Having worked with Bob Teague, the owner and founder of Teague Custom Marine (www.teaguecustommarine) in Valencia, Calif., at Powerboat magazine for 15 years, I make no pretense of objectivity about the man. He’s a good friend who’s save more than a few lives, including my own. (For more on Teague, check out this article on Boats.com) But I can be objective about the engines he builds, and for my money—assuming I had about $50,000 to spend on a marine engine—the supercharged TCM 1000 is the Teague shop’s best offering.

I’ve logged time in dozens of boats with Teague’s 1,000-hp engines, and they’ve never failed to produce ungodly low-, middle- and high-end power, even at the upper end of their 6,000-rpm operating ceiling. What I like even more is that they’ve never failed me, period. The 565-cubic-inch engines are remarkably reliable for such high-output power-plants. Credit low supercharger boost, high-end parts and an experienced—we’re talking 35 years—engine builder who doesn’t cut any corners.