May-June 2020 Speedboat

S PEEDBO AT M A G A ZINE

INSIDE: MERCURY MARINE TOUR

speedboat.com

ALERT! WeBACKGoON THE WATER

Builders Reveal:

‘THE BOAT I’M MOST PROUD OF’

Speedboat Spotlight:

RUSTY RAHM

MTI FUN RUN MAY /J U N E 2 020

MAY/ J U NE 2020

with PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER

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TABLE OF CONTENTS MAY/JUNE 2020

COLUMNS

8 RAY LEE 10 BOB TEAGUE 12 INDUSTRY NEWS

FEATURES 16 SHOCKWAVE 25 TREMOR

Here’s a 70-mph family bowrider that’s very predictable, easy to drive, and one of the best values out there.

26 PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER FUN RUN

The Missouri-based dealership gets fun-starved boaters back on the water for a weekend on the Lake of the Ozarks.

32 THE BOAT I’M MOST PROUD OF

We asked some of the country’s most recognizable builders which of their creations they’d most like to be remembered for.

38 MERCURY MARINE FACTORY TOUR

Speedboat’s staff scores a behind-the-scenes look at the historic shop that launched a thousand ships—possibly even more!

22 CALIBER 1 265 SILVER BULLET 46 MTI FUN RUN

The Lake Havasu builder of vee-bottom rocketships The crew at Marine Technology Inc. lead their customers on a sojourn to the country’s Southernmost City. brought their one deckboat to our latest series of performance evaluations.

52 SPEEDBOAT SPOTLIGHT: RUSTY RAHM

Beginning a new regular feature, in which we pay tribute to speedboating’s living legends.

58 FUELISH ADDICTION 6

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

Waves & Wheels Works Its Magic on Andy Robinette's Outerlimits SL44.

speedboat.com

Cover photo by Todd Taylor

Speedboat.com Published by DCO Enterprises, LLC Publishers Ray Lee

ray@speedboat.com

Chris Davidson

chris@speedboat.com Editor Brett Bayne

brett@speedboat.com Senior Tech Editors Bob Teague

bobteague@teaguecustommarine.com

Jim Wilkes

jim@speedboat.com

Tech Editors Greg Shoemaker Jim Wilkes Valerie Collins

National Sales Ray Lee Director ray@speedboat.com

Art Director Gail Hada-Insley

Helicopter Services Fred Young

fyoung@live.com

BRETT’S COVE 66 FED UP

Hot boat fanatic Jordan Endler returns to Speedboat to show off his latest project, a 1975 Howard Runner Bottom.

72 RAT PATROL

Jeff Worthen’s incredible 1980 Hondo is just one of a number of awesome hot rods in his ever-expanding stable.

76 THE DADE ZONE

Talk about a blast from the past. Dragboat legend Frank Dade’s son acquired his former race hull and gave his pop one more run for his money—at age 91.

Photographers

Todd Taylor, Kenny Dunlop, Mark McLaughlin, Paul Kemiel, Jeff Gerardi, Daren Van Ryte

Operations Manager Michele Plummer and Subscriptions michele@speedboat.com

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Webmaster Craig Lathrop

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Web Design Blair Davidson

Market It Mobile, Las Vegas, NV blair@speedboat.com

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SPEEDBOAT MAGAZINE (ISSN#1941-9473) is published 8 times plus a bonus issue this year by DCO Enterprises LLC.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Speedboat Magazine, 9216 Bally Court, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730.

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Editorial: Speedboat Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. All manuscripts, materials, photographs and artwork submitted are at mailer’s risk and must include self-addressed envelope with proper postage if requested to be returned. All letters sent to Speedboat will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes, and are subject to Speedboat's right to edit and comment editorially. All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole or part is expressly forbidden, except by written permission of the publisher.

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PRINTED IN USA These rates represent Speedboat’s standard subscription rate and should not be confused with any special rates or premiums otherwise advertised or offered.

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

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OBSERVER’S SEAT RAY LEE “You are traveling through another dimension…a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination.

Next stop—the Twilight Zone.”

This of course, is the familiar opening narration of the popular, mind-bending ’60s television show about fantastical, yet unlikely situations happening to regular people titled The Twilight Zone . The show’s creator and host, Rod Serling, dreamed up countless unnerving episodes with bizarre plot twists and we watched from the safety of our living rooms–seemingly safe from such impossible circumstances, such as killer talking dolls, monsters on airplane wings and Martians that cook up human beings for dinner.

Fast forward six decades and we have unwittingly arrived at that menacing “next stop.” The worldwide pandemic called the novel Coronavirus (or COVID-19) is upon us and it has crippled the globe with its ominous threat to spread like wildfire and take lives in its path. Most non-essential businesses have been forced to close and the economy is amidst an unprecedented, unpredictable situation. We are going into the third straight month of a governmentmandated quarantine where the phrase “stay home” has replaced “good morning.”

Political opinions aside, this pandemic has affected everyone. People have been forced to wear masks, keep a supposedly safe six feet from one another, and unique phrases like “social distancing” and “the new normal” have been added to everyone’s vernacular. Some have lost loved ones to it, while others don’t even know anyone that has had it. We are indeed living a Twilight Zone episode. One that might have been considered a little too far-fetched for even the devious mind of Serling.

Since its arrival, all of the scheduled boating events to-date have fallen victim to its demolition. Lake Havasu City, Arizona’s popular Desert Storm, which traditionally happens in late April, was forced to postpone until the first of October later this year.

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Returning to the Old Normal Louisiana’s biggest bash, the Tickfaw 200, was canceled altogether and is looking to return triumphantly in May of 2021. No boat racing has yet to take place from any of the various organizations, nor have any boat shows. We at Speedboat Magazine have also been affected, as we have been forced to run bi-monthly issues for the remainder of the year—producing seven of the usual nine issues for 2020. (Subscribers, however, will still receive all nine issues of the subscription, as promised, and we will resume our regular print schedule for 2021.)

But it’s not all “doom and gloom,” as the mainstream media would like for us to believe. The recovery rate for those who are afflicted by the Coronavirus is still in the high 90% range, and it appears that the curve has been flattening daily. Cities and states are starting to reopen with restrictions being loosened, and life as we once knew it is desperately trying to resume.

So, I took a trip to Lake Havasu to “selfquarantine” and quite frankly, get a change of scenery from being a virtual prisoner in my home in California. It was so nice to get out on the lake and experience the freedom and joy of being in the warm sunshine, running unbridled on the Arizona waterways.

The world-famous Bridgewater Channel, home of the iconic London Bridge, had a “no mooring” rule in place and the restaurants on the water were limited to take-out orders only, but the rest of the lake was wide open to me and other like-minded folks.

In a similar and well-received move, our friends at Performance Boat Center just hosted their annual Spring Fun Run out of their remarkable facility in Osage

Beach, Missouri–complete with COVID-19 safety guidelines in place for the attendees.

Nearly 50 boats and their crews showed up to the LOTO area to enjoy a day on the lake and the camaraderie of the boating community, at an acceptable and safe distance.

(For more, see Page 26.)

Then earlier this week, we received some more good news that the annual Shootout, Poker Run and pool parties in Southeast Texas, better known as the Texas Outlaw Challenge, is going forward with plans to host the multi-day event. Scheduled for June 24-28, 2020, the infamous group of Texans are preparing to welcome the masses to see how they do things down there.

Bigger, badder… and perhaps safer.

“All of our activities are hosted at open air venues with plenty of space provided for our guests to exercise social distancing,” explained head Outlaw Paul Robinson.

“Sanitizers and masks for all guests will be provided, and each captain—being responsible for his crew in any maritime situation— will be issued a no-touch thermal temperature gun. Yes, this year the Outlaws are swapping their six-shooters for infrared guns.”

Registrations for the event will only be accepted online at TexasOutlawChallenge. com, to follow the current “no-contact” safety requirements.

With more and more people wanting to get out and enjoy life (and boating) again, and with more and more events willing to provide outlets for these people to do so, hopefully we can get back to life as we once knew it.

Not to the “new normal”… but the old one. speedboat.com

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TEAGUE ON TECH BOB TEAGUE

Right: The MerCruiser 525SC engine was equipped with the Mercury version of the GIL exhaust manifolds and risers.

