Still working on the setup of the first Skater Powerboats catamaran with Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboard engines (read the story), Grant Bruggemann and the rest of his crew at Grant’s Signature Racing in Bradenton, Fla., are looking ahead to their next project—rigging a 32-foot open-cockpit Doug Wright cat with the same power package. Scheduled to arrive for rigging at the shop in late November, the 32-footer will be the first open-cockpit Doug Wright offering to be powered by the most powerful engines in the Verado outboard line.

Bruggemann said he hopes the cat will top out between 115 and 118 mph, but he emphasized that top speed performance is far from guaranteed.

Bruggemann (right) in front of the deck for the 32-foot open-cockpit Doug Wright catamaran he will rig with Verado 400R outboard engines.

“It depends on the weight of the boat when it’s done,” he said. “We talk about raceboat speeds where the boats weigh a minimum of 4,300 pounds, but those are speed for raceboats. With pleasure boats, you have to go back to the real world—heavier boats full of fuel with six people on board, coolers full of ice and beverages, life jackets, flare kits and the rest. And then when a pleasure boat doesn’t produce the same numbers as a raceboat, that’s ‘no good?’ It’s all relative.”

Between its pair of 400-hp outboards, the 32-footer will have a bustle with an integrated swim step for swimmers to use for reboarding from the water. Bruggemann said the bustle also should help the cat get on plane by extending its tunnel length. Once the boat arrives at Grant’s Signature Racing, the actual rigging chores will take four weeks. However, an extensive interior installation that will happen in concert with the rigging could extend the completion of the project.

“We’re fortunate that the owner of the boat is in no rush,” Bruggemann said. “If we’re able to work the boat uninterrupted, rigging will take four weeks. But that typically isn’t the case as somewhere along the line the boat will need to go to the upholstery shop while we’re still rigging it.”

Related story: Grant’s Signature Racing Completes Verado 400R Conversion on 32-Foot Skater