Boat Restorations/Projects/Upgrades

This 10 Meter Executioner was Fountain's first "beak" boat.

High-performance powerboats from 1981—at least those in anything close to resembling good condition—are in short supply. True, fiberglass and resin form durable a finished product, but not so durable that they can withstand the elements and neglect for almost 31 years.

That’s just one aspect of what makes Fountain Hull No. 1, dubbed the 10 Meter Executioner by Reggie Fountain, the founder and former owner of Fountain Powerboats in Washington, N.C., so remarkable. Owned by Scott Shogren of Shogren Performance Marine, the most successful Fountain dealer in history, the 33-footer remains in pristine condition.

“We built that boat for Henry Lorin of New York,” recalls Fountain. “It had a pair of Mercury 475-hp turbocharged engines we had done a lot of research and design with at Lake X.

“Henry was the man who took my company public in 1987,” he adds.

Read more: Birth of the Beak: Fountain Hull No. 1 Lives at Shogren Performance Marine

The very first Switzer Wing—designed, built and rigged in eight days. All photos courtesy Tom Arambasich and Rich Luhrs.

Welcome to the revolution. It happened 50 years ago …

Two weekends ago, we attended the Ninth Annual Switzer Craft Reunion in Channanon, Ill. It was a wonderful experience courtesy of Tom and April Arambasich and their extended family of relatives and friends who worked tirelessly to put on the event. But it was more than a gathering of “Remember when?” folks with a fondness for a particular brand of “classic” powerboat. It was, as it always is, a celebration of something truly innovative and unique among people who are beyond passionate.

Why the almost cult-like devotion of Switzer Craft owners? The history of this relatively modest Midwest boat company, which became a performance giant, tells the story.

Read more: Switzer Craft—Ahead of its Time and Timeless

The latest incarnation of Speed Racer has a six-seat cockpit and Potter Performance Engines with Mercury Racing No. 6 drives. All photos courtesy/copyright Sharkey Images.

Precious few high-performance “theme boats” stand the test of time, regardless of how expertly their mural-based paint work is applied. The simple fact is that what seemed to be a clever theme one year appears tired the next. The real bummer and irony, at least for the owner, is that the big-buck theme paint job he once held dear can actually become an impediment to selling the boat.

Speed Racer, a 44-foot-long Marine Technology, Inc., catamaran built six years ago and owned by Bob Christie of New Jersey, presents a notable exception. Regardless of venue and exposure, the boat consistently attracts the biggest crowds at the docks. And not just the “Hey, ain’t that one of them cigar boats?” folks. Even the most discerning and experienced go-fast boat aficionados never seem to tire of it.

But that doesn’t mean Speed Racer hasn’t changed since it first left the MTI plant in Wentzville, Mo.—far from it.

Read more: Project: Remaking Speed Racer

Warehouse storage kept this Skater 40 in pristine condition.

It’s fair to say that Walter Molosh has come a long way from the first powerboat—a wooden rowboat with a 7-hp engine—he owned as a kid. A lifelong performance-boat lover, Molosh, the president of TriState Industrial Contractors LLC in Dover, N.J., has owned more than 20 boats including a 36-foot-long Nor-Tech catamaran and a 38-foot-long Formula V-bottom, which he restored and still owns and runs.

“I have a big warehouse, and I keep it pretty full of performance boats, ski boats and Jet Skis,” says Molosh.

But in October 2010, Molosh upped his go-fast boat ante when he bought a 40-foot-long Skater catamaran built in 2000. Molosh heard about the boat from longtime friend Nick Buis of Statement Marine, and as soon as he took possession of it he sent the cat back to Douglas Marine/Skater in Douglas, Mich., so company principal Peter Hledin could give the hull a complete inspection.

Read more: Project: Skater 40 “Madness” Repower

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, offshore powerboat racing was, well, offshore powerboat racing—meaning it happened in open and often treacherous seas. Boats and crews that could handle rough water tended to do well. Boats and crews that couldn’t handle rough water didn’t finish. It was that simple.

Among the brawny standouts from the days of “real” offshore racing—a subject of endless and mostly pointless debate—was a 1975 Bertram Competition 38’ called Needle Nose III owned and campaigned by famed racer Phil Lewis. Based in New Jersey, Lewis owned the Needle Nose Racing Team and Needle Nose Racing Team Productions, which chronicled that era on film and is the footage foundation for the Big-Seas Productions video series.

Read more: Restoration Project: Bertram Competition 38’

You might have noticed a story I wrote and posted yesterday, “Project/Restoration Update: 1990 Fountain 33’” on speedonthewater.com. There’s even a thread about it, which I also created, on this offshoreonly.com.

This story is the first of what will be many in a new department called—no big surprise here—“Projects, Restorations and Upgrades” that will appear weekly on my site and I will link to on offshoreonly.com. At least for now, weekly project stories are my plan. (I’ll be interviewing Kurt Bloom about his amazing 38’ Bertram restoration in about 30 minutes for next week’s installment.) I have a feeling the frequency of such stories may end up being even greater than weekly.

Read more: Restorations and Upgrade Projects: Labors of Love

Most high-performance boat owners who move to Florida do most of their boating—go figure—in Florida. But true to his Erie, Pa., roots, John LoRusso, a residential and commercial builder based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., still heads back to the Great Lakes, particularly, Lake Erie, each summer to do his boating.

“Yeah, I’m crazy,” he says, then laughs. “But at least I know it.”

In 2007, LoRusso purchased his most recent ride, a 33’ Fountain built in 1990, for $45,000. And that’s where the fun started. As advertised, the boat had a pair of 500-hp 502-cubic-inch engines with about 130 hours on them. But in reality, the engines reportedly made less than 400 hp a piece. Still, LoRusso was relatively happy with his boat. The 33-footer topped out at 71 mph, and for a guy who likes to “cruise at 50 mph” that’s plenty fast.

Or at least it was until December 2010 when LoRusso was bitten by the engine-upgrade bug. Knowing his engines needed to be completely rebuilt to reach his goal of no less than 525 hp per side, which should get the boat to about 80 mph with the right setup, he turned to John Montgomery of Performance Boat Rigging in Erie, Pa., and Tyler Crockett of Tyler Crocket Marine Engines in Ruby, Mich. Montgomery is providing all the rigging and final assembly—power steering, closed-cooling systems, etc.—for the engines. Crockett is providing the engine specifications and parts. A local machine shop is handling internal modifications and assembly.

Read more: Project/Restoration Update: 1990 Fountain 33’