LIOPA

Have you looked at the NORDIC 25 ?

Faster ...Great Bottom.....Less Money then the Baja or Checkmate

BURNSMAZZ

The bottoms on the two are pretty close,but that's about it,from the water line up they are completly different,beam,deck,cockpit has more room as well as the cabin with the 253.If it is a 253 I would keep what you have,if it's a 251 the 25 Outlaw is quite a bit bigger,heavier and would ride better in the rough the Outlaw rides real flat the 251 tends to porpoise a bit.The 251 power for power will be faster, the 253 and the Outlaw would more comparable.The 253 is now the 270.

mjpcowboy

I would not buy either until you took a test ride on a busy day at the Ozarks. I know someone that had a 25 Outlaw on the 12 MM and would not take it out on a weekend has since been sold. That lake as you know gets very rough and you need to test a boat in those conditions to make a educated decision.

CFD5

I had a 97 272 w/ a 502 mag. Sold that boat and bought an 01 25 Outlaw w/ 496 HO. The dealer let me have the boat for the day while down in Cumberland on a houseboat trip. I drove the two on the same day. The bottoms may look similar and I'm not sure of the exact difference, but the Outlaw is way better in the rough than the 272. The 272 is a bit faster in smooth water, but the 25 will beat it in the rough. There was a group in a 25 Outlaw at the Chicago poker run. They said 4-5' water, not sure but it was rough. I remember looking over thinking that guy was nuts. He hung in there with the best of them and looked like he was having a blast.

hharris

ive had my 89 251 checkmate on the main channel at LOTO for 7 weekends this summer so far including the shootout and both holidays, we allways stay between the 7 and 28mm and will definately say i can hang with any 25 OL in the rough stuff and by the looks of it when were side by side, im definately riding smoother! the narrower beam is the key to the smooth ride in the rough stuff allthough i dont like the lack of cockpit space, i do like the 63-65 mph with a stock 330hp carbed 454!!

my 251 will only porpose on perfectly (like glass) smooth water, and even then its only at 38 mph, i little tab or acceleration and it goes away, so ill just cruise at 35 or 45mph!

my 251 is for sale and there is no way i would trade up for a 25 OL, allthough they look a little more appealing the difference does not add up to much, im going to upgrade to atleast 29ft,

ive also noticed alot of 25 outlaws at LOTO are all beat up pretty bad, ie: cracked floors,cracked dashes, missing cuddy doors and hardware etc.etc.
i have yet to see a checkmate cracked up!

ALL just IMO!

articfriends

iTrader: (1)

I would agree the 25 outlaw is marginally better than the 272 in rough water but either boat SUCKS in anything much more than TRUE 3 footers with any kind of chop,it isn't like the 25 will ride in 3-5 footers the same as a 272 in 2-3's. Ive driven both boats and own one of the 2 and i could not tell any real difference when set-up identical. They both have a ill-fitting drop in liner that will crack,rattle and fall apart if subjected to much rough water use let alone what it does to your back,neck and legs,Smitty

mpally

It is a 1988 251. I must have typed 253 because I have also been looking for those also.

Shane, there is no way we will get into a 2000 25 OL for $10,000 and a 88 251 Checkmate. The boat is 12 yrs newer, bigger engine, and has better equipt (gauges etc). We are limited in size to around 25 to 26 ft because of our dock. We actually only have a 20 ft slip but we can manage a 25 ft in there.

hharris, 65 with a stock, carbed 454? Is that GPS or speedo? We have that same package and we don't even see 63.

Thanks for all the info.

CFD5

Smitty, like I said, I had both. Both were great boats but the 25 would smoke my 272 in any water but glass. Maybe my 272 was set-up wrong, maybe something else. I could run my 25 with alot of bigger boats in the rough, I had to tighten screws in both of them after but I felt much more comfortable in the 25.

hharris

hey mpally, where at in STL are ya! im in arnold, my 251 is for sale and will be parked in arnold this weekend!

http://www.speedwake.com/classifieds....php?a=2&b=599

63 was GPS at clearwater lake on memorial day weekend,2 people and a cooler, but you cant get any nicer water conditions than that!


65 is on the dream-o-meter, which bounces around, but ive ran next to several boats in this same speed range that are solid 65mph boats and we were side by side the whole way! like the big dicks run last friday!

i have only Gps it once, due to i do not own one, that was a borrowed hand held from a freind just to get an idea of what the boat will do, being the speedo isnt too accurate at all! its got the white plastic pickup on the back of the transom and it likes to kick up and read really slow!

so it will top out at 63 gps confirmed, 65 might be stretching it, but im sure its possible with one person, 1/4 gas, and no cooler! with a tailwind