New Boats / Engines

Like the 1350 and 1100 engines from Mercury Racing, the 565 has a carbon fiber cover.

As you read this, members of the media and “Premier Day” attendees at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show are getting their first look at the new naturally aspirated 565 engine from Mercury Racing. Based off the same block as the Fond Du Lac, Wis., company’s popular 525 EFI engine but stroked to create an additional 31 cubic inches of displacement (533 cubic inches total), the new powerplant pumps out 565 hp and features digital throttle and shift, as well as Mercury Marine’s SmartCraft engine management and information system.

Key components of the closed-cooled engine, which runs on 89-octane fuel and complies with Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board emissions standards, include redesigned cylinder heads, multiport fuel injection and twin electronic throttle bodies, according to a press release from Mercury Racing.

Read more: Mercury Racing Unveils 565 Engine with Digital Throttle and Shift

The 38' Cigarette Top Gun 90 MPH.

Unveiled moments ago at the Cigarette Racing Team exhibit at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show, a 38’ Top Gun marketed as the “Top Gun 90 MPH” is the first boat to be powered by Mercury Racing’s new 565 engines. The 38-footer, which is displayed on a Myco hydraulic tilt trailer, comes standard with

a red-and-white color scheme.

Cockpit accents include billet hardware and carbon fiber trim. The boat’s simple “Cover Girl” cabin includes a cooler, a partial berth and lounge seating.

Read more: Cigarette Releases ‘Firsts’ in Mercury Racing Power Applications at Miami Show

The Black Series 50 Marauder from Cigarette Racing Team has an exclusive Mercedes AMG-matched color scheme.Looking to make a large impression at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show, Cigarette Racing Team will unveil several new offerings, as well as revamped, reconfigured and restyled versions of existing models, at the annual event this week.

Building on the success of the 39 Top Gun Open, a model Skip Braver—the owner and chief executive officer of the Opa-locka, Fla., company—calls a "true performance center console," Cigarette will debut the Huntress. With a 42-foot hull and a 12-foot beam, the Huntress literally expands the builder’s performance center console concept. According to a press release from the company, the 24,000-pound V-bottom can reach more than 76 mph with five passengers and a full load of fuel.

Read more: Cigarette Going Big With Multiple Releases in Miami

Hardin's first turbocharging package is designed for the Mercury Racing 525EFI.

Owners of sportboats with out-of-warranty 525EFI engines from Mercury Racing will have aftermarket turbocharging kit options thanks to Hardin Marine. According to a press release from Hardin, which offers an array of sportboat parts, the kits were developed, “By using leading OEM (original equipment manufacturer) German turbocharging technology and matching that with the very best marine and aerospace turbo engineering designers.”

The 525 Kits will be offered in 775-hp Stage I and 850-hp Stage II packages. They will include marine industry's first, according to the release, aftermarket stainless-steel water-jacketed bypass integrated turbochargig housing, available in both manual and electronic horsepower versions. The system features a unique multi-chamber water-cooled exhaust header system that maintains engine width within original specifications. Induction will be directed through a cupronickel and stainless-steel intercooler combined with OEM- styled carbon fiber inlets.

Price for the kits, the first in a series of marine engine turbocharging packages to come, had not been released when this story went live. Visitors to the 2012 Miami International Boat Show can check it out at the Hardin exhibit, booth No. 3069.

Although Peter Hledin, the owner and founder of Douglas Marine/Skater isn’t entirely sure about the name, he is convinced of the need for his new “Fat Boy” series of custom high-performance catamarans.

The 338SS is one of three catamaran models that will be available in Skater's new "Fat Boy" series."We are trying to offer more variations in our small boats," said the noted Douglas, Mich.-based designer and builder in a telephone interview this morning. "We are trying to bring back the small-boat market, which fizzled with this economic downturn. We had too many 'standard' models on the small-boat side of our line."

In the Fat Boy series, Skater will offer its 338 (33' 8" long) and 357 cats (35' 7" long) with up to a 10' 8" beam, and its 392 cat (39' 2" long) with up to an 11' 6" beam. While the by-products of expanding the beam of each model are more cockpit space and seating configuration options, the primary goal is enhancing overall performance, Hledin explained.

