After a longer-than-expected build process thanks to supply chain issues, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats finished a new SV 29 sportboat just in time to it display at the Miami International Boat Show last month. So tight was the timeline that the 29-footer, which is powered by a Mercury Racing 565 engine, was on a trailer bound for the South Florida event just a day after it was finished. There was no time to put it in the water.

In its first test, this Mercury Racing 565 engine-powered SV 29 impressed the Outerlimits team with a 97-plus-mph top speed and excellent all-around performance.

That changed today, as Dan Kleitz and a fellow member of the Bristol, R.I., company’s crew ran the 29-footer on Narragansett Bay. And in their first effort, the boat reached a GPS-captured top speed of 97.7 mph.

“The weather was OK so we went for it,” said Kleitz. “With a quarter tank of fuel and two of us on board, it topped 97 mph on the first pass—and we were on the rev limiter.”

Outerlimits propped the boat with a 32-inch-pitch, Mercury Maximus propeller. While Kleitz said another prop might deliver a bit more top speed, the five-blade wheel is an excellent overall choice.

“Acceleration was great, fuel efficiency was great,” he explained. “It’s the right all-around choice for the boat.”

As previously reported on the speedonthewater.com, the newest SV 29 is the property of Canadian Bob Barnhart, a well-known figure in the performance-boating community on both sides of the border. Outerlimits will house the boat at its Rhode Island facility until spring for Barnhart.

Said Kleitz, “It topped 97 mph on the first pass—and we were on the rev limiter.”

Another SV 29, this one powered by twin Mercury Racing 300R outboard engines, is in the works.

“We’re getting it ready for paint,” said Kleitz. “That one is going to an owner in Florida. It should be really cool.”

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