Being that it is his first Skaterfest, Michigan performance boater Joe Eger isn’t too familiar with everyone attending this weekend’s fifth annual event on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair, which brings Skater Powerboats enthusiasts together to celebrate the brand built by Douglas Marine in Douglas, Mich.

Joe Eger is enjoying his refreshed 28-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran at the fifth annual Skaterfest. All photos courtesy Chris Mills

But thanks to his freshly painted, “electric lime green,” 28-foot Skater, the Chesterfield Township resident is making quite a first impression with many participants. Working with Chris Mills and the crew at Boat Customs in Caledonia, Mich., Eger couldn’t believe he was able to keep the updated 2005 Skater under wraps until the Skaterfest kick-off run on Friday.

“So far everyone who has seen the boat thinks it’s super cool looking,” said Eger, who purchased the boat—one of the only 28 Skaters built with quarter-canopies—in 2013 and enjoyed it for two seasons before handing it over to Mills and company. “I pretty much told Chris to do whatever he wanted. I’ve liked everything I’ve seen from Boat Customs so I said, ‘If it looks good to you, I’m sure it will look good to me.’ As expected, I love it.

“Originally I was just going to have Chris paint the sides and blend it into the top, but after some time we decided to paint the whole thing,” he continued. “Of course from there we updated the dash, the steering wheel, some lighting and a few other cosmetic things. I’ve already had a few people ask me if it’s a wrap because of the detail in the paint job from Boat Customs.”

For more images of the 28-foot Skater, check out the slideshow above.

Powered by twin Mercury Racing 300XS engines, the 28-foot catamaran is blindingly bright and a pleasure to drive, according to Eger, who was enjoying the first day of what he expects to be a very pleasurable weekend.

“This is definitely a cool event with a lot of nice boats,” said Eger, who owned a 33-foot twin-engine Donzi Marine V-bottom before acquiring the Skater. “All I know is that it makes me want to get something bigger. Then I think about the convenience of the 28 and that is hard to beat. I’ve had zero issues with the boat and now it’s a showstopper so there’s no reason to get rid of it now.”

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