"It's a performance-based option," he said. "We are trying to improve performance and get better use out of smaller-power inboard packages. These cats perform better when they’re wider. They carry their weight better. They’re faster.

"We've always offered wider beams on our race boats," he added. "Now we’re doing it with our smaller pleasure boats."

Statement Marine will showcase its newest 42 Ultimate at the Miami International Boat Show.To accompany its recently introduced 34 SUV center console on the show floor, Statement Marine plans to unveil its newest model, the 368 SUV, at the Miami International Boat Show next week (Feb. 16-20). Designed as a "crossover" center console, the 368 SUV boasts numerous unique features and can be configured to accommodate a wide range of on-water pursuits.

At booth C-58 in the Miami Beach Convention Center, Statement also will be displaying its two newest 42 Ultimate offshore boats—Saddle Up and Invitation Only, which are both uniquely themed creations featuring the company's patented Air Cushion floating cockpit suspension system. This will be the first public showing of Invitation Only, the radical offshore V-bottom that is powered by twin Mercury Racing 1100 engines.

The opening of the show also will coincide with the launch of an entirely new www.statementmarine.com. Be sure to check out SpeedontheWater.com next week for updates from Miami.

The largest model from Dave’s Custom Boats at 41-feet long with a 10’10” beam, the M41 Widebody catamaran will be offered with or without a center pod, according to Dave Hemmingson, the principal of the El Cajon, Calif., custom high-performance boat company. The 41-footer is slated to debut at the annual Desert Storm event in late April in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

This CAD-generated Class-A Surface rendering shows the M41 with and without a center pod.

“Our precision tooling is designed to do a pod or non-pod boat, so it’s no big deal offering it both ways” said Hemmingson in a telephone interview this afternoon “The M41 has a giant tunnel that’s 66 inches wide and huge sponsons, so it will do really well with or without a pod. Both version are going to be phenomenal performers.”

Hemmingson said he expects to receive orders for the cat, which will go into full production in two to three months, in both versions.

“It’s really going to come down to personal preference,” he said. “We have our believers who absolutely love the center pod, and then there are guys who definitely prefer a non-pod boat. As I said, we designed our precision tooling to do either with no problem.”

Related Feature

First Look: Class-A Surface Renderings of DCB M41 Widebody Cat

An early look at the SV29 in the deck tooling stage.

Members of the media and attendees at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show will get the first look at the Outerlimits SV29 V-bottom on Thursday, Feb. 16— tagged “Premier Day” by the show organizers—at 11 a.m. That’s when Mike Fiore, the owner of the Bristol, Rhode Island, custom high-performance boat company, and other members of the Outerlimits team, will pull the sheet off the 29-footer, which will be powered by a Mercury Racing 600SCi engine.

“The 29 is a very important boat for us,” said Fiore. “It’s a big deal for us—it’s our first single-engine boat and the smallest model we’ve ever built. We think people will be impressed with the 29, but we’re looking forward to seeing the reaction when we pull the sheet of the boat at 11 a.m. on Thursday.”

The three-boat Outerlimits display will be outside the Miami Convention Center at space No. 3453.

Editor’s Note: Premier Day tickets cost $35, while tickets for other days of the show are $18. A five-day pass for the entire show costs $80.

The graphic for the 36-footer was designed by Sublime Grafix and will be painted by Kustom Kolors out of Bucyrus, Ohio. (Editor’s Note: The rendering shows the boat in twin-bolster configuration.)

To accommodate the desire of a new buyer who wanted four-bolsters in the cockpit of the Sunsation 36’ Dominator XRT he recently ordered through Hawkeye Boat Sales and Service Dubuque, Iowa, Sunsation is building an extended cockpit tool. While creating new cockpit tooling would have been unnecessary had the buyer, Todd Bartlet who currently owns a 32’ Sunsation, been willing to sacrifice the rear bench, he did not want to lose any cockpit seating. That meant the Algonac, Mich., performance-boat builder had to find three feet of extra length in the cockpit—and create a dedicated tool rather than simply piece on a sole extension.

To extend the cockpit for the McLeod bolsters and bench, the builder had to “steal” space elsewhere. The most obvious and reasonable choice was from the engine compartment rather than the deck and cabin. But that, too, meant changing up things.

