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Repower Project: Triple Verado 400Rs to Breathe New Life Into 38-Foot Donzi

January 19, 2016, 8:03 am
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Mercury Racing’s Verado 400R outboard engines continues to gain popularity for re-power projects, this time at MDG Performance in Edgewater, Md., where company owner Dave Govatos is replacing triple 250-hp Verados on a Donzi 38 ZFX center console with a trio of the new 400-hp motors.

“We’re doing a lot of repowers,” said Govatos who also owns Londontowne Marina where MDG Performance is headquartered. “You look at a new Nor-Tech or Statement and it’s $300,000 or $400,000 and this is a viable option. You’re not going to make it like a new boat but if you put on the power, redo the interior and upgrade the stereo, it puts things in reach.”

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When this Donzi 38 ZFX is repowered with triple 400-hp Verado outboard it should top out near 75 mph.

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On To Its Next Mission: Tom Cat Skater Finds New Home

January 21, 2016, 1:16 am
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When the opportunity arose to own Tomcat, an iconic 2001 Skater Powerboats 46-foot catamaran that was restored and repowered in 2013 with twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines and M8 drives, Todd Fountain of Newport, Mich., couldn’t resist. A self-proclaimed “V-bottom guy”—Fountain has owned several Cigarette Racing Team models and currently has a triple-engine Statement Marine 380 SUV center console—wouldn’t have considered the 46-footer a few years back.

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Powered by twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines, the Tomcat Skater shown running at Skaterfest 2015 will return to the Michigan event this year, according to its new owner Todd Fountain. Photo by Jay Nichols/Naples Image

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Potter On Performance: Flush Your Engines—Not Your Money

February 1, 2016, 12:00 am
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I have been asked many times what single maintenance issue has caused the most problems for our customers at Potter Performance Engines. That's an easy one—lack of proper flushing is the single biggest issue we deal with on saltwater engines. We can always tell who actually flushes their engine and treats the cooling system correctly, and who simply claims to.

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Going With Grant’s: 32 Skater Update

February 3, 2016, 3:18 pm
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Rob Lockyer has owned a variety of performance boats. He’s used them in and around his home waters of Southampton, England, near Boston—his second residence thanks to the location of his business, Patriot Marine LLC—and at his “home-away-from-homes” in Punta Gorda, Fla. As you’d expect, he’s visited plenty of places in between.

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With help from Grant’s Signature Racing, Rob Lockyer’s 32 Skater powered by twin Mercury Racing OptiMax 300XS engines is performing better than before. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

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New Model Project Update: Safety Paramount In Phoenix 32 Cockpit Concept

February 4, 2016, 8:46 am
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Schoenbohm created a cockpit design in which safety for the occupants is the top priority (click image to enlarge). Courtesy/copyright Smart Marine Service.

In addition to the Variable Speed 11/10 Running Surface on the new Phoenix 32 catamaran, Smart Marine has a developed a new cockpit construction concept intended to increase safety for the occupants in the event of a crash.

Calling it the Diamond Safety Barrier, Smart Marine Service president Chris Schoenbohm explained that the driver and throttleman sit midline inside a cockpit shaped like the gem that is structurally built into the hull in one piece. It’s fabricated outside of the boat and installed as a single piece, similar to the safety pods in a dragboat that are designed to break away from the hull and remain in tact after a crash.

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Lake of the Ozarks Contingency Makes Over 42 Fountain

May 28, 2015, 3:10 pm
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Born and raised in Camdenton, one of the communities within Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, Ernie Dampier has been around boats of all of his life. Yet it wasn’t until he stopped racing Pro Mod dragsters and started hauling boats for a living that he really started to enjoy them. It helped that he was friends with the late Bob Morgan and was able to do some poker runs with the legendary boat racer who owned and operated the lake’s Big Thunder Marina for many years.

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Ernie Dampier runs his recently restored 42-foot Fountain in the Performance Boat Center Spring Fun Run. Photo courtesy Brad Glidewell

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Boat Customs’ 308 Skater Flat Deck Conversion Complete

June 15, 2015, 10:53 am
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Just in time for the summer, Arkansas performance boater Sam Jirik got his 2014 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran with twin Mercury Racing OptiMax 300XS engines back from Boat Customs a week ago. And boy is Jirik glad he decided to go with the more extensive project rather than just have the crew in Caledonia, Mich., install one of its windshield retrofit kits.

