On Thursday, Denny Kirkland of Custom Performance in Somerset, Ky., hopped in the 46-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran he’s been crawling around in for the better part of five months and joined his customer—Cincinnati performance boater Carl Wesley—for a cruise up and down Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland. The shakedown test was particularly special because it was the first time the boat, which was built in 2008 but never completed after a deal went south, had ever been in the water.

Carl Wesley enjoyed his new ride—a 46-foot Skater with 2,700 hp—all weekend on Lake Cumberland. All photos courtesy Denny Kirkland

And on Friday, Wesley had the 46-footer parked near his houseboat on Lake Cumberland and was preparing to enjoy it for the entire weekend with a group of friends. Wesley told speedonthewater.com that the boat was a “whole different world” from what he’s used to with his previous boat, a 36-foot Eliminator Boats catamaran with twin 625-hp Ilmor Marine engines.

“Obviously I was pleasantly surprised with the Skater’s speed and acceleration, but the overall ride and the way the boat turns so flat is just awesome,” said Wesley, who opted to install a set of recently refreshed 1,350-hp engines from Precision Marine in Kenner, La. “It’s such a great feeling being behind the wheel. We’re used to the quarter canopies, too, so to have a full windshield is nice for everyone in the boat.

“The flat water we had when Denny and I ran it on Thursday wasn’t ideal, but we ran it up to 150 mph and it was so steady,” he added. “I’m so excited about the boat. It looks so good in the water. Even though the boat is an ’08, you’d never know it.”

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Check out more images of the 46-foot Skater in the slideshow above.

Wesley said he’s looking forward to running the boat in the seventh annual Thunder Run on Lake Cumberland (June 19-20).

“Everything came together really well,” said Kirkland, who is excited to show off the Skater as he’s already received tons of positive reviews about the boat’s cleanliness and attention to detail. “We ran it at least 50 miles up and back the lake just to make sure everything was working and to get Carl used to one person throttling and another steering. The two-man setup is new to him, but he’s a natural already.”

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