Read more: Four-Bolster Sunsation 36-Footer Under Construction

Created with Class-A surface CAD-technology, the M41 is the latest Widebody catamaran from Dave's Custom Boats.

The M Series “Widebody” versions of the 29-, 31- and 35-foot catamarans from Dave’s Custom Boats reportedly have been strong sellers for the El Cajon, Calif., custom catamaran and V-bottom manufacturer. Building on that success, DCB has been developing the M41, a 41-foot cat with a 10’ 9” beam, and should have the first model finished in the next two months. Earlier today, company founder and principal Dave Hemmingson released several direct Class-A Surface computer-aided design renderings to speedonthewater.com.

Read more: First Look: Class-A Surface Renderings of DCB M41 Widebody Cat

The new 28 SDS from Howard Custom Boats is less than a month away from being finished.

In 2010, Howard Custom Boats introduced its 28 SCS, a sporty catamaran that utilized a modified version of the company's popular 28 Sportdeck hull and a completely redesigned deck. In about a month, the Valencia, Calif., builder should be finished with the sister ship to the 28 SCS—an updated version of the 28 Sportdeck dubbed the 28 SDS.

According to Mike Willen, who designs and builds the company's boats, the 28 SDS will offer all the amenities of its current 28-foot deck boat, as well as the ability to go fast without wind in your face thanks to the wraparound-style acrylic windshield.

Read more: Howard Custom Boats' 28 SDS Nearing Completion

The first Mystic Powerboats catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines is being painted by Chris Mills at BoatCustoms.com in Caledonia, Mich., according to John Cosker, the principal of Mystic in Deland, Fla. The owner of the new 50-foot cat lives in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The general public will get its first view of the cat at the 2012 Lake Havasu Boat Show April 20-22, which is being held this year in conjunction with the annual Desert Storm event.

“We’re excited to have it there, and I think they (the organizers) are also excited to have it there,” said Cosker.

Built by Mystic, the GTMM 39’ V-bottom also is in process of being painted, but a lot closer to its manufacturer’s home at Guardado Marine in Opa-Locka, Fla. The open-cockpit, stepped-bottom 39-footer is based off the 39’ Dragon—the original had an enclosed canopy—although substantial modifications to the hull were made.

“This is the first boat we’ve built at Mystic that I didn’t design,” said Cosker. “We’re pleased with the way it came out. We’re going to be meeting with (GTMM partners) Giovanni Theodoli and Scott Smith and Eddie Guardado to discuss some minor modifications for the next one we build, but as I said we’re pleased.”

The much-anticipated GTMM 39’ will debut at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show Feb. 16-20.

NRG Boats will have its new 30-footer on display at the St. Louis Boat & Sportshow.

The first model from Nautical Racing Group (NRG) Boats—the 30 Open Bow—will make its public debut at the 2012 St. Louis Boat & Sportshow next month. Taking place from Feb. 8-12 at America's Center & Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis, the show features a long list of exhibitors, seminars and demonstrations.

Located at MIssouri's Lake of the Ozarks, NRG Boats started operation in the fall of 2010 in Wisconsin after acquiring the Profile Custom Powerboats molds that were held by the Barnacle Group LLC in Richland Center, Wis., and finished construction on its new building at Lake of the Ozarks last summer.

Owners Jim Crawford and Jim Prouty (Prouty worked at Profile from 2004 to 2008) are excited to have their first 30-footer, which is powered by a MerCruiser 8.2 Mag HO engine, on display at booth 916 near the main entrance. Painted by The Art of Design, the 4,000-pound V-bottom includes McLeod bolster seats and a custom entertainment system from Waves and Wheels Audio.

Read more: NRG Boats Makes Boat Show Debut in St. Louis

John Schaldenbrand (left), Joe and Wayne Schaldenbrand (center) and others on the Sunsation team examine a scale model of the company's upcoming 34-footer.

Development of Sunsation Performance Boats’ first center-console offering is on track, according to Wayne Schaldenbrand, who co-owns the Algonac, Mich., semi-custom high-performance boat company, with his brother, Joe. A four-foot-long scale model of the 34-footer, which was designed by Gary Bridges and Paul Gallup of former Fountain fame, was delivered to the factory last week and evaluated by the Schaldenbrands and their team.