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Sam Jirik is excited about the new look of his 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran. All photos courtesy Sam Jirk

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Fast At Last: Harris Purchases Active Thunder 37 Excess

June 17, 2015, 12:50 pm
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There are tons of boaters out there who’ve had the rug pulled out from under them or legal issues that derailed a potential boat purchase. So, in the case of South Florida native and real estate broker Greg Harris, his decade-long boat-buying drama is far from unbelievable.

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Greg Harris and his girlfriend, Yvonne Aleman, sure look happy in Harris' new ride. All photos courtesy Greg Harris

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Fast At Last: Harris’ Active Thunder 37 Excess Ready for Lanier

July 15, 2015, 10:52 am
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With his recently purchased 2008 Active Thunder 37’ Excess powered by twin Mercury Racing 700SCi engines in tow on its spanking new Bad 2D Bone Trailers, Greg Harris and I caught up yesterday as he was entering Georgia en route to his first poker run in the 37-footer he purchased a month ago.

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Greg Harris towed his Active Thunder 37' Excess on its new trailer to Georgia yesterday for the Pirates of Charity Lanier Poker Run.

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All-Purpose Skater Reborn for Racing and Pleasure

July 30, 2015, 9:07 am
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Anyone who spoke with Scott York, the Missouri performance boater who trailered his 32-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran to Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees for the GLOC Performance Boat Challenge Shootout a few weeks ago, days after he participated in the inaugural event would agree that York was on a boating high he’d yet to experience.

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Driving the RDC Racing Skater, Scott York and Travis Hill competed in the Lake Race on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks in June.

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First Skaterfest: Eger Brings Freshly Painted 28 Skater from Boat Customs

August 1, 2015, 12:35 am
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Being that it is his first Skaterfest, Michigan performance boater Joe Eger isn’t too familiar with everyone attending this weekend’s fifth annual event on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair, which brings Skater Powerboats enthusiasts together to celebrate the brand built by Douglas Marine in Douglas, Mich.

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Joe Eger is enjoying his refreshed 28-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran at the fifth annual Skaterfest. All photos courtesy Chris Mills

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Baja Marine Leader Offers Powerboat Beauty Tips

August 14, 2015, 7:26 am
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Catamaran, sportboat or high-performance center console—whether your boat is brand new or has hundreds of hours on it, applying a simple, gentle cleaning method is the key to preserving its long-term beauty. That’s the word from Johnny Walker, the chief executive officer of Baja Marine, the Washington, N.C. parent company of the Baja, Donzi and Fountain powerboat brands.

In a recent press release, Walker—a longtime powerboat owner—outlined the basic boat exterior cleaning strategy used at Powerboat Headquarters, Baja’s pre-owned powerboat refurbishing company.

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Goodwin-Powered Outerlimits Upgraded with New Chartplotter, Engine Monitoring System

August 17, 2015, 5:30 am
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Pete Opperman, an optometrist from Northern Michigan who owns a 1998 37-foot Stiletto from Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats, is proud of the boat he bought four years ago—especially since he’s upgraded to a set of 725-hp, 600-cubic-inch Goodwin Competition engines and IMCO Marine SCX drives.

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If Pete Opperman had his way, he'd run his Outerlimits with his family every summer weekend. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

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First Person: Inside The Team Provocative Paint Project

August 21, 2015, 8:50 am
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Not long after I purchased my slightly used Outerlimits SL 44 V-bottom, now called Team Provocative, from the Outerlimits factory in Bristol, R.I., I began to notice some problems with the paint on its deck. From what I could see, the paint was failing to adhere in a few areas. The trouble spots were small and easy to repair and limited to deck, but as time went by they got worse—the areas became larger and quite expensive to repair, especially when the repair area was in the middle of a graphic. In reality, the entire paint job on the deck was failing

As many people inside and outside the Outerlimits circle know, I have close ties with the Outerlimits factory. In fact my relationship with Mike Fiore, who founded the company, went further than the typical supplier-customer relationship. We were good friends.

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Ruffled Feathers Transformation Complete, Next Stop Lake of the Ozarks

August 24, 2015, 5:03 pm
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Although the project took longer than expected to complete, Miami’s Frank Areces can’t wait to show off Ruffled Feathers, his restored 2002 32-foot Douglas Marine/Skater Powerboats catamaran, at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks this week.

