![]() The engine has approximately 60 hours on it since the upgrade of the engine which now produces 725 dyno measured horsepower.Ģ8' Convincer with a 548 big block, 725 HP. All systems function as they should as per the seller. The boat is stored in a barn and is cleaned after every use. He’s also the former editor of Sportboat magazine.The boat is in expected condition for its age or better. ![]() Trulio is the founder, editor-in-chief and publisher of, a daily news site that covers the high-performance powerboat realm. He wrote for Powerboat magazine for 17 years and was the magazine’s editor at large until it ceased publication in 2011. Matt Trulio is an award-winning journalist who has covered the high-performance powerboat world since 1995. “Bill Combs built a brand that is incredibly popular to this day,” says Smith. “A Checkmate was like a Corvette,” he says. I have a 16-footer out there from 1967, and it still runs pretty good.”īut performance, says Combs, was every bit as important to the success of the Checkmate line, as construction quality and durability. You know, our warranty claims were less than one third of one percent of gross volume. The concern of our workers over how the boats were built was a major contributor to our success. Checkmate was a close-knit kind of thing. “When I go into the plant, a lot of the guys and girls I had are still working there. “The ladies in the plant who do lamination are the daughters of the ladies who did it when I owned the company,” says Combs. I think Doug Smith has the stuff to make it go. Dean Reynolds is the plant manager, and I believe he’s doing the design of the new boats. Kip is the sales manager and he also handles the scheduling of boat construction. “My sons have never worked for anyone other than me, except for Doug,” says Combs. Combs’ sons are still with the company, along with Dean Reynolds who Smith brought with him from the Baja days. Six years ago, Combs sold the company to Doug Smith. After all of the small outboard-powered boats were complete and gaining popularity, Checkmate added an 18-footer-it’s first stern drive (called the inboard/outboard)-and later on 24-, 26- and 35-footers, all of which rode on conventional V-hulls designed and tooled, including mold fabrication, in house at the company’s facility. While the 16-footers attracted plenty of dealer attention-the first was in Long Island, N.Y.-for Checkmate because of their performance on the racecourse, Combs and his investing partner, Bill Downard, knew they had to expand the line. This 18-footer is the smallest model Checkmate still builds. “My mechanic said, ‘Why not Checkmate? When you say Checkmate, you’ve won the game.’ No use trying to improve on that, we had it.” “My mechanic and I were driving to the boat show in Chicago and we were trying to think of the name of a winner,” says Combs. “We ran it in the Hudson River Marathon-it was 130 miles and ended at the George Washington Bridge-and won,” says Combs.Ĭombs decided to get of his outboard service and boat retail center business and move into full-time boat-building, and out of the original 16-footer came a 15-footer and a 13-footer. So he ripped out the bottom of a Lone Star Mustang model, replaced it with a balsa-cored bottom (“All Checkmates hulls have been balsa-cored ever since,” says Combs) and took it racing. Combs was looking for something to race in Outboard Pleasure Craft events. The whole venture started with a 16-footer in 1963. ![]() “No, I don’t think I really thought about it much,” he says. Combs sold Checkmate after building what he estimates to be 6,000 to 7,000 boats.Īsked if he ever expected to produce that many boats during the 44 years he owned the company, Combs chuckles softly. The witty, plain-spoken 85-year-old, whose sons Kip, 47, and Mike, 60, still work in the company now owned by Baja Marine founder Doug Smith. Talk to Bill Combs, the founder of Checkmate Boats in Bucyrus, Ohio, for even a few minutes and you get the feeling that-if he wanted to-he could still run the sportboat company with the same kind of passion and intelligence that has led to the brand’s cult-like popularity and status. The 260 Convincor is the latest addition to the Checkmate line.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |