Would-be Skater catamaran owners without the means to own the real thing now have hope thanks to offshore racer Micheal Stancombe of ProMarine RC in Indianapolis. That’s because Stancombe has secured permission from Peter Hledin, the founder and owner of Douglas Marine/Skater Powerboats in Douglas, Mich., to use the Skater name and logo on his radio-controlled, 32-inch-long, 12-inch-wide raceboats. According to Stancombe, his RC version of a 36-foot Skater catamaran has a compression-ratio tunnel scaled off the original boat and is priced at $589 “ready to run.”

ProMarine RC Skater raceboats will come with graphics designed by Stephen Miles (click image to enlarge). Image courtesy/copyright Stephen Miles Design/Speedonthewater.com

“Peter gave me the green light and he seemed to be really excited about it,” said Stancombe, who owns a canopied Skater 36 raceboat. “I offered to sell them alongside the boats that are being manufactured at Skater ‘for the kids of the owners to have something,’ and he thought that was a great idea.

“This is a big boost for me,” he continued. “The buzz on the RC forums is just insane. I could sell them all right now if I had them. The manufacturer is telling me I’ll have them in mid-November.”

After securing permission from Hledin, Stancombe reached out to renowned performance-boat painter Stephen Miles—currently dropping jaws with his designs and paintwork for Outerlimits—to create graphics for the RC boat.

“I asked him if he would be interested in designing a paint scheme and what it would cost me,” Stancombe said. “He said, ‘absolutely’ and within two weeks I had one, and it’s been sent to the manufacturer.”

The ProMarine RC boats are being sold through G&M Hobbies, the parent company and sales storefront, in Indianapolis. Stancombe said he also secured permission to use the Pro Marine name from the owner of Pro Marine USA in St. Petersburg, Fla. (The two companies have no direct affiliation.)

“That just how I do business,” Stancombe said. “I work with my friends in the marine industry, and I ask for permission before I go do things. The worst thing they can can say is ‘no.’ ”

Editor’s note: For a full feature on Stancombe’s RC raceboat business, download the latest issue of Speed On The Water digital magazine at no charge by clicking here.