Proving that good things really do come in small—relatively speaking—packages, New Jersey-based Bob Christie is delighted with his new Marine Technology, Inc., 340X catamaran. MTI’s Tim Gallagher delivered the 34-footer, which is powered by a pair of Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboard engines to Christie and his wife, Madelyn, at their second home in Sarasota, Fla., yesterday.

This new 340X is Christie’s second MTI—and it could end up being his favorite. Photos courtesy/copyright Pete Kleban/Speedonthewater.com.

“We put fuel in her, dropped her in the water, made three passes on Sarasota Bay and went to lunch at Jack’s,” said Christie, who’s in Sarasota to enjoy the New Year’s weekend—including Monday’s annual Joey Gratton Memorial New Year’s Day Fun Run—with fellow Garden State boating community friends Thomas and Andrea Anselmi, Frank and Melissa Civitano and Peter Kleban. “She’s amazing. Just amazing.”

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The 340X is Christie’s second MTI. His first, the famed Speed Racer-themed cat, was a 44-footer. “I honestly think the cockpit in this one is larger than the cockpit in Speed Racer,” he said.

With five people on board and the cat’s 160-gallon fuel tank three-quarters full, Christie ran the boat again today to 110 mph on Sarasota Bay before taking a lunch break. He expects it to top out at a little more than 120 mph.

But what Christie said he appreciates most about his late Christmas gift to himself, which he plans to run in the MTI Owners Rendezvous from Miami to Marathon in early March, is its overall ease of use.

“We were running 110 mph and the boat didn’t do anything that made anyone uncomfortable,” he said. “Thanks to the outboards, it was so quiet that we could talk to each other. It runs so well, and it’s so easy to drive. And it’s so easy to trailer. You hardly know it’s back there.

“I’m very, very happy with it,” he added.

Said Christie (above with his new boat), “She’s amazing. Just amazing.”

Added, Frank Civitano, Christie’s longtime friend and former service manager at Typhoon Marine in New Jersey, who joined him today on the 34-foot beauty, “I think he’s going to like it even more than Speed Racer.”

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