525SC Overheating at Idle Dear Bob: I have a ’97 Fountain 42 with three 525SCs. It has been parked and not run for two years. When I started one of the engines on a hose, after about ten minutes the temp gauge went up to 140 then dropped back down to below 100 and the overheat alarm started going off. I have replaced both the thermostat and sea water pump. Water pressure is normal (compared to the other two engines) while running. I also installed a gauge where the alarm sender is located in the intake manifold and verified the temp is around 190 there and the water is in fact cold around the thermostat. I am not sure where to look now.

Danny Barnett Santa Fe, TX

Most of the 525SC engines were equipped with the Mercury version of the GIL exhaust manifolds and risers. The carbureted HP500 also shared the same system that has hoses going to the distribution fittings at the bottom of the manifolds, and also has hoses going to the risers. The thermostat housing is unique in that it has a pair of spring-loaded plastic balls installed on a rod in the upper tee. The purpose of the balls is to allow water to bypass to cool the exhaust when the thermostat is closed.

Once the thermostat opens, the spring tension causes the plastic balls to close off the upper hose flow and directs raw water to be directed to the circulation pump mounted on front of the engine block. Then the

Two examples of failed and worn restriction balls.

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water flows through the engine and out of the other hoses, cooling the exhaust and exiting out the exhaust stream at the end of the risers.

I believe that your plastic balls are worn out or stuck open for some reason. Remove the two upper hoses from the tee on the thermostat housing and inspect the condition of the balls and springs.

As a side note, it is crucial that the thermostat, sleeve, and gaskets are installed in the correct sequence. Make sure you have done this. The fact that your thermostat housing feels cool when the motor is overheating indicates that the raw water is not getting to the inlet of the circulation pump.

Replacement restrictor balls and springs.

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Fluctuating Oil Pressure 14-quart oil pan with one of the best boltin windage trays. Using this design will result in increased horsepower and lower oil temperature.

Windage tray assembly removed from pan.

One of the least effective windage control designs, especially for stroker crankshafts.

The windage tray is attached to studs on the main cap bolts.

Dear Bob: I have a 540-cubic-inch big-block Chevy engine. What weight oil do you recommend?

I have installed a 10-quart oil pan. When the RPM goes from 4,000 to 5,000, the oil pressure fluctuates from 60 to 40 psi. What do you believe is the cause of this?

Robert Thomas Colorado Springs, CO Most high-performance marine engines require a higher viscosity motor oil than traditional automotive applications. Some factors that dictate the proper oil include the bearing clearances that were used when the engine was built, the efficiency of the oil cooler being used, and the climate and water temperature that the boat is normally used in. Supercharged engines usually require oils with higher viscosity because the oil tends to get diluted a little by fuel. For many years, high performance engine builders preferred straight weight oils, but the trend now is using multi-viscosity synthetic or synthetic blend oils. We have had good success with full synthetic speedboat.com

oils. Currently, we feel the best all around oil for high performance marine engines is the Mercury Racing 25W50 synthetic blend. In tests, this oil seems to cling to parts in extreme conditions and excels in environments where there is increased fuel dilution. This is the preferred and recommended oil for all Mercury Racing engines and we have adopted it for all high performance engines we build whether they are naturally aspirated, turbocharged, or supercharged.

Fluctuation of oil pressure at a sustained higher rpm is an indication of poor windage control in your oil pan. This is a dangerous situation because the fluctuation of pressure is an indication of your oil being aerated. This means that even though your gauge indicated that you have 40 psi oil pressure, it may also be partially air which results in less lubrication protection.

The fact that your engine has a stroker crank makes the situation worse because of the increased radius of the crankshaft.

In the crankcase of the engine, a windstorm is created by the rotating mass. I can only describe this phenomenon as a tornado of oil circulating with the crankshaft that does not return to the sump of the oil pan. So basically, your oil pick up

is picking up what is left from a nearly empty sump. This problem can be worse if you have excessive oil going to the valve train above, or for some reason the oil is unable to flow back to the oil pan sump quickly. Remember that all oil that runs over the camshaft then falls onto the rotating crankshaft.

Years ago, it was popular to have crankshafts with “cross drilled� mains to increase the oil supply to the main and rod bearings. We haven’t used cross drilled crankshafts for a few decades now because the amount of oil flow that is required can consume the capacity of the wet sump oil pan.

It is likely that your problem will be resolved by installing an oil pan that incorporates a good windage system that helps to return the oil to the sump. We have done tests on various oil pan windage control combinations to learn what works best for wet-sump, big-block Chevy applications.

In the process, we also learned that on a 600-horsepower big-block Chevy engine there was a 50-horsepower gain by going to the best oil pan and windage control system compared to the worst. Oil temperature was also lower when the aeration is controlled. Most importantly, stable oil pressure and lubrication was achieved.

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Fountain Announces New 42' Lightning

F

ountain Powerboats—whose legacy as a builder of high-performance and race-proven musclecraft dates

back to the 1970s—announced plans Tuesday to introduce the next generation of the Fountain 42' Lightning, widely considered as the most legendary vee-bottom ever built.

With the popularity of center-console boats exploding over the last decade, Fountain’s core business has become its center-console sport and fishing boats.

Today, Fountain ranks in the Top 5 nationwide in market share for center console boats over 30 feet.

However, following the purchase of Fountain by Iconic Marine Group (IMG) in 2016, Managing Director Fred Ross and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Harris have gradually been beefing up its high-performance offerings within both its Fountain and Donzi brands. The goal is to reestablish the company as a major force in the high performance sterndrive segment.

“Our legacy in the high-performance market is evidenced by the nearly 150 years of collective history between Fountain, Baja and Donzi,” Ross said. “I went on record two years ago about my ongoing commitment high-performance sterndrive boats.

“I was serious then, and today with the announcement of an all new Fountain 42' Lighting I’m even more serious now.”

IMG’s 2020 lineup of I/O-powered veebottoms spells out the story pretty clearly, with Baja’s 24, 27 and 36 models, Donzi’s 22 and 38 ZRC, and the Fountain 47. In addition to its go-fast vees, IMG has developed a line of outboard powered cats including the Donzi 44 Icon and the new Fountain 34 Thunder Cat. V-bottom or cat, today, IMG today ranks among the world’s largest buyers of high performance outboards and sterndrives.

Ross and Harris, joined by Fountain Director of Dealer Development Fred Pace, laid out the details of the new 42' Lightning to the staff of Speedboat. The boat’s new look honors the classic styling while sport-

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ing extensive changes in the deck and cockpit design. The goal: modernize the boat and make it more user-friendly.

“At first glance, this boat has been six months in the making,” Ross said. “But when you consider all the R&D, racing and customer input, it has actually been more than 40 years in the making.”

Harris said that company founder Reggie Fountain helped shape the project every step of the way. “Reggie was involved throughout the design phase,” Harris said.

“He saw no need to change the running surface—it’s the same, because you really can’t improve on that.”

“The new generation 42' Lightning incorporates everything I’ve learned over the last 40 years about high performance boating,” Fountain told Speedboat. “The 42’s performance is legendary and unmatched. No brag, just fact. Just look at the record book.

Next you add in all the design and styling updates, and there isn’t a high performance pleasure boat that compares.”

Steve Miller, Mercury Racing’s Director of Marketing, Sales and Service, said he was delighted to see IMG resurrect the 42' Lightning.

“It’s such great brand, and Mercury has been a part of it for so long,” he told Speedboat. “With the 42 Lightning, modern technology meets those classic lines.

I think it’s going to be a runaway hit. With the 1100/1350 dual-calibration engines, it’s going to be a rocketship. We’re really excited to be part of the project, and in the presence of such great partners with Fred

and the rest of the good folks at Iconic.”

Using several artist’s renderings, Harris took Speedboat on a virtual walkaround of the new 42' Lightning. Here are some of the highlights of the boat: Deck Features • Seasmart brushed anodized cleats with the Fountain logo.

• Seasmart brushed anodized fills.

• Single engine hatch controlled via hydraulic hinges (a change from the old-style double hatches from years past).

• Sun pad with walkway on either side.

• Intakes feature a landing big enough for a step.

• Frameless wraparound windshield.

• Raised foredeck for more cabin headroom.

• All-new fiberglass hatches.

Transom Features • Easy access cockpit walkway.

• Optional jl audio speakers and remote.

• Transom shower.

• Pull out ladder with grabhandles.

• RGB swim platform lighting.

• Foam deck mat, Pop-up cleats.

Cockpit Features (2) electric actuated bolster seats.

• Cup holders.

• Grab handles.

• Optional vessel view 502.

• seat back storage pockets.

• JL Audio sound system.

• 4x 7.7 speakers, 2×12” subwoofer.

• AMP 600/6 channel.

• MM100 head unit at starboard dash. speedboat.com

INDUSTRY NEWS Fountain Announces New 42' Lightning [continued] • Easy access cockpit steps.

• 3 person bench seat with large storage tub or cooler (insulated with drain plugs).

Dash Features Optional livorsi gauges.

• 4x 2 5/8 gauges (2x fuel, 2x water pressure).

• 2x 3 5/8 gauges (tachometer).

• Standard dash vessel view 703.

• Standard Garmin 8612 (Garmin 8616 option).

• Trim tab indicators.

• Mil spec toggle switches.

• Dual throttle/shift combo (port or starboard).

• Two tier footrests – port and starboard dash.

Cabin Features Lounge seating.

Optional collapsible table with insert cushion.

• Forward storage compartment.

• Optional air-conditioning system.

• Optional audio upgrade.

• 2x 7.7 speakers.

• 1x mm100 head unit.

• GFI outlets.

Offshore Racing Legend Bobby Moore Passes Away at 80 Offshore racing legend Bobby Moore—the man who virtually invented the job of throttleman—has passed away at age 80.

Moore’s health had been declining in recent years. He had recently been hospitalized, but was moved back to his home in North Carolina on April 22. He died at home April 26 at around 7:40 a.m.

Until the late 1990s, Moore was the most winning throttleman in offshore powerboat racing history. His titles were earned at the helm of many different hulls, with a wide variety of drivers, and all over the globe.

Moore earned his reputation as the sport’s deadliest hired gun, winning 12 National and World Championships. His titles were earned behind the throttles of ten different boats, sitting next to ten different drivers.

He was the chief mechanic for Dick Bertram (Bertram Yacht Company) in 1964, and won some races before being recruited

by Holman-Moody (of the big, bad Ford 427 fame). A year later, he was riding alongside Don Aronow and maintaining his race boats.

Moore’s first racing title came in 1970, alongside Bill Wishnick. He wrapped three more titles around a stint in the Vietnam War (his duty call was, of course, powerboat operation and maintenance) before retiring from racing in 1978. He set racing aside for 10 years to build up Bobby Moore Custom Marine in North Miami Beach, then staged an astounding comeback, winning eight more titles in ten years.

Among the boats he raced during this comeback:

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• PTM Express, a 47' Apache deep-vee driven by Phil Meshinsky. Their first-place finish, with an average speed of 80.47 mph in Superboat Class, was one of the highlights of the 1988 offshore race in Bay City, MI. • Eric’s Reality, a 48' Cougar cat owned and driven by Charlie Marks. Their average speed of 97.12 helped them clinch numerous APBA races in Fort Meyers, FL, Grand Haven, MI, and Traverse City, MI, in 1989.

• Spirit of Amazon, a 48' Cougar cat owned and driven by Eike Batista. The pair took the boat to victory in 1991 at OPT Offshore races in Chicago, IL, and Cocoa Beach, FL. • Katana, a 46' Skater driven by Kimitoshi Hosotani. The team won the 1994 Offshore

World Championships in Key West, FL, in Open Class.

Moore’s son Billy has carried on his father’s legacy, throttling the 42' MTI Team Qatar with driver Ali Al-Neama during the 2013 Super Boat world championships, as well as PersuCat Racing, a 44' MTI driven by Paul Boudreaux in OSS 750 Class. In 2018, he throttled the 44' Victory CT Marine with owner/driver Andy Strobert, and last year teamed up with Canadian Chris Grant to throttle the 42' MTI CJ Grant/Graydel in Super Cat class for both the OPA and Race World Offshore circuits.

Moore is survived by both son Billy and his wife, Joanne. speedboat.com

Taylor to Head MYCO MYCO Trailers, a world leader in custom, all-welded boat trailers, welcomes new company President Price Taylor to head up its team.

Taylor, a marine industry veteran for more than 40 years, was formerly with the Brunswick Corp. for 30+ years. After Malibu Boats purchased assets in overseas, Taylor was appointed to work in Australia

for the last five years as managing director of Malibu Boats abroad. “After five years, I was ready to come back to America,” he tells Speedboat.

MYCO has a rich heritage with the speedboat industry. “That’s our strength,” he says.

“Performance boats have been around for a long time, and they’re always going to be around. That was where we got our start, and that’s our core product. But based on our success in that segment, we’ve been able to expand into the larger fishing boats, some military and government craft and so on.

But performance boat trailers will always be our core product.”

The company builds trailers as an OEM supplier for numerous muscleboat builders, including Marine Technology Inc. (MTI), Iconic Marine Group (Fountain, Donzi, Baja) and Cigarette Racing. Although Taylor has come on board in the full throes

of the COVID-19 pandemic, he knows that it won’t take long for the industry to be back in full swing.

“Being in the industry for so long, I’ve had to ride out these cycles,” he says. “Actually, we’ll probably come out of this in a stronger position than when we started. Our longterm goal is growth, plain and simple. And we’re always working on new products and new ideas, so stay tuned.”

One thing MYCO did when companies were forced to shut their doors because of the coronavirus was to keep its employees on the payroll. “We elected to pay every employee during their time off,” he says.

“We did not force a furlough on anyone, and we did not lay anyone off. We didn’t make them go through the whole unemployment fiasco. We paid every employee.

When we were able to start operations back up, we had everybody come back.”

Eliminator Founder Bob Leach Takes Control of Interceptor Eliminator Boats founder Bob Leach has landed himself a new gig: General Manager of Interceptor Custom Boats.

Leach was tapped by company owner Ross Kelley Thueson, a Utah-based physician specializing in internal medicine, after the recent departure of Interceptor General Manager Troy S. McIntosh. Interceptor is the builder of 2600 and 2800 Kool Kat deckboats, as well as the outboard-powered 2500 SX vee-bottom.

It has been a tumultuous last couple of years for Leach, who not only lost his company in a bankruptcy sale to new owners in 2018, but who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Then, a few weeks ago, he broke a femur—an upper bone in the thigh—and has only recently been able to start walking again.

At press time, Bob and his wife Cindy Leach were right at the beginning of their new journey, doing preparatory work at the factory in Bloomington, CA, that employs 10. “We’re going to come in, start fixing things and basically take over,” Bob told Speedboat. “We’re just starting today.”

“We’ve got a lot to work with,” added Cindy. “It looks like they have a great bunch speedboat.com

of guys working here. We just need to get familiar with everything. There’s a lot of things that we need to do. It’s going to be kind of like starting all over again, but at least we come in with the knowledge of what can be done. So we’ll see.”

Both Bob and an office worker at Interceptor are both dealing with compromised immune systems, so the team has a heightened awareness of the importance

of staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. “They’re distancing themselves and are wearing masks,” Cindy says. “I think we probably need to start doing daily temperature checks as a precaution.”

The boating industry has missed Bob Leach, and the reverse is also true, Cindy says. “He really misses it, because he truly loves boats. It’s going to be really nice for him to be able to do this.”

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

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photoography by

Todd Taylor

25 Tremor

SHOCKWAVE

A

mazingly, our test team has not evaluated a vee hull from Corona, CA-based Shockwave Custom Boats in nearly a decade. For the last several

years, the company has brought some configuration of tunnel boat to our annual Performance Evaluations (usually one of their deckboats). But Shockwave is a wizard at building both cats and vees, so we were stoked to get an opportunity to test one of their 25 Tremors at our most recent round of Performance Evaluations.

Shockwave has vast experience and talent as one of West Coast boating’s top builders. It established its prominence on the luxury lake segment on the strength of a best-selling machine that has enough sub-

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stance to thrive on big weekends combined with the smooth artistry on which its reputation is based. Base power on the Tremor is a MerCruiser 6.2L 350-hp, and Shockwave has outfitted the boat as high as a Mercury Racing 600 SCi. Our Tremor came equipped with a MerCruiser 502-based 8.2 Mag HO with Bravo 1X drive—the very same powertrain that pushed our last 25' ten years ago.

Speaking about the Tremor, Shockwave General Manager Greg Herron says the boat handles fairly big water well for its class. “It’s a midsize boat, but for what it is, it’s real forgiving and it’s easy to drive. And when the water gets rough, this boat just eats it up. It’s a real comfortable and secure boat. If you’re just getting into performance boating, this is a great size to get started with.”

The Package: The Tremor is set up as a family lake or river cruiser with a promised 70-mph top-end range. The model is available in three configurations: closed-bow, walk-through open bow, and midcabin cuddy bowrider. The boat’s bottom features a single step and a fairly sharp keel.

Starting at the stern, there’s a fiberglass swim platform that’s held in place with four stainless-steel fabricated brackets; we took note of the Bennett dual-ram trim tabs and a stainless-steel exhaust with flappers, as well as a pull-down Aqua Step ladder on the port side.

The engine hatch is a single piece that incorporates the headrests from the rear bench. There are three grabhandles on the speedboat.com

SHOCKWAVE 25 TREMOR Length: 25' Beam: 98"

Engines on test boat: Mercury 8.2 Mag HO/ Bravo 1X drive Options on test boat: Mercury 8.2 upgrade ($9,000), Livorsi gauges ($1,200), pearl in gelcoat ($550), Aqua Step ($375), bolt-on trailer tie-downs ($175), billet drop-out seat bases ($1,750), custom Shockwave interior ($1,800), stereo upgrade ($5,100).

Top speed: 74 mph @ 5,050 rpm Price as tested: $96,775

SHOCKWAVE CUSTOM BOATS 1800 Capital St. Corona, CA 92880 (951) 898-9360 shockwaveboats.com

Here’s a 70-mph family bowrider that’s very predictable, easy to drive, and one of the best values out there.

performance evaluations

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SHOCKWAVE

The Tremor’s rear bench offers seating for four, with individually sculpted headrests for each passenger. The two seats in front drop out to convert into standup bolsters. On the dash, the gauges are all Livorsi; there’s also a Livorsi shifter and throttle (with trim control in the throttle).

“Whenever Shockwave brings us a boat, I always think it’s one of the best values that we get here.

I’ve never been disappointed with a Shockwave.”

—Bob Teague 18

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back, and we noticed that the aluminum hardware had been powdercoated rather than anodizing, which is sometimes a better choice, especially in the caustic Havasu water. The boat’s rubrail is a plastic extrusion with a vinyl insert.

Mold work is very good; inspector Bob Teague gave the gelcoat and crisp lines very high marks.

Moving into the cockpit, the rear bench offers seating for four, with individually sculpted headrests for each passenger. The two bucket seats for the driver are on billet bases mounted to a stainless-steel platform screwed into the hull. These buckets seats have an integrated footrest built in for the backseat passengers to use.

Another cool feature is that the front seats can drop out to convert into standup bolsters. The floor of the boat is completely carpeted.

On the dash, the gauges are all Livorsi (a total of seven). The driver has access to rocker switches, Livorsi shifter and throttle (with trim control in the throttle).

Teague applauded all of the parallel wiring and evenly spaced tie wraps behind the dash. “It goes to show their attention to detail and that they care about the stuff you can’t see,” he said.

Proceeding to the bow area, you’ll pass two facing “loveseats” underneath the bulkheads where you can get out of the sun; this would be a great area for kids. Up front, there’s a nicely sized bow area with ample storage compartments hidden away. For a family boat, the seating is deep enough so that you won’t worry about anybody falling out, like with some of the lower-profile ski boats. Evaluator Myrick Coil notes: “When you sit in the front seat of the bow, your hand automatically goes to the nice stainless-steel grab rail that wraps around the outside of the boat.”

Performance: The Shockwave handles in a very predictable manner. Although the stock cable steering occasionally resulted in some stiff wheel torque, the boat does turn, slalom and track well. Our test team gave positive grades to the Shockwave’s outstanding midrange performance, throttle response and sensitivity to trim. Our boat did not have any kind of windshield or deflector, so it was a rather windy ride. Our team recommends opting for any option that deflects the wind, and full hydraulic steering would be a sensible upgrade as well.

Overall, the boat runs splendidly. Our team gave high marks to maneuverability in all of the speed ranges. It’s a very comfortable entry-level family ride. “It’s a good all-around boat, very predictable,” says Bob Teague. “I like the fact that they produce a product that’s reasonably priced. Whenever Shockwave brings us a boat, I always think it’s one of the best values that we get here.

I’ve never been disappointed with a Shockwave. They always bring us a quality product.”

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265 Silver Bullet

CALIBER 1 T

he 265 Silver Bullet is a relatively recent model from the stable of Caliber 1 Custom Boats, based in Lake Havasu, AZ. It

joins the builder’s four vee-bottom models ranging from the 210 Magnum to the 280 Thunder. A gorgeous version of the 265 was showcased in this publication’s June 2016 Swimsuit edition.

The Silver Bullet began life around 2006 as a model called Next X265, built by Brent Leach (son of Eliminator Boats founder Bob Leach). The hull was later retooled and redesigned, with Caliber 1 retaining the best of what made the original concept outstanding, but incorporating modifications to both the bottom and the deck, resulting

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in a masterwork of deckboat ingenuity.

For as long as we’ve been testing boats, Caliber 1 has been the king of switching things up for our evaluations, almost always bringing us something different to drive. We’ve been fortunate enough to test their 230 Velocity (June 2018 issue), 2450 Phantom (March 2017) and the 28 Thunder Offshore (March 2015). Most of the vees are available in closed bow, walkthrough and midcabin cuddy applications.

The Package: The beautiful, fully capped 265 comes standard with a Mercury Racing 520 / Bravo XR drive, but customers can—and, it turns out, always do—upgrade the power to a Mercury Racing 565 EFI with XR drive (with Integrated Transom

System). Top speed of 82 mph in optimum conditions was predicted by the manufacturer, which gave our test crew something to shoot for.

One of the big selling points of the Silver Bullet is the full rear bench seat with two staircases leading off the back. “It’s the only deckboat that has a full rear bench seat that you can still use one or two stairwells on,” says company co-owner Robert Hoffman.

Our 265 featured a very attractive silver gelcoat with pearls, metallic black with gunmetal details and red pinstripes. The boat was finished “quite well,” according to inspector Bob Teague. We found a total of six popup cleats on the hull, along with a pair of billet grabhandles above the fiberspeedboat.com

CALIBER 1 265 SILVER BULLET Length: 26' Beam: 8'6"

Engine on test boat: Mercury Racing 565 EFI with XR drive

Standard features: Custom gelcoat colors and graphics, color-matched upholstery, driver/passenger clear canopy wind deflectors, bluetooth radio with coaxial speakers, billet offshore shifter, polished or powdercoated billet aluminum hardware, power engine hatch, dual marine batteries w/switch, stainless pop-up cleats, stainless bow rails, Extreme tandem trailer, etc.

Top speed: 80 mph @ 5,400 rpm Price as tested: $154,900

CALIBER 1 CUSTOM BOATS 905 Port Dr. Lake Havasu City, AZ 86404 (888) 780-8282 caliber1customboats.com

This 80+ mph deckboat is comfortable, attractive and goes across the rough water like nobody’s business.

performance evaluations

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CALIBER 1

One of the big selling points of the Silver Bullet is the full rear bench seat with two staircases leading off the back. The boat’s red diamond motif is incorporated into both the stitching of the upholstery and the SeaDek flooring. The Extreme trailer comes standard.

“Out of the fleet of deckboats that I ran today, I’d have to say this was one of the best-turning ones. If I were to do a slalom test, this boat would have won—it leans in nice and rotates exceptionally well.”

—Myrick Coil 24

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glass swim platform and one at the bottom of each of the stairwells. There were billet vents on the side of the engine compartment and on the side of the hull as well.

