Checkmate Production Slammed

With the first new Checkmate 26 Convincor now due to be finished in mid-May, the company is sold out of production slots for the single-engine, 26-foot-long sportboat through July—as well as the rest of its production slots through June. That’s according to Doug Smith, the owner of the Bucyrus, Ohio, semi-custom sportboat company.

The deck for the new 26 Convincor, which is scheduled to be finished in mid-May.

“We have orders for five of the new 26s, and our fish boat and 24 also have really taken off,” Smith said in a telephone interview this morning. “We recently built some new fiberglass tooling for the 26 so people will be able custom-order interior colors to match their exterior colors.

“We’ve been so busy finishing the 43,” Smith added in reference to the company’s new 43-footer, the largest model in Checkmate history, with twin 700-hp supercharged engines from Mercury Racing.  “Once we get that done, I can put some of the guys working on it to work on the other models we’re building. We’re scheduled to start testing the 43 on May 10.”

The first Checkmate 26 will be equipped with a 380-hp MerCruiser 8.2L engine, which is base power for the boat.

“We already have an order for one with a (Mercury Racing) 525 engine,” said Smith. “Obviously, we’re very excited about this model and pleased with the response to it.”