The new C & R Racing catamaran will mix it up with fellow Stock-class teams at this weekend’s SBI event on Lake Erie in Ohio.

Water-tested for the first time yesterday, a new canopied 32-foot Doug Wright catamaran rigged by Performance Boat Center will debut this weekend at the Super Boat International Cleveland Construction Grand Prix in Mentor, Ohio. The Superboat Stock-class cat, which is powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 300XS outboard engines, takes its C & R Racing team name from owners Casey Boaz and Rob Unnerstall, both of whom are customers of the full-service Osage Beach, Mo.-based new and pre-owned powerboat dealership.

“It’s a collaboration between two of our great customers,” said Brett Manire of Performance Boat Center. “Rob bought a 44 MTI cat from us, Casey had a 42 Fountain. He also has a 30 Skater with Pro Max outboards, and that’s where they got the idea to buy a brand-new 32 Doug Wright, have us rig it and go racing. It arrived here as a bare shell a month-and-a-half ago.”

This 32-footer is the third offshore raceboat rigged by Performance Boat Center.

After outfitting the 300-hp outboards with new midsections and lower units, the rigging crew at Performance Boat Center mounted the engines on jack plates, installed the steering system and handled all requisite rigging and wiring. They also set up the 32-footer’s cockpit with racing bucket seats, throttles and shifters, gauges and a Garmin GPS unit.

The outboards are still in their 10-hour break-in period, according to Manire, which means Boaz and Unnerstall will need to run the catamaran today and tomorrow before it heads to Mentor, where it will be joined by its Superboat-class Performance Boat Center and M CON team stable-mates.

“Three offshore raceboats have been born here in the last two years,” said Manire. “That’s pretty freaking cool.”

The 32-footer hit the water for the first time yesterday, and will run again today and tomorrow before heading to Mentor.

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