In the cockpit, there’s a rear bench with four individually sculpted seats, two of which fold down to allow access to the port- and starboard-side stairwells. The backs of the two middle seats, meanwhile, are an integrated part of the engine compartment that lifts up hydraulically and provides excellent access to the 565 EFI. On the top of each stairwell is a hatch that leads into the bilge; in each one, we found an Odyssey battery in a billet box.

Upholstery throughout the boat is outstanding, with excellent fit and finish; the red-diamond motif continues through the seats’ stitching. Between the front seats, there’s a huge ski locker in the floor that opens with a twist latch, and another large locker up forward as well—it’s a good place to put your mooring lines and other equipment. There are ample cupholders, as well as a billet shower up front.

On the dash, there are eight gauges for the driver to use, including tach, speedo, volts, water temp, fuel level and oil pressure. The driver also uses DTS throttles and a Livorsi switch to monitor the different functions in the Mercury Vessel View. Both driver and passenger have access to controls to the Rockford Fosgate stereo system.

Our dry-land inspection team gave high marks to the entire layout, design, fit and finish of this deckboat, calling it not only an aesthetic homerun, but a totally functional and comfortable creation, with plenty of room and lots of storage.

Performance: Full disclosure: Conditions on Lake Havasu were fairly abysmal during our test, making it inadvisable to push the boat at WOT for as long as we usually do. We have no doubt that the boat is capable of a bit more than we were able to safely achieve, but we did get it to 80 mph at 5,400 rpm on GPS. And Bob Teague did give high marks for the way the boat handled the rough water, saying, “It went across all of that real nicely.”

The 565 gives it quite a bit of “omph,” according to test driver Myrick Coil, who praised the Silver Bullet for its superior turning ability. “Out of the fleet of deckboats I tested today, this was one of the best-turning ones,” he said. “If I were to do a slalom test, the Caliber 1 would have won—it leans in nice and rotates exceptionally well.”

The boat also cruises and performs very well, getting on plane with ease. Coil also gave a big thumbs-up to the boat’s canopy-shaped wind deflectors. “They help with the wind a lot,” he said. “I was able to wear a hat at 80 mph with no problem.”

Both of our test teams were delighted by the way the boat handled in all of the speed ranges, reporting good visibility coming on plane, sensitivity to trim, overall maneuverability and the comfort factor—always a major plus. As Teague says, “It’s the best version of the boat that I’ve seen so far. It runs very well.” speedboat.com

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Fun Run The Missouri-based dealership gets fun-starved boaters back on the water.

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erformance Boat Center, the mega-dealership and service center with locations in Missouri

and South Florida, held one of its biannual Fun Run events from its Osage Beach, MO, shop on May 9. In a country besieged by the Coronavirus, the Fun Run signals the beginnings of a return to normalcy in our industry, and the capacity crowd indicated that boaters are ready to get back on the water and start having fun again.

“It was a home run,” said PBC co-owner Brett Manire. “It was spectacular. We had between 40 and 50 boats, half of which were from the Lake of the Ozarks area and half trailered in. We had a huge amount of people coming from other areas to come enjoy the lake, and to enjoy going to a restaurant again. The turnout was great—it was like the Miami Boat Show Poker Run— there were so many new boats that you haven’t seen before. A lot of high-dollar stuff.”

Attendees included super enthusiasts Burton Kirsten and Vinnie Diorio, as well

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as Alex Pratt, who brought his new 48 MTI. Also on hand were three men who hauled their boats up from Louisiana: Nate Michel, who brought his MTI; Scott Favre, who brought his 50' Outerlimits; and James Branton, who brought his 388 Skater.

“We had a neat variety of boats and people that wouldn’t usually take the time to come to Missouri in May,” Manire said.

With some sensible social distancing, PBC’s expansive Redhead Yacht Club Lakeside Grill was open for business as well. “Everything was kept clean, and we had hand sanitizer all over the place,” Manire says. “We’re still doing curbside to-go orders as well, but the dining area was open with the tables and chairs spread out.” In addition, people kept their distance from each other at the mandatory driver’s meeting.

“I didn’t want to do a formal start,” Manire explains. “I wanted to keep everybody away from each other, and then get to our locations at different times so they could tie up and not be around other people. We did the best we could, but you

could really tell that people were definitely ready to get out and have some fun and go boating.”

The Fun Run itinerary kicked off Saturday with a tour of some of the new boats on display at PBC (MTIs, Sunsations, Wright Performances, etc.) with a breakfast spread. Fuel facilities were open to give the boats a quick drink, and following the driver’s meeting, it was off to lunch at The Fish and Company waterfront bar, a casual American restaurant on the lake with a dock, outdoor seating and seasonal live music, located at mile marker 31. The next stop was Dog Days Bar & Grill, located on the main channel at mile marker 19. Some boats made some fly-bys to entertain the crowd. Then it was back to Redhead Yacht Club for dinner and drinks. Some attendees hung around on Sunday to extend their experience at LOTO. “Everybody had a great time. It was a beautiful weekend,” Manire says.

At press time, PBC was planning a Mercury-themed Outboard Fun Run for Friday, June 26. speedboat.com

photoography courtesy

Top: Nate Michel in Cloud IX, his 40-foot MTI. Above: Dale Blue performs at the Fish and Company. He is joined onstage by Rachel Waddington (the original redhead who inspired the name of the Yacht Club).

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Performance Boat Center

Above: The Redhead Lakeside Grill, the popular eatery that’s part of Performance Boat Center, was open and offering sit-down service during the Fun Run.

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PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER FUN RUN

Above: Larry Pinegar drives his 42' Cigarette Tiger.

Below: Gary Pruitt in his 48' MTI Terminator, one of the big show-stopping models featured at the 2010 Miami International Boat Show.

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PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER FUN RUN Kendall Allen in his 30' Skater.

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Top: The docks at Redhead Lakeside.

Opposite middle: MTI’s 2020 company 390X demo boat.

Opposite bottom: Bill Hendrix’s 318 Skater with twin Mercury Racing 400 ROS engines.

Above: Cody McDowell picked up his brand new 360 Wright Performance during the Fun Run. Left: Steve Grier of Osage Beach, MO, drives his B&H Water Rod 300.

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RANDY SCISM President, MTI We started with the cats. So we love the cats. Probably my favorite all-time boat is the 48 Race/Pleasure. It does an amazing job. It’s big enough for the big power we have today, and it’s still very, very sporty. Of course, the center consoles have just been a home run for us, and we love them too—we have so much fun in them. Even when we started building the center consoles, we said, look, we don’t want to be your dad’s fishing boat. So we created a luxury sport boat that’s a center console.

I think we’ve done a good job. It’s been received well, and everybody loves them. They’re plenty fast enough and you leave nobody behind. You can take everybody—your family, your friends, their friends, the kids. It’s just an awesome way to boat.

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THE BOAT I’M MOST PROUD OF

Speedboat asked some of the country’s most recognizable builders which of their creations they’d most like to be remembered for. Which of their boats would they want to represent their legacies? Which boats do they think about most fondly, from past or present? Here’s what each had to say about their “personal best.”

A random sampling of the most beloved models from the creators themselves.

BOB LEACH Founder, Eliminator Boats That’s simple. The 19 Daytona. There was no boat like it around. It was a Ron Edhe design.

He was doing a blown fuel hydro for a guy, and I said, “How about if we just make this into a tunnel boat?” About two weeks later, he came in with this model about two feel long, and it was beautiful. And the reason we called it Daytona is because my favorite car at one point was a 1973 Daytona Ferrari. Anyway, I remember sneaking the first Daytona down to Long Beach with Greg Shoemaker, just him and me, to run it. We didn’t know what the boat was going to do. Twenty minutes later, we’re putting the boat in the water, and there’s five guys standing in the grass, watching us and waiting for us to put it in the water. I was like, “Greg, I don’t want to run the boat in front of these guys! What if it doesn’t do anything right?” But here’s the deal: It was high tide. I could go up the L.A. River a mile, so I took the boat up there. And it was unbelievable. You know what? I just got goosebumps thinking about it. I was making passes where nobody could see me. And the boat was running like it was on rails. We hadn’t dialed it in or anything. Probably the most famous 19 Daytona back in the day was the Underdog competitor that Greg Shoemaker drove. (More on that boat in an upcoming issue.)

