Amidst all the talk of what various sport catamaran speeds different manufacturers are getting with twin Mercury Racing Verado 400R engines, we somehow failed to notice that one of Nordic Boats’ new 28-foot cats reached 130 mph on Arizona’s Lake Havasu in early April. Our bad, but here’s some more information as well as a video of the GPS.

Southern California performance boater Paul Wallner loved his 2015 Nordic Boats 28 SS catamaran that he repowered with twin Mercury Racing Verado 400R engines that he purchased a new one that he took delivery of this spring. All photos courtesy Paul Wallner

The Nordic 28 SS owned by longtime performance boater Paul Wallner of Southern California reached the top speed pushing 7000 rpm with a pair of 15 1/4″ x 36″-pitch Mercury Racing 5-blade Cleaver propellers. Wallner, who owned an almost identical 2015 Nordic 28 SS previously, said the boat is a homerun.

Everything from the layup, gelcoat, upholstery, electronics and SeaDek flooring to the midrange performance, top speed, acceleration and overall handling abilities were spot on, according to the owner who has years of experience with outboard-powered boats.

Wallner said he’s owned at least eight Eliminator Boats models, including a 22 Daytona with twin 300-hp outboards, as well as a 28-foot Skater Powerboats cat with twin Mercury OptiMax 300XS engines, and the 28-foot Nordic with twin OptiMax 300XS engines he took delivery of in 2015 that he eventually repowered with Verado 400Rs in 2016 before purchasing his latest one. That boat topped out at 126 mph with the 400-hp engines; it ran 107 mph with the 300-hp outboards.

“That 130-mph number was pretty important to me—I know my boat won’t be the last Verado 400R-powered one to hit 130, but I know it was the first,” Wallner said, adding that his boat, which weighs 5,200 pounds (the 2015 model was 800 pounds heavier) was half full of fuel and he had a passenger with him. “Nordic built this boat lighter than the first one, but it’s not a purpose-built boat. It is fully loaded just like the last one with subwoofers, amps, batteries and more. Thane (Tiemer, Nordic’s general manager) and his team went over the top with the boat and the displays in the dash.

Check out the slideshow above for more images of Wallner’s new 28-foot Nordic.

Wallner, who is going to be in Page, Ariz., this weekend for the Lake Powell Spring Fun Run hosted by Antelope Point Marina, said his is looking forward to a fun summer with the 28-foot Nordic as well as his new 22-foot Talon built by Screaming Eagle Boats.

“I’m already working on getting the boat to 132 mph,” Wallner added. “Keeping everything stock—I’ll never modify anything. The warranty is far too important.”

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