“We ended up making about 20 changes that are now being validated by Paul and Gary,” said Wayne Schaldenbrand. “The biggest were that we’re going to give it a wider, 10-foot beam, create more bow flare and make the hull sides more convex, like hull sides of our sportboats.”

Once the changes in design are finalized, Sunsation will solicit bids for the boat’s hull and deck tooling from three vendors. The 34-footer will be built in two pieces—it will not have a separate sole liner—and the cabin, which will feature a sliding door and two berths, will be part of the deck mold instead of being “stick built.” A walk-through and door in the center of the transom, rather than on one side or the other, will provide access to the swim platform. (The scale model has the transom walk-through located on the starboard side.)

“There are a lot of manufacturing advantages to building a two-piece boat,” said Schaldenbrand. “One of them is better fit and finish.”

In related news, Sunsation will not exhibit at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show Feb. 16-20.

“We’d like to be there, but it takes us away from the factory and we really need the time to focus on this project,” said Schaldenbrand. “We’ll always build sportboats—that’s just in our blood I guess—but we see the center consoles as a big part of our future.”

Wayne Schaldenbrand: "We see the center consoles as a big part of our future.”

While high-performance catamaran designer Doug Wright has built his reputation creating successful offshore race boats, his first dedicated-from-inception pleasure cat—a five-seat 32-footer set up for poker runs—is two to three weeks away from on-water testing. That’s according to Wright and John Caparell, the San Diego-based dealer for a new venture called Doug Wright West.

More than a year ago, Caparell received a bare hull with an open-cockpit deck, complete with a recess for a wraparound windshield, from the Florida-based Wright. For all intents and purposes, Caparell has served as the project manager for the 32-footer, including using noted West Coast interior builder Eddie Martinez to handle the cat’s five-seat cockpit. The interior includes expansive stowage lockers on each side.

“You could put a 6’3” man in each of those stowage bins,” said Caparell.

Visual Imagination in Missouri handled the graphics for the cat. Caparell used another vender to rig the catamaran with twin 300-hp Mercury OptiMax outboard engines. With its 62-inch-wide tunnel, the boat rides on modified version of Wright’s racing hulls used in the X-Cat class overseas and Stock class in the United States.

Caparell said he expects the 32-footer, which currently is waiting for its windshield to be installed as the step in completion, to run 105 mph “all day long” an would be “happy” if it tops 110 mph.

“This is going to be the finest outboard pleasure boat on the planet,” said Caparell. “It’s completely fresh. Blower motor cats have become stale. Outboards are the future.

“The process has been painfully slow, but this boat is beyond words,” he concluded. “Doug sent me a bare hull and deck, and I took it from there. I had a vision of what I wanted.”

Added Wright “He spent a lot of time making sure everything was done correctly. He has a lot of patience, that’s for sure.”

Although initial testing of the plug for SV29 stepped V-bottom from Outerlimits was done with a Mercury Racing 525EFI engine under the hatch, the first complete model—to be unveiled at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show in February—will sport a Mercury Racing 600SCi engine. Mike Fiore, the principal of the Bristol, Rhode Island, custom high-performance V-bottom and catamaran builder, said he expects the boat to pick up 2 to 3 miles per hour with the 600-hp supercharged mill over the 90 mph it reportedly topped with the naturally aspirated 525-hp engine.

“We’re going to keep the boat mostly under wraps until the Miami show,” said Fiore. “We think people are going to be impressed.”

Base retail for the SV29 is expected to be less than $200,000.

Editor’s Note: Look for an exclusive feature on the Outerlimits SV29 in the summer 2012 issue of Sportboat magazine.

On a 10-degree December day, this Outerlimits 44 SL ran 139 mph with twin Mercury Racing 1075SCi engines.

The last pair of new Mercury Racing 1075SCi engines off the Fond Du Lac, Wis., company’s line have apparently found a worthy home in a new Outerlimits 44 SL V-bottom. According to the boat’s owner, Dave Scotto of Toronto, Canada, the stepped-hull 44-footer, which at present has no cabin, reached 138 mph in testing last week.