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THE BOAT I’M MOST PROUD OF

PETER HLEDIN President, Skater Powerboats I would say the 24 Skater, which put us on the map. I had an idea way back in early ’80s, when I saw some vee-bottom race boats with twin outboards. I said, “Why don’t we build a cat with twin outboards?” So I started designing a 24-footer—the hull mold, the deck mold, everything, by myself.

We were a two-man shop back then. We made the first one, and gosh, it was so fantastic—absolutely mind-bogglingly successful. You know, back in those days, a 60-mph boat was considered fast! But with stock 200s, this one would go 85, and with 2.4s, it got to 100. Nobody had heard of a 100-mph boat. So I think that was my favorite boat, and I did everything myself.

CHRIS CAMIRE President, Lavey Craft Our 28 Evo-R. That particular model derived from our offshore racing program. As the speeds increased with the open canopy, it became more and more dangerous. So we elected to create a new deck on our 28 vee bottom, a single-engine boat. Believe it or not, Peter Hledin at Skater aided us with the canopy, which was awesome. So after we raced that boat, we had the idea to turn it into a pleasure boat. We had the design and the tooling. It was a four-passenger sit down boat. It’s not a deckboat by any means. But because of our offshore racing heritage, it’s a great boat for the big ocean water. The pleasure version has a full retractable canopy. That’s why the “R” is in the name—it stands for “removable.” The top can be completely removed.

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THE BOAT I’M MOST PROUD OF JOHN COSKER President, Mystic Powerboats That’s a tough one. Obviously, the 50 Catamaran was a great success for us. It’s funny, because as the company has transitioned, some people come in who remember that side of our line and don’t know anything about our center consoles. Others come in looking for center consoles and don’t know that we ever built 200-mph boats. So I guess I’d like to be remembered for the 50', with all of its success running over 200 mph. And these days, it would probably be the M4200 center console, just because it’s been a really good model for us, and I have enjoyed so much time running the various 42s. It’s gotten my family back into boating. We went to the Bahamas in the boat last year, covering 600 miles in a week—just my wife and I and a few friends. Hopefully, we’re going to keep adding models, and then it’ll be the newest model.

JOE LoGIUDICE President, Hustler Powerboats It’s hard to choose just one, because every one the boats was my favorite at the time we built it. The technology just keeps on turning and we keep moving forward. So if you asked me right now, at this moment, this 39 Shotgun we’re standing next to is my favorite, because it’s got the latest technology, including the new Mercury Racing 450R outboards. Now, if you ask me a year from now, my answer would be whatever new boat we just built. What was good 20 or 25 years ago is not the same boat today.

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TROND SCHOU TROND SCHOU President, Nor-Tech Powerboats That would be the 80 Roadster sport yacht. Many people have seen the open cockpit version, Lady Lisa, on the poker-run circuit. We actually built two of them—the other one is in Mexico, and that one features an enclosed cockpit. We got some requests to build more of them, and obviously we have the tooling to do it, but we’re selling so many of the other boats that we build, it would be a big undertaking for us at this time. We have some inquiries, but we just don’t have the time.

SCOTT PORTER President, Formula Powerboats Of our performance boats, they all were awesome, but I think the 382 FasTech is probably the pinnacle of the offshore series. We had a lot of fun racing them in the Factory classes.

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story and photos by Ray Lee

MERCURY

Marine Factory Tour

Speedboat Magazine publisher Ray Lee heads to Fond du Lac, WI, to tour Mercury Marine—one of the coolest factories on the planet.

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The massive production facility in the city of Fond du Lac, that sits atop 140 acres of Wisconsin land, is home

to the equally enormous powerplant powerhouse of Mercury Marine. The two million square foot factory stretches over a mile along Wisconsin’s Interstate 41 and employs over 7,000 employees worldwide, making Mercury Marine the undisputed leading manufacturer of marine propulsion systems, propellers, and other marine parts and accessories––especially in the elite, high performance boating market.

Founded in early 1939 by a motivated engineer by the name of E. Carl Kiekhaefer, the young entrepreneur inadvertently found his way into the marine industry when he purchased a bankrupt facility in Cedarburg, WI that had left behind 300 Thor outboard engines. They had been rejected by the catalog order division of Montgomery Ward, so he redesigned and improved these engines. He then successfully sold them all back to the retail giant––as well as orders for many more.

He grew the new Kiekhaefer Corporation in short order with the popularity of these new engines and moved the facility to Fond du Lac in 1946 and rebranded the company as Mercury Marine.

The production facility is sprawled across nine different plants, where each step of the manufacturing process is meticulously defined.

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Even security to access the grounds of Mercury Marine is strict and strenuous––where a photo ID is issued at the guard shack and safety gear is mandatory, literally from head-to-toe, where slip-on steel tipped footwear is provided prior to entering the plant.

Since 2008, the company has reinvested into itself in a grand way, spending over $1.1 billion into making every step of the operation more efficient and flawless. Sophisticated, automated, and roundthe-clock robot systems have been employed to aid in the literal heavy lifting process, safe transport of components across the assembly line by way of “J” hooks, and to assist live technicians with their assigned tasks. Computers aid in the critical measurements and installation of the precision parts.

“Hot tests” are performed on every engine package before shipment. This procedure ensures proper power output, precise fluid pressure, component temperatures, functioning electronic sensors and acceptable noise and vibration. A green light signifies an approved test, while a red light signals that the package has been flagged and must be returned for inspection andrepair.

Up to 80% of the final products are made completely in-house.

With their own foundry on-site, Mercury Marine owns some of the most powerful die cast presses in the world and are able to produce speedboat.com

Above: Mercury displays some of its masterpieces through history: vintage outboards from 1955, 1978 and 1982 (left) and an 80-hp MerCruiser Renault Sterndrive from 1966 (right).

Left: Mercury Marine founder E. Carl Kiekhaefer is memorialized in these photos showcasing some of Mercury’s most interesting innovations. their own parts and then recycle any scrap aluminum, leaving zero waste in the process. All of the Mercury outboards, sterndrives and outdrives all come directly from the Fond du Lac facility, ready to power your boat perfectly.

Mercury Marine is also the leading manufacturer all of the world’s propellers, not only for themselves but other companies, as well. Their process is the most impressive part of the entire tour and served as the perfect grand finale of our visit. They produce the various propeller molds by a process called “lost wax casting,” which is where they inject 140-degree molten red wax into a die, to form an actual model propeller. Then they proceed to build a molded shell around that wax pattern, made of varying textured layers of sand. The finest grain is dipped onto the wax prop first for the smoothest finish against the surface, gradually building up to the coarser grain for strength. The wax is then melted out and the mold is ready to be filled with 3000-degree liquid stainless steel. Ultimately, the propellers are extracted from the molds––honed, precision ground, polished, “drag” finished, inspected and then packaged for shipment.

Mercury Marine has shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The production of all of their existing products has been perfected into a science, while the research and development teams are almost as incessant as their robotic assembly line. With this endless pursuit of excellence, there is seemingly no limit to how far Mercury Marine plans to propel us into the future. speedboat.com

Above: A 1967 Merc 1100SS outboard (left) is displayed next to a Special Edition 90-hp TwoStroke outboard with a Green Bay Packers cowling (right).

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MERCURY MARINE FACTORY TOUR

Above: Low copper aluminum gearcase components waiting to get Irridite metal prep and sealing followed

by EDP (Electro-Desposition Priming).

Above: Freshly machined 4.6L V8 blocks are ready to be made into the new V8 outboard product line, which spans from the 200 Pro XS to the supercharged 450R. Below: The various stages of the 8.2L sterndrive (430 hp) in production. In the photo at upper right, it’s a bare block; then to the final dressing in the photo at bottom right.

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MERCURY MARINE FACTORY TOUR

Top: The end of the line for outboard gear case production.

Above left: The V6 & V8 Robotic Block Machining line.

Above right: The 8.2L stern drive (430 hp) motor is on the dyno.

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MERCURY MARINE FACTORY TOUR

Above: New Mercury ProXS outboards are dressed and taken down the assembly line for production.

