If all goes to plan, the twin Mercury Racing 1650 Race engine-powered Miss GEICO offshore raceboat should head out on its first sea trial this afternoon in the waters off West Palm Beach,  Fla. The 44-foot catamaran, which is receiving its finishing touches at its home base in Riviera Beach was scheduled for its first test run this morning. An electrical system issue forced the crew at AMF, lead by Gary Stray, to delay getting the cat on the water.

With the crew attending to final details, Miss GEICO (in the background) is almost ready for its first sea trial. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols.

“Our joystick trim system is a multi-function system that requires multiple diodes,” Stray explained. “We chased the problem through our own system, only to find out that diodes we received from Dana Products weren’t assembled correctly.

“We spent much of last night and today chasing the problem,” he added. “Now that we have it nailed down, we’re in the process of fixing it.”

The lost time is particularly frustrating for the GEICO crew with the Super Boat International Space Coast Grand Prix in Cocoa Beach, Fla., set for this weekend.

“I can’t focus on the negativity right now,” said Marc Granet, the driver of the boat. “The crew has worked too hard to get to this point. Scott (Begovich) and I have a job to do. It’s a given that we’ll be there on Sunday.

Editor’s note: Look for the running photos of the repowered Miss GEICO, courtesy of Jay Nichols, to appear on speedonthewater.com.