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Frank Areces' 32-foot Skater Ruffled Feathers recently was restored by a talented and experienced group. Photos courtesy Frank Areces

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Inside Out: Baja Marine Head Offers Second Round of Powerboat Cleaning Tips

August 28, 2015, 8:58 am
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No matter how impeccably they’re maintained, performance boat interiors take a beating from spray—especially of the saltwater kind—and other less predictable “elements” such as sunscreen and spilled beverages. A longtime powerboat owner, John Walker, the chief executive officer of Baja Marine and its refit/refurbish shop dubbed Powerboat Headquarters in Washington, N.C., offered useful advice in a recent press release from the company.

“Cleaning the interior is different from the exterior because now you have food involved,” Walker said in the release. “A lot of what gets in there is fat-based, and once food gets ground in, it’s hard to get out. Use a mild solution of water and dish detergent to clean the interior and the upholstery. That will take the grease out.”

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Photo Essay: Mike Fiore Tribute Truck

September 1, 2015, 1:29 pm
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In memory of Outerlimits' founder Mike Fiore, Jared Horowytz put together this Ford F-350 tribute truck

With the annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout concluded just two days ago, more than a few people have Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats founder Mike Fiore, who died three days after sustaining severe injuries during the 2014 Central Missouri event, on their minds. A longtime admirer of Fiore’s whose family owned Outerlimits sportboats (read the story), 24-year-old Jared Horowytz of Bergen County, N.J., dedicated himself to building a truck in tribute to his fallen hero. That Ford F-350 truck was on scene during Poker Runs America’s Memorial Poker Run in New Jersey last month, one of two fundraising events (the second was hosted by the Performance Boat Club of Canada) for Fiore’s children held on the same day.

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Husker-Powered MTI Goes Wild on Lake of the Ozarks

September 3, 2015, 12:10 pm
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Inspired by Tiffany Wild, his better half who was motivated by the OU Want Some Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats catamaran she had seen on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks several years ago, Randy Wild picked up a 2010 48-foot MTI catamaran a few weeks ago and went ahead with his wife’s dream—a University of Nebraska-themed boat.

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Randy and Tiffany Wild found the perfect boat to apply a University of Nebraska theme—this red and white 48-foot MTI catamaran.

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Grant's Signature Racing Completes Verado 400R Conversion on 32-Foot Skater

September 9, 2015, 9:16 am
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Although there’s still some dialing in yet to be done, Grant’s Signature Racing has completed an intriguing project—and an industry first. The famed Bradenton, Fla., rigging shop replaced the triple Mercury Marine 300X two-stroke outboard engines on a 2009 Skater Powerboats 328 flat-deck catamaran with a pair of Mercury Racing 400R Verado outboard engines. It is the first Skater cat to hit the water with the white-hot 400R outboards.

According to company principal Grant Bruggemann, who handled the work with his crew, the 6,500-pound cat currently tops out at 103 mph—the same top speed it achieved with its triple 300-hp engines during testing in Florida before the project began—and there’s more left.

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The first Verado 400R outboard engine-powered Skater catamaran to hit the water since engines were introduced, this 32-footer previously was powered by triple 300XS outboards (click to enlarge). Photo courtesy/copyright Grant’s Signature Rigging.

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Mungle Skater 368 Update: Hull Glass Work Ahead

September 15, 2015, 12:00 am
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With a season of top-speed shootouts in his 32-foot Gone Again Skater Powerboats catamaran behind him, Texan Kenny Mungle’s focus has shifted to his 2016 shootout ride, a pre-owned Skater 368 cat he purchased in June. Powered by a pair of supercharged 1,550-hp Sterling Performance engines with Arneson ASD-8 surface drives, the 36-footer is getting set up at TNT Custom Marine in Miami.

After several test sessions, John Tomlinson, who co-owns TNT with Mike Thomas, recommended removing the rocker panels (essentially trim tabs) that were mounted in recesses in the rear running surfaces of the rudder-steered catamaran’s sponsons. Tomlinson and Mungle also consulted with Peter Hledin of Skater Powerboats in Douglas, Mich., on the project. The recesses—one in each sponsor—will be “glassed in,” according to Tomlinson, by Guardado Marine in Opa-locka, Fla., to create continuous running surfaces. Then the catamaran will be returned to TNT for more testing.

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When Mungle’s Skater 368 returns from Guardado Marine, its rocker plates will be gone and the recesses in the sponsons will be filled (click image to enlarge). Photo courtesy/copyright TNT Custom Marine

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