Although the call to Mystic Powerboats owner John Cosker was for a different story, he called me back after talking with Steve Curtis, throttleman for the Qatar Team alongside Sheik Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani. So as any curious person would, I asked Cosker about the new 50-foot Mystic catamaran he’s building for the team, which is campaigned by Sheik Hassan and the Qatar Marine Sports Federation.
Cosker said the boat will probably leave his shop DeLand, Fla., in about two weeks, and from there it’ll be ready for rigging and paint, which is being handled by the Qatar Team. The cat will be built with twin 3,000-hp T-55 turbine engines, but the team has yet to announce its engine plans for the 2013 American racing circuit. The boat was originally built to challenge Miss GEICO in the turbine-powered class, but that was before the Miss GEICO boat caught fire (related story).
“Our work is pretty much coming to a close,” Cosker said. “We just finished painting the bottom of the boat and we’re flipping it right side up to finish a few more things, such as the air intake. It’s really been nice to work with Steve (Curtis). He has a lot of good safety input from his years of experience and racing in Class 1. It’s going to be a beautiful boat, too. It might be the nicest Mystic to date.”
Cosker said the boat will be unveiled in some fashion at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show in February, and that the team should get some good seat time testing the boat in preparation for next season.
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