Based in Bucyrus, Ohio, Checkmate Boats made its reputation on building small, outboard-engine-powered performance boats with reasonable price tags. That fact is not lost on Doug Smith of Baja Performance Boats fame, who bought the company in 2007.

The most recent evidence is Checkmate’s recently completed—the folks at the company haven’t even written the press releases on it and will do a photo shoot next week—20-foot V-bottom called the 2000 BXR. With a 115-hp Mercury outboard on the transom, the V-bottom model rings in at $29,995.

“With the 115-hp engine, the boat runs 55 mph and gives the buyer a real performance-boating experience,” said Smith. “If you put the same buyer in a Bayliner, the boat runs 35 mph—it’s a slug. And when he goes to sell it, it won’t be worth anything.”

Editor’s Note: A feature on Checkmate—with pictures of the new 2000 BXR—will appear on Boats.com in October. I will post a link to the column when it runs.