Tuff Marine president Mark Weigl is so early in the process of designing his company’s next boat that he’s not even sure about the overall length, but that didn’t stop two customers from buying the first pair.

“There’s already two pre-sold and I haven’t even shown anyone a picture of it,” said Weigl. The buyers who have committed to buying the first two are both owners of Tuff 21s and they wanted bigger boats. The company builds a 28-footer, but it’s too big for many of the boathouses on Canada’s Lake Muskoka, where many Tuff boat owners live and boat, so Weigl decided on a new boat in the 24-foot range.

Without a finished model to show Weigl reportedly has two orders already for his upcoming Tuff Marine 24-foot single-engine V-bottom.

Weigl explained that customers have put some big power on the company’s 21-foot model and that, like any boat in this size range, the boat can run triple digit speeds, but only in the right conditions. With a beam in the 7-foot range, the new model will actually be narrower than the Tuff 21.

“I’m convinced that I can match the speeds of the 21 (with the new 24), but with everything being easier, longer boat, smoother ride and more cockpit space,” he said.

The first Tuff 24 will be powered by an Evinrude E-TEC G2 250 two-stroke outboard engine while the second one will have an Ilmor Marine 570 with an IMCO drive with an SCX upper and an SC lower. The base price for the outboard version minus power is slightly less than $47,000 while the stern drive configuration without an engine and drive comes in right under $50,000.

Like all Tuff models, the 24-foot offering will run on a V-bottom with a pad. There are two full-length strakes on each side and Weigl said the pad has a multi-stage design. The primary surface is 8 to 10 inches wide. Moving out a couple of inches on each side, it steps down slightly and there’s a second step down to an outer pad. Weigl said the boat sill start climbing up on the outer sections of the pad at about 70 mph and then the design will continue to try to pick up the boat.

“The only way to make a boat go faster is to get it up out of the water,” he said. “I’m trying to use aerodynamics and above under the boat to get that lift.”

Weigl said he’s taking the same basic approach as designers of other pad bottom boats “Tuff Marine is taking care of the details and spending double the time on the details, going for the last five miles per hour,” he said.

The Tuff 24 will be built with balsa core in the bottom and foam in the hullsides and deck. The transom is cored in Baltek birch. The buyers of the first two boats have asked for carbon fiber in the laminate as well. One thing Weigl won’t do is offer a bowrider or cuddy cabin versions of his boats.

“If you start putting stuff that far forward, it negates what a pad-bottom boat is all about,” he said.

Like the Tuff 21’ and 28’ models, the 24 will have two bucket seats and an aft bench.

“I used to say, ‘If you need your wife’s permission or you want something practical, it’s not for you,’” said Weigl. “It’s a hot rod.”

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