With its canopied four-seat Skater Powerboats 388 offshore racing catamaran under construction at the custom go-fast boat builder’s plant in Douglas, Mich., the team at Performance Boat Center has selected a driver to run the Superboat-class cat with throttleman Myrick Coil. Former Super V Light racer Lance Sutton, who is based in St. Louis, will join Coil in the cockpit—as soon as November if all the pieces fall into place and the twin 750-hp Sterling Performance engine-powered 38-footer is ready in time for the Super Boat International Offshore World Championships in Key West, Fla.

While he’s new to the Superboat class, Sutton brings significant powerboat racing experience to the team. His resume includes drag boat racing, as well as two-plus years of competition sharing the cockpit of the Octane raceboat with his wife, Shelly, in the Super V Light class.

“I kind of got out of offshore for a little bit, but I still kept racing drag boats,” Sutton said. “I guess the biggest thing is I have been around powerboats my whole life, and having (Performance Boat Center co-owner) Brett Manire as my best friend probably has helped as I get the opportunity to drive anything and everything. I love it. Every weekend, I’m boating somewhere.

“To get this opportunity—I have had a smile on my face from day one,” he added. “To be able to get in a raceboat with a team like Performance Boat Center behind you is like winning the lottery. I don’t know of any team out there with a better crew or better assets than we have. We’re going to be a pretty strong team.”

For the most recent images of the Performance Boat Center Skater 388 raceboat under construction, check out the slideshow above.

“The closer we get to the boat being finished, the most it seems like it’s going to be great,” said Coil. “I can tell Lance is excited about—it’s like he’s already won a prize.

“He lives in St. Louis so he’ll be able to be here for testing and practice,” he added. “He wants to learn and has an obvious feel for boats.”

The former crew chief and occasional driver for the Nauti Marine team owned by offshore racing legend David Scott, Coil will oversee the rigging of the new Skater at the Performance Boat Center facility in Osage Beach, Mo. He spent yesterday in Douglas with Sutton working closely with Skater principal Peter Hledin on the final configuration of the catamaran’s cockpit. Coil said he feels confident that the boat will be ready in time for the SBI World Championships.

“The cockpit is being finished and they’re going to mount the engine rails in the engine compartment,” he said. “The engines are being assembled and we’ve ordered all of our propellers. We have the standoff boxes and the No. 6 drives. We’re going to do the engine installation and all the rigging and plumbing.

“The bottom is already painted black and we are going to finish the paint work here,” he added. “If the time constraint becomes too much we might just wrap it for Key West—they can wrap it pretty quickly. We’re not going to miss Key West for paint.”

Related stories
Racing To Be Ready
Performance Boat Center Preparing for Shootout Festivities
New Skater Dealer Performance Boat Center Orders Four-Seat 388 Cat For Superboat Class