Speed On The Water

Dynamometer testing on Sterling’s new twin-turbocharged 1,700-hp engine should start this week, according to Mike D’Anniballe, the principal of the Milford, Mich., engine company. The new engine is based off Sterling’s supercharged, 557-cubic inch dry-sump 1,500-hp offering.

The first pair of Sterling 1700s are headed for Bob Bull’s 48-foot Marine Technology, Inc., racing catamaran.

“We’re scrambling to get it finished—we haven’t run the first one yet,” D’Anniballe told me this morning. “I am staring at the engine right now now. There are four guys standing around it connecting things just six feet away from me.

“Because it’s built on the same platform as our 1500, the 1500 can be retrofitted with a kit to make it into a 1700,” he continued. “So people who want to upgrade won’t have to buy a completely new engine. We think our customers will appreciate that.”

D’Anniballe said he expects the Sterling 1700 to produce 1,400 hp on pump fuel and 1,700-hp on race fuel. He also said he expects excellent fuel efficiency from the new engine.

“Our feeling is it will make 1,400 hp with the same fuel consumption as our 1,150 and 1,700 hp with same fuel consumption as our 1,500. We don’t think we are being unreasonable with our expectations.”

Price has yet to be established.

“I can tell you this, it’s going to be way cheaper than Mercury’s turbo motor,” said D’Anniballe.

Fans of Copeland’s Phenomenon, the 56-foot-long catamaran powered by four 3,000-hp turbine engines will have to wait a little longer to catch the boat in action again. Unconfirmed reports had the cat, which was designed to break the propeller-driven water-speed record of 220-plus mph, had the boat headed to the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout August 28-29. According to Alex Rosenzweig of MWW Group, the public relations company that handles Copeland’s Phenomenon, the catamaran won’t compete in the Missouri lake event.

“I don’t think that’s in our plan right now,” said Rosenzweig. “We’re just working on fixing it (Phenomenon) and getting it ready again.”

The 56-footer, which reportedly topped 150 mph in test runs, made its on-display debut at the 2009 Super Boat International Offshore World Championships in Key West in November. Most recently, mechanical issues forced the cat to withdraw from the Super Boat International Kilo Runs in Sarasota, Fla., last month.

Without question, the catamarans and V-bottoms running at “ludicrous speeds”—OK, I confess, I saw and actually liked “Spaceballs”—are the highlight of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, set this year for August 23-29. Next up in terms of sights to see is the fleet lining the course. For more than a mile, you could walk from spectator boat to spectator boat without dipping a toe in the water, and maybe even get a cold one or two along the way.

But according to Ron Duggan, the principal organize of the event, there are a whole bunch of new things to keep you busy before speed the runs on Saturday and Sunday. They include:

•Monday: Personal watercraft run to the dam.

•Tuesday: The Great Shootout Treasure Hunt, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Captain Ron’s.

•Wednesday: The Mini-Shootout at Captain Ron’s from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. with radio-controlled boats. Designated boat drivers probably aren’t required.

•Wednesday: Shootout on the Strip Street Party on Bagnell Dam Strip, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

•Thursday: Make A Wish Foundation Powerboat Rides 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., departing from and returning to Captain Ron's

•Thursday: Low-Profile Celebrity Volleyball Tournament, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Captain Ron's

•Friday: Fireworks Display, 9:30 p.m., at Captain Ron's.

If memory serves—and I have to admit it does less and less these days—the first “SkaterFest” happened and was spearheaded by Rich Luhrs, a true Skater catamaran aficionado. No stranger to the high-performance boat business—Luhrs built the successful Shadow Cat line for several years—Luhrs owns a 24-foot-long Skater, the classic model that for all intents and purposes put Skater founder Peter Hledin’s vaunted line on the map.

What started small has become something big. When SkaterFest kicks off Friday, August 29, as a compelling sideline to the The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, more than 30 Skater catamarans—and their owners—will be on display from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Camden on the Lake Resort. What’s more, there will be guest “seminars” from Hledin, Mike D’Annaballe of Sterling Performance, Bob Teague of Teague Custom Marine, Team Geico rigger Gary Stray and many others.

Hundreds of spectators are expected.

Coverage of the event will appear in Powerboat magazine, as well as on Boatermouth.com/speedonthewater.com. (You’ll find the links to those sites exclusively on offshoreonly.com when the stories appear.) I know because I am covering the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout for Powerboat and both web sites, and SkaterFest is one of the events I’m really looking forward to.