![]() Global Marine Power decided to sell Checkmate after the rent This back to the race circuit again and maybe putting Checkmate in the winner’s “Checkmate was founded on racing back in the ’60s,” Caldwell Vee Lite for the 2021 offshore racing season, returning to the company’s roots. Reportedly built about a dozen boats last year.Ĭaldwell said that Checkmate is planning to campaign a Super Quality but we’re going to try to use some newer techniques and newer practicesĪnd newer materials that hasn’t been used in a Checkmate before,” CaldwellĬheckmate offers 17 models but Caldwell plans to focus on justĪ few models the first year including the 2400 BRX, 260 Convincor and MX-2600. “They’ve always been built well, they’ve always had good They want to improve the fit and finish while offering an affordable sport boat Photo courtesy Checkmate Powerboatsįor Caldwell, one of his first priorities is to freshen aįew of the models by removing wood and upgrading the hardware. Checkmate Powerboats’ offerings are under 30 feet. Upholstery work willĬontinue in Bucyrus, Caldwell said. Will move to Caldwell’s facility in North Carolina. The boats were being built in Bucyrus, Ohio and production Own brand in case a contract runs out or they go with a different person toīuild or they take their stuff in-house,” Caldwell said. “I contract build, so this is a good way for us to get our Checkmate Powerboats will fit naturally into the production line. His company, Caldwell Marine Design, has contracts to build boats for Sea Cat Boats and other boat companies in the region. Global Marine’s Joe LoGiudice bought Checkmate Powerboats about seven years ago.Ĭaldwell has been in the marine industry for more than 20 years with experience at Fountain Powerboats and Correct Craft. Pete Caldwell, owner of Caldwell Marine Designs, purchased the assets in February from Global Marine Power Inc., which owns Hustler Powerboats. As soon as conditions permit, a tweak of Checkmate’s throttles induces a blood-curdling whine from the MAN engines and reduces our fleet of admirers to the size of distant toy boats.The new owner of Checkmate Powerboats is vowing to revive the legacy brand and moving production of the boats to Washington, North Carolina. We’re pursued, I can’t help noticing, by a clutch of small powerboats containing yet more amateur lensmen. We spark up Checkmate’s twin MAN diesel engines and gently inch our way out of port and into open water. “Sometimes we get followed by helicopters, especially off Saint-Tropez.” “It gets worse when you’re out on the water,” warns Barusco. every passer-by) is aiming his or her lens at Checkmate’s stealthy form and reeling off Wally-in-the-background selfies as though she is the first superyacht they have ever seen - in a harbour full of them. Seconds after setting foot on the boat’s immaculate decking, I realise a Wally is not for the shy: every passer-by with a phone (i.e. I am welcomed aboard by the boat’s captain, Filippo Barusco, who, when he’s not navigating Checkmate around the Mediterranean, also runs Venice4Sea, an RYA-affiliated instruction course for would-be skippers of both motor and sailing yachts. Photography courtesy of Gilles Martin Raget and Toni Meneguzzo Take a closer look at the Wallypower 80 motor yacht Checkmate. A Wally is also difficult to miss - a fact that quickly makes itself apparent as I tread the boardwalk of Monaco harbour surrounded by umpteen large and expensive vessels made from pale coloured GRP that, to the untrained eye, might all have emerged from the same production line.īut among them, standing out like a glittering black diamond in a sea of white plastic, sits the majestic Checkmate, the 24 metre carbon and glass high-speed motor yacht built by Wally in 2015 to the specifications of her owner, Oscar Marchetto, a 53-year-old Italian industrialist whose company makes and supplies most of the glass, steel and aluminium fittings used in the building of cruise ships. And, in the context of the superyacht world, a Wally is invariably something that’s pleasing and very often splendid, too. So, in this case, it’s all about context. But you might not know that, in its adjectival form, “wally” also means fine, pleasing, splendid, robust and strong - all the things to look for in a boat, in other words. In English, the word “wally” was long ago adopted as a noun to describe a fool or a simpleton.
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