“My eyes were glued to the GPS,” said Scotto, who braved 10-degree weather to take his new boat on its maiden voyage in Bristol, Rhode Island, the home of Outerlimits, with company principal Mike Fiore at the controls. “I watched it go from 115, 120, 125, 130, and before we knew it we were running 138.

“When we took it out in rough water, like 4- to 4-1/2-footers, the boat was like it was on rails,” Scotto added. “It was phenomenal. I had my mechanic with me—he’s worked on all five of my offshores and he races hydroplanes and has gone 200 mph—and he said, ‘I have never been in anything in my life that handles like this in all kinds of water conditions.’ I told Mike, (Fiore), ‘I’m so happy. God can take me now. I’m done. This is the first offshore I’ve had built just for me. I can’t believe it’s mine.”

"Actually, it hit 139 on the GPS and 140 on the Livorsi GPS speedo," said Fiore. "We couldn't be happier with the boat's performance."

Read more: Mercury Racing 1075-Powered 44’ Outerlimits Hits 139 mph

The redesigned 31’ Supersonic boasts a lower profile without compromising cabin space.

If you are in the market for a new twin stern-drive engine high-performance boat with spacious cabin, I have good news for you. First, you can afford a new boat in this economy, and that means you likely have cash in hand. Financing a boat, much less a go-fast model that costs more than $100,000—and you won’t find a new twin-engine model for less than that—remains an uphill battle.

Second, there is the 31-foot Supersonic from Sonic Powerboats.

With twin MerCruiser 377 Mag small-block engines, the boat lists for $169,877. Crank up the power to a pair of Mercury Racing 525 EFI engines and you’re looking at a still-reasonable $210,708. Ramp it down to a single 377 small-block and the price is $132,196.

The Supersonic line is a series of V-bottom high-performance boats that range from 26 to 46 feet long. The 26- and 31-footers are positioned as “entry-level,” whereas their 35-, 38-, 42- and 46-foot siblings are targeted at more experienced owners. As such, they’re offered with more options and accordingly higher price tags.

Read more: Supersonic 31: High-Performance Boat Bargain

Production of a new Formula 382 FASTech with twin 725-hp Ilmor engines and Indy drives—the first 38-foot Formula sportboat to be equipped with the naturally aspirated V-10 propulsion packages—will begin in late December. The recently ordered model is the third 382 FASTech sold in 2011, according to Scott Porter, the chief executive officer of the Decatur, Ind., company

“We’re really excited about it,” said Porter. “The FASTech line has been slow for the past three years, but we think it might be picking up a bit and we’re optimistic. Plus, this is the first Ilmor engine installation we’ve done in a FASTech—we did one with Ilmor 725s in a 400 Super Sport, and it was awesome to that boat running at more than 70 mph.”

Porter said he expects the boat, which he said is going to a buyer who will use it on Lake Powell, to top out in the 95-mph range. On-water testing and dialing in of the 38-footer will begin sometime in late January or early February.

“We have to go out a bit south to get it done,” said Porter, who laughed. “That’s just how life is here in the great frozen north.”

This 40-foot MT is reportedly among the first models to be equipped and running with Mercury Racng 1100 engines.

Dial in continues on a 40-foot Marine Technology, Inc., catamaran, reportedly one of the first to be powered by twin Mercury Racing 1100 engines, at TNT Custom Marine in Miami. According to John Tomlinson, the co-owner of TNT, the 40-footer has already run more than 160 mph.

“I expect to get it to 165, 166, by playing with props and gear ratios,” he said. “The owner wants me to get the ‘big number,’ just like everybody does, just to see how fast it can go, then set it up for the way he likes to drive, where it will probably run in the mid 150-mph range.”

Read more: Mercury 1100-Powered Seven-Seat 40’ MTI Cat Could Top 160 mph

Cigarette has two more orders—one with twin outboard engines—for the 39' Top Gun Open.

Introduced at the 2011 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in late October, Cigarette Racing Team’s first 39’ Top Gun Open, dubbed a “true performance center console” by Cigarette’s Skip Braver, sold a little more than two weeks later. According to Braver, the owner and chief executive office of Opa-Locka, Fla., custom high-performance-boat company, the builder already has two more orders for the open-layout 39-footer.

“We’re building one with triple outboards and one with twin outboards,” said Braver. “Both will at the Miami Boat Show in February—we’re laying out the display right now.”

Braver said Cigarette will have other “surprises” at the Miami event, though he declined to provide details.

Testing and final dial-in of the long-awaited Skater 388 catamaran with the first pair of turbocharged 1,700-hp engines from Sterling Performance will begin again in January. According to David Wade of David Wade Marine, the Baton Rouge, La., shop handling the boat, a damaged No. 6 drive, which stalled the project, is being repaired by Jeff Hopper at Legendary Marine and should be returned to Wade next week.

“We’ll starting testing again after the holidays,” said Wade. “Then we’ll have Mike D’Anniballe (the owner of Sterling Performance) come down to finish dialing in the engines.”

Editor’s Note: Speedonthewater.com will continue its coverage of this story, which began more than a year ago, as it develops. Search “Sterling 1700” on this site to find 14 articles on the project.

What could be the largest custom high-performance bowrider built to date is under construction at Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats in Bristol, R.I. Based off the company’s 52 SL model, the one-off creation has a mid-cabin and a 10-foot-long open-bow section.

“The owner of the boat is from Boston but plans to use it in Florida,” said Mike Fiore, the owner and founder of Outerlimits. “He wanted something he could take his kids and grandkids in with a lot of cockpit space, so we added one foot of width to the cockpit to make it 10 feet wide and included the open bow ahead of the cabin.”

Power for stepped V-bottom will be triple 480-hp Cummins-MerCruiser diesel engines.

Though the 52-footer is Outerlimits’ first “bowrider,” Fiore said the unusual request has presented no major challenges for the company.

“We’re a custom builder,” he explained. “What can you say?”

Twin 225-hp outboard engines will push the Convincor 2800OBX to 65 mph.

The term “affordable” is as relative as they come. Right now, for example, the $1,200 my mechanic wants me to cough up for my new truck tires, along with another $200 for brakes, really doesn’t seem all that affordable. Then again, if you offered me a seven-day trip to Maui including airfare and accommodations at the Four Seasons for $1,400, I’d call that affordable and find the money—the same amount I’m whining about for tires and brakes—in a heartbeat.

And so it is with high-performance powerboats, where what qualifies as “affordable” takes relativity to a higher and sometimes absurd level: A friend of my mine just told me what a great bargain he got in a $250,000, used five-seat catamaran.

Bottom line: You won’t find a lot of new single-engine sportboats for less than $50,000. You’ll also come up short searching for twin-engine sportboats for less than $150,000. (Another engine and a bigger hull to handle it make the price difference.)

With that in mind, I present two bargains—meaning a lot of boat for the bucks—from Checkmate Powerboats in Bucyrus, Ohio.

Read More:Pulsare 2000BRX and Convincor 2800OBX: Sportboat Bargains

Nor-Tech will base its tourament fishing center console line on its existing models, such as the 390 shown here, as well as add new models.

Following up on the success of its 39- and 34-foot center console high-performance V-bottoms designed for all-around use, Nor-Tech is developing a line of “tournament-ready” center console fishing boats, according to a press release from the company. The new line, which will include models from 28 to 43 feet, will begin production in 2012.

“To date, the key emphasis of Nor-Tech’s center console effort has been placed on performance, luxury, and cruising,” said Terry Sobo, Nor-Tech’s director of sales and marketing. “Our new fishing boats will retain all of the outstanding performance attributes of our current center console models, but they will represent a bold departure in terms of fishing features and overall layout and function.”  

To help gain inroads and insight into the tournament fishing market, the Cape Coral, Fla., custom boat builder has hired Alden Thornton as its national saltwater sales manager and fishing team manager. A noted professional Kingfish tournament angler and former powerboat racing champion, Thornton was the regional sales manager and fishing team manager for Fountain Powerboats, where, according to the release “he was heavily involved in the design, testing, and sales of fishing boat product.”

The fully redesigned fishing version of Nor-Tech’s 390 center console will debut at the Miami International Boat Show in February.