Left: V6 & V8 Hot Test on the final assembly line. Every engine is run for about eight minutes, with more than 40 checks being inspected.

Above left: This 120-hp engine from 1962 represents the birth of the MerCruiser sterndrive.

Above right: Outboards from the company’s history include a Mercury 200XR from 1989 and a 175-hp Mercury Black Max from 1990, shown in cutaway.

Right: The two-piece propshaft is put through a friction welding process of the stainless steel piece to the ferrous metal piece.

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Above: Mercury’s exclusive low-copper aluminum alloy furnace in the foundry area.

Below: Stainless propellers are poured into a ceramic mold. The props are cooled slowly and the ceramic is broken off for a prop that is ready to grind.

Top: Inner transom plate castings on palettes ready for shipping.

Above left: The automated pinion, forward, and reverse gears machining process.

Above right: The machined driveshafts wait to be friction-welded with stainless for corrosion prevention and durability. speedboat.com

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The crew at Marine Technology Inc. lead their customers on a sojourn to the country’s Southernmost City.

Fun Run

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photography by

Tom Leigh

he good folks at Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) embarked on their annual Fun Run to Key West in March.

The event was spearheaded by company President Randy Scism and client relations manager Taylor Scism, who departed from Miami’s Haulover Marine Center on Thursday morning. “We had some rain come in on Thursday between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.,” Taylor says. “Luckily, it started to blow over by 10. By the time we got to Gilbert’s Resort for lunch, it was beautiful—sunny skies, 75 to 80 degrees, and we had that for the rest of the time. We actually got super lucky with the weather.

And we had a big turnout—about half the boats were center consoles, and half were

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cats,” she said.

After departing from Haulover Marine Center in Miami, they made a lunch stop at Gilbert’s Resort before proceeding all the way to Key West. While at Gilberts, Tyler Stone—owner of an MTI 340X catamaran—had secretly arranged to propose to his girlfriend Vanessa, an event that was captured on video and witnessed by roughly a third of the attendees.

“He did it on the deck of his boat while it was tied up to about ten other 34s,” Taylor reports. “The pictures are really cool, because it’s them and then all of the other boats behind them. So it ended up being really nice.”

The high number of participants meant splitting accommodations on Stock

Island, with half staying at the Perry Hotel and half at the Ocean’s Edge Hotels.

On Friday, the MTI fleet headed north from Key West for some more lunch stops and a sandbar raft-up at Islamorada.

Friday night, it was off to Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key (near Marathon Key), where a special awards banquet was held Saturday night.

“We did a few different awards,” Taylor says. “One was the furthest traveled, which turned out to be a gentleman from Europe who owns a 43 cat with Teague motors.” Another award was given to Zane Mead of Texas, owner of the most MTIs from past and present. He’s owned a total of 10 MTIs—now, that’s a loyal customer.

At the beginning of the run, fears of

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the global pandemic were just beginning to take root, but few could have predicted that the run would be the last boating event of its kind for months to follow. By the time the fleet returned to Miami, the “pandemic panic” was in full swing.

“Overall, the event went really well,” Taylor says. “Honestly, we were getting a little nervous right before the run because of all the coronavirus stuff going on. But everything seemed to be OK while we were down there—it was almost like we were in a bubble. Nobody down there seemed very concerned. Restaurants were operating as normal, and everything seemed totally fine.

Nobody in our group seemed concerned, or seemed sick. Everybody really enjoyed themselves. It was only when we came back that there was no food at the grocery stores.”

Taylor gives props to her roughly 10 employees and team members, who worked tirelessly to help pull off a successful fun run. “Everybody, from the cleaning crew to Milton Calafell, who runs everything, did an amazing job,” she says. “They were only getting a few hours of sleep a night because they were cleaning so many boats. They were busting it to get everything done. We really appreciate them because they do work really hard.”

Another positive aspect of the run was seeing customers from all over the country forge friendships and enjoy the extreme camaraderie. “It’s so cool to see customers from different areas who are friends now,” Taylor says. “They meet each other through boating and these MTI events, and to watch them making lifelong relationships and networking connections through these events is really inspiring.”

Among the first-time MTI Fun Runners were the Spraggins family, who recently took delivery of their new 390X cat. Randy Scism provided demo rides on a 390X during the Fun Run.

Left: Participants raft up at the Islamorada sandbar.

Right: This 40 G7 catamaran, owned by Brad Holzhauer of St. Louis, MO, was reviewed and featured in the January 2018 issue of Speedboat.

Bottom: The group docks at Gilbert’s Resort in Key Largo for lunch.

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MTI FUN RUN

Left: Michael and Sarah Howe in their 340X with twin Mercury Racing 450Rs. Above: Ray Medlock drives his 42V, Impulsive Behavior, powered by quad 400Rs. Below: Zane and Amanda Mead in their 42V with quad 450Rs.

Heading south: The start of the MTI Fun Run.

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S P E E D B O A T | April 2020

speedboat.com

Boats dock at Hawk’s Cay Marina.

Bill Pyburn in his quad 450R-powered 42V, Platinum Addiction.

Above center: Tyler Stone proposes to his girlfriend.

Vanessa, at Gilbert’s Resort.

Above: Bob Bull’s 52 cat is front and center during lunch at Gilbert’s in Key Largo.

Above right: An aerial eye view of the boats at Haulover Marine Center.

Right: Cats head through the mangroves to Key West. speedboat.com

S P E E D B O A T | April 2020

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MTI FUN RUN

Fred Reavis’s 48 and Doug Comrie & Eric Belisle’s 48 are parked at Hawk’s Cay Marina on Duck Key.

Below: Mark David Branton’s 48 cat is docked at Post Card Inn for lunch.

Boats docked at Hawk’s Cay.

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S P E E D B O A T | April 2020

speedboat.com

Above: MTI customers depart Miami at the start of the Fun Run. Right: MTI President Randy Scism at the Fun Run dinner.

Below: Jason Curry drives his 42V in the mangroves coming into Key Largo.

speedboat.com

S P E E D B O A T | April 2020

51

Brett Bayne

by

Speedboat

Spotlight Rusty Rahm

Beginning a new regular feature, in which we pay tribute to speedboating’s living legends.

A

rguably, the brightest stars on the offshore race course in 2016 were Jeff Harris and rookie Rusty Rahm, the team behind Wake Effects’ triumphant World Championship season in Superboat International’s Unlimited Class. Rusty’s first race as a driver was actually at OPA’s Lake of the Ozarks’ Lake Race June 2-4, 2016, as part of the CMS Offshore Racing team. #03 Wake Effects is his 48-foot MTI catamaran—as well as the name of his then-dealership, the boat’s main sponsor.

It was a particularly thrilling year for Rusty and Jeff, who actually snared SBI’s season’s Triple Crown, winning the Florida, National and World championships in 2016.

Then, immediately following their truly amazing achievement, Rusty suffered a bit of a setback. His neck began to hurt.

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

The cause remains unknown; it might have been something related to the tumultuous powerboat races, or the injury might have originated at the gym where he works out regularly.

Whatever the reason, the pain eventually grew so intense that he had trouble sleeping more than 15 minutes on a given night.

Eventually, he contacted his longtime friend (and fellow boat racer) Dr. Michael “Doc” Janssen, a spinal surgeon based in Denver, CO. Janssen ordered Rusty to undergo an MRI, which revealed a significant amount of pressure on his spinal cord.

With the start of the 2017 racing season only a few months away, Janssen performed surgery on Rusty’s neck, which relieved the pain and paved the way for his participation in the 2017 season.

The first race was in Cocoa Beach, FL. Rahm and Harris took a third-place position behind Team CRC and Lucas Oil Silverhook. speedboat.com

Photos by

Paul Kemiel, George Denny, Todd Taylor and Ray Lee

Above: The 48' MTI catamaran Wake Effects.

Below: Rusty’s 2003 51' Outerlimits at the Lake of the Ozarks and (right) on the cover of Powerboat Magazine.

Photos by George Denny

speedboat.com

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

53

SPOTLIGHT ON RUSTY RAHM

Left: Jeff Harris (throttles) and Rusty Rahm (driver) at the 2016 Superboat International World Finals. It was Rahm’s rookie year; the team would finish the season with the coveted Triple Crown (Florida Championship, National Championship and World Championship), and Rahm would take home the Rookie of the Year Award. “I think I was most honored by that,” he says.

In July, they nabbed a second-place trophy in Mentor, followed by an unopposed win in Michigan City, IN. “We didn’t have any competition in our class, but it gave Jeff and I an opportunity to get some more seat time in this clockwise-rotation course, where we normally race counter-clockwise,” Rusty told Speedboat after the race. As for the 2017 World Finals, he jokingly predicted “global domination” for the team, laughing heartedly. By the end of the regular season, they’d racked up enough points to take their second consecutive national title, although they’d have to settle for third place at the 2017 Worlds.

However, in 2018, the team came back with a vengeance, making good on their threat to globally dominate by grabbing another Key West World Championship, besting competitors Team CRC, Zabo Racing, Lucas Oil Silverhook, Huski Chocolate and two Victory competitors from Dubai.

By 2019, SBI was out of the picture, and OPA/P1 had become the key sanctioning body in the offshore racing world (although Race World Offshore nabbed the contract

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

to stage the Key West Worlds). Fans from coast to coast anxiously anticipated Wake Effects’ next move.

On March 3, 2019, Speedboat phoned Rusty about his plans for the upcoming season. Although he was headed to the airport, en route to Las Vegas to attend a trade show, he happily took our call. “We’re thinking of racing in OPA’s Extreme class,” he told us.

“And if SBI does anything, or RWO offers an Unlimited Class, we’ll definitely consider it. We’re keeping our options wide open.

Right now, there are only three teams in the 1100 class, so I’m not sure I want to invest a lot of money in a class that has only three teams. We’re going to see what happens.”

Reflecting on the team’s 2018 victory, he added, “We had a game plan, and it worked out. We’re thrilled to get our second World Championship in three years together, and we’d like to get our third this year.”

But it was not to be.

Once in Vegas, Rusty went to bed relatively early before the convention began, but woke up in the middle of the night, having inexplicably fallen out of bed. He found himself stuck between the bed and the leg

of his nightstand, and that he could not extract himself. It’s estimated that he may have lain like that for as many as 20 hours.

When he failed to call or text his wife Natalie the next morning—as he always does—she became concerned. Ultimately, a team was dispatched to find Rusty. He was taken to a hospital, where it was determined that he’d suffered a stroke. Unfortunately, the incident would sideline him from the sport for the foreseeable future.

Jeff Harris, meanwhile, accepted a new role as Chief Operating Officer of Iconic Marine Group. He, along with the rest of the powerboating community, have waited patiently for Rusty to get better.

In the first of a new series spotlighting the industry’s living legends, Speedboat sat down with Rusty Rahm to reminisce about his history with boating, his triumphs on the course, and his road to recovery through months of physical therapy.

He sounds great, and his attitude has lost none of the upbeat and optimistic flavor it’s always had.

Speedboat: How did you get into boatspeedboat.com

Left: Jeff and Rusty in the Wake Effects cockpit. Below: The boat now sports updated red and black graphics. These images were shot

by Speedboat photographer Paul Kemiel during the 2017 Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City, IN.

ing, and what was your inroad into performance boating and ultimately racing?

Rusty Rahm: My first boat was a 16-foot Bayliner. Later I owned a 47' Lightning with triple 502s. But you see a lot of Fountains on the lake where I boat, and I started wanting something a bit more unique. Then I saw an ad for an Outerlimits and I was like, holy s**t, that doesn’t look like every other boat you see on the lake! So I moved up to a 2003 51' Outerlimits.

SB: Where did you buy that boat?

RR: I bought it from National Marine, a company out in Ohio run by Bill Hionas, which is now out of business. I was promised it would be a 100+ mph boat. I bought it, and the thing would not go over 82 mph, even with triple 525s. So I reached out to [Outerlimits owner] Mike Fiore, and he was very stand-up about it.

He took that boat back at the full dollar value of what I paid for it, and let me put the money down on a 51 Outerlimits that was coming off the line with big Sterling speedboat.com

engines. That one went north of 100 mph.

SB: Let me guess—eventually you wanted to go faster.

RR: Yes. This was when I was really starting to get bitten by the bug for performance boating. I kept wanting to go a little faster, and a little faster. After taking the boat to a poker run, Johnny Tomlinson worked with Mike D’Anniballe of Sterling Engines on my behalf to figure out how to upgrade the engines to make that big, heavy boat go even faster. Mike ended up tweaking the boost and putting the Whipple quad rotors on them. The engines were making 1600 hp before they even had motors that size.

SB: So running the Shootout at LOTO was part of your gradual inroad into racing.

RR: Running the LOTO Shootout in 2003 was the first major competition that I had, going back and forth with AMS. They had an Outerlimits that was the same exact model I had, but with the turbine

engines in it. I think it was [Turbine Marine Inc. owner] John Arruda’s boat. Anyway, we were going back and forth. I would do a pass at 122, and then they’d go out and make a pass that was 2 mph faster than mine. We literally went back and forth the whole day, each of us running 1 or 2 mph faster. By the end, I was running on fumes. I went out and made a pass at 126 to their 125. I ran out of gas on the way home—my wife had to come out in the pontoon boat and pull me home!

SB: It sounds like you have a lot of fond memories of that Outerlimits.

RR: I do. The other day, on Facebook, George Denny posted a photo of the boat next to the old Bud Select raceboat. I’d had some issues with one of the Sterling engines. This was back when Myrick Coil and all those guys worked for Dave Scott.

You’d see them wearing their Bud Select shirts. Well, they had opened up my engine compartment, and I saw them from my balcony at Shooters, and there was Dave Scott’s crew working in my bilge. But they all had their shirts off! I was like, “What the hell? What did they all take their shirts off for?” Somebody said, “Well, because they’re sponsored by Bud Select—they can’t be seen working on your boat with a Bud Select uniform on.”

Later that year, I was down at Key West for the races. Dave Scott won the World Championships that year. I happened to run into him at Shula’s Steakhouse later that night.

So we sent over a bottle of champagne to congratulate them on their victory. I remember thinking, “Someday I want to do this.”

SB: Tell us about your company, Wake Effects. What’s the story behind that venture?

RR: My son was an avid wakeboarder. We were on a guy’s trip to Lake of the Ozarks, he and I. We went into Wake Effects, which was a local hotspot for wakeboarding equipment, and I found out the business was for sale. I’m not a mechanical guy, but I wanted to do something fun with my son. And since I couldn’t teach him how to build a motor, I thought maybe running a business together would be fun. So I acquired Wake Effects, which is now a service center and retail shop located at the Lake of the Ozarks, currently owned by Big Thunder Marine.

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

55

SPOTLIGHT ON RUSTY RAHM

Left: The Wake Effects team at the 2018 LOTO Shootout: Harris, Rahm, Justin Lisk, crew chief Gene Greber, and Gene’s children Peyton and Ellie.

Above: The boat races against Brian Correll’s stunt plane at the halftime exhibition race.

SB: Around this time, you took on MTI as a dealer, and announced plans to race with Randy Kent of Marine Concepts to race his 44' MTI, Speed Racer.

RR: Right. I was going to race with Randy Kent, and got to know him and Bob Bull through that process. Then Randy Scism at MTI reached out to me and asked me if I had any interest in racing in the #03 CMS boat. I said, “Absolutely.” He said, “Do you want to meet for dinner and talk about it?” I’d had dinner plans with my wife that night, and told her what was going on. She said, “Just go. Otherwise, you’ll be a pain in the ass all night.” So I met with Randy, and he gave me an opportunity to race in the #03 boat, which was probably the best move I could have made. Obviously, having Jeff Harris in the boat with me made a huge difference.

SB: What was it like racing with Jeff?

RR: Jeff is awesome. Not only is he an amazing throttleman, but a great mentor to me as well. Throttling is a real science.

Watching Jeff work the throttles is like a work of art. He’s so good. I could never have the anticipation he’s had. I’d see him pull the throttles back and think, “What the hell is he doing?” The next thing you know, we’re 10 feet in the air. It’s just incredible.

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

SB: What do you remember most vividly about winning the Triple Crown in your rookie year?

RR: That the points were so close that year. I remember getting out of the boat and they said, “Congