PARTY OF FIVE

Our photo crew heads to Lake Elsinore once again to pair up hot boats with the hottest girls.

PARTY OFfive

It’s finally summer…and, in honor of a longstanding tradition, Speedboat’s editors gathered some of the area’s most gorgeous models and invited them to pose on a bunch of kick-ass hot boats!

Our feature attraction this month is from Eliminator Boats of Mira Loma, CA, which practically invented the Southern California go-fast hot boat. The company debuted its 255 Speedster outboard-powered cat in 2019; when test driver Bob Teague got behind the wheel of a version powered by twin Mercury Racing 300Rs, it delivered 112 mph top end. With twin Mercury Racing 400Rs, it is capable of speeds surpassing 120 mph.

This month, as the centerpiece of our 2021 Summer Swimsuit issue, we were granted access to the very first 255 Speedster powered by an I/O! Customer Mike Villa chose a Mercury Racing 565 setup, which delivers a solid 95 mph ride. The boat features Gator Step flooring, two 9" Simrad screens, combination vinyl and suede interior, XR drive with ITS and Kicker Audio system. The gelcoat, designed by company President Jake Fraleigh, features a carbon fiber inlay. As you can see, the girls felt right at home on this amazing catamaran, and insisted being taken for a ride on Lake Elsinore. Well, what would your answer be? Please enjoy our roundup of 10 stunning craft, and our five stunning models.

Owner Mike Villa, 63, is stoked by the Speedster, his third Eliminator. Now retired, he loves the turnkey 565: “Honestly, I like the sound of a big-block Chevy,” he laughs. Villa now lives in Lake Havasu, and was thrilled to have the boat on display at this year’s Desert Storm Street Party. Below: Our five beautiful models (from left) Becca, Kathy, Haley, Ashley, Ariana.

Scott Broviak has had several boats featured in our pages, including the 1978 DiMarco Mid-Life Crisis and a restored Cole TR-2. This year, we’re displaying his 18’ Mako, built by dragboat legend Don Ermshar and rigged by Andy DeMent and Bill Diez. It’s a V-drive that sports an engine transplanted from his Cole: a Dan Douglas 540 Chevy featuring a Don Hampton 1471 high-helix blower, ARF heads and a long block by Danny Douglas. Joe Martin put all of the hardware together, and Mark Tramantano of AquaDynamics helped redo the bottom. Broviak is currently campaigning the boat on the NJBA circuit.

This 1980 Brendella, Smoke on the Water, was most recently seen in our April 2020 issue, in a story called The Dade Zone. At the time, former IHBA and NDBA was taking a ride in the boat a week before his 91st birthday at the Fire on the Mountain Dragboat Reunion on Lake Ming. Dade raced this boat a few decades ago, and this year, his son Michael brought it out to Lake Elsinore for our swimsuit shoot. A story depicting the boat’s full restoration will appear in a future issue of Speedboat.

It’s a family affair: son Kenny Spring owns the 21' Rayson Craft on this page, while his father Tom Spring is the owner of the 18' Spitfire on the facing page. The Rayson was built by Rudy Ramos for waterski racer Sam Maus; it has changed hands a few times. ”Two years ago, I placed an ad on one of the boating websites looking for an old boat I had, and somebody replied that they knew where I could find a 21’ Rayson Craft,” Kenny says. “That’s always been my dream boat, so I contacted the seller and sure enough, the deal worked out.” The boat was in terrible shape, though—expect to see a full restoration feature story in a future issue of Speedboat.

Kenny Spring’s dad, Tom Spring, is the owner of this 18' Spitfire. Tom is a huge fan of V-drive boats. While in high school during the early 1970s, he and his older brother both went in on their first hot-rod boat. The Spitfire is his fifth V-drive; he acquired it this year after seeing it on the “show boats” aisle at the Long Beach boat races a few years ago. The Spitfire’s 454c.i. engine runs on methanol and was built to race as in the K boat class. That’s Tom’s adorable 4-year-old grandson (Kenny’s son) posing with our adorable bathing beauties, right.

David Gunn’s father, Michael, built his 18’6” Bahner back in 1986, and has been running it himself for the last six years or so. Originally powered by a 454 (punched out to 484) with an 871 blower and nitrous, it was repowered by Greg Shoemaker at GS Marine a year ago; it’s now pushed by a 540 c.i. Merlin block with aluminum heads and 1071 Littlefield blower. The boat still sports its original gelcoat; Gunn uses it up and down the Colorado River. “It performs Justin Bender grew up going to Lake Nacimiento; his father still has a home on the lake, as well great,” he says. as a sporty 21’ Connolly powered by a big-block Chevy. Justin was only 8 years old when his dad worked out a deal to acquire this 1969 Schiada flatbottom. “My dad told me, ‘When you grow up, this is going to be your project.’ It sat on the side of our house for 20 years. The gelcoat got so bad that if it got wet and you touched it, the paint would come off in your hand,” he says. The story of how Justin brought the hull back to life will be told in these pages soon!

This 1984 Howard Daycruiser is owned by Michael Brink. Since childhood, Michael and his family were good friends with Rogers founder Roger Weiman. So Michael grew up around the hot-boat culture and learned everything he could about horsepower. After owning a number of boats, including a Rayson Craft and a Hallett, Michael purchased the Howard daycruiser and it’s been an ongoing project ever since. He actually traded a bare Rayson Craft hull for the motor that’s now in the Howard.

Teal Next Time is the name of Robert Olivarez’s 19' Hondo Skier. “My wife and I came up with that name,” he says. “We were out at the river one day, trying to think of names to go along with its color. Then, when we were getting ready to go home, our friends said, ‘OK, till next time.’ And that’s how we got the name.” The boat’s Gen IV 454 is four-bolt main bored 30 over; it’s got a Holley Dominator intake, Dominator carb and MSD ignition with MSD billet distributor. It’s also got ceramic- coated Bassett headers.

Kyle Schaul’s 1976 19' Hallett Bubbledeck jetboat is the 26-year-old’s first boat. He spotted it listed for sale on Facebook as powered by a 455 Olds engine. “Those motors are kind of iffy,” he says. “I sucked a valve, and it ruined the whole motor. So I got rid of that and built a new motor last season.” The new setup consists of a 460 big-block that started life as a short block; it’s bored 30 over and features aluminum heads, new springs and valves, 10.5 compression and a Berkeley pump.

Colin Fry is the son of the late, great boat racer Michael Fry. Colin’s 1968 18’ (Barron) Hallett, all original and fully rebuilt. It’s powered by the original 454 Olds with a mild cam and a Casale V-drive. The boat was originally owned by Colin’s grandfather, Ed Fry; it’s been passed down through the generations to Colin and his wife, Katie.