Although there was some refinement of his boat’s stereo system in the process, Jeff Howell didn’t bring his 42-foot Marine Technology Inc. catamaran to Waves and Wheels in Osage Beach, Mo., for its expertise in audio equipment and installation. Howell, who resides in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks but travels frequently for business between Colorado and Nebraska, took his MTI to Justin Wagner and company at Waves and Wheels to have the cockpit interior redone.

Waves and Wheels recently finished a new interior for this 42-foot MTI catamaran. See more photos in the slideshow below.

“It really does look like a new boat now,” Howell said of his 42-footer, which Waves and Wheels completed some minor upgrades to a couple of years ago before taking on the interior overhaul several weeks ago. “From the outside, the style of these boats don’t change all that much. The only way they really look dated is by the inside. I had Justin do some work before and I’ve seen his other projects, so I trusted him to come up with something cool.

“His guys did a great job,” continued Howell, who also owns a Sunsation Powerboats 34 CCX that he had painted by Mark Morris of Visual Imagination because Morris was the one who painted the MTI almost 10 years ago. (For photos of the matching Sunsation, check out the slideshow below.) “They cut the fiberglass sides out, added some storage compartments and upholstered it all to match the seats that they reupholstered and repainted. The seats are much nicer now and they made the dash so much better, too.”

He said they also came up with the idea to upholster the step behind the middle seat to make it a comfortable place to sit when coving out, idling or hanging at the docks. Howell bought the offshore cat, which was featured on the cover of Powerboat magazine’s April 2006 issue (at right), from Pier 57 in 2011. It was a four-seater originally, but after he purchased it, MTI redid the cockpit to include three seats in the back row.

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For more images of the MTI as well as Howell’s 34-foot Sunsation, check out the slideshow.

Powered by twin 1,075-hp Mercury Racing engines, Howell and his wife, Kim, use the catamaran as well as the center console, which has twin Mercury Verado 300 engines, as often as they can in the summer months. Howell said nothing matches the exhilaration of the MTI, but he noted the Sunsation’s definite advantages, including entertaining more people, cabin accommodations and lower fuel bills and maintenance.

Wagner, who also did the stereo system on the 34-foot center console, said he’s proud of how the boat turned out, especially considering some of the simplest things they added—extra storage and cupholders—really made the boat more functional.

“While we were redoing the interior, we moved the battery switches to a more discreet location and tidied up some of the wear and tear on the ventilation system,” Wagner said. “We moved the speakers to improved, stealth locations in the new side panels. We took out the surface-mounted screens in the forward seats and flush-mounted 12-inch Garmin displays.”

Howell, who said he uses his boats 50/50, can’t wait for the warm weather to come back so he can enjoy his “new” MTI. In fact, he’s already made plans to head to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., for the 2015 Desert Storm Poker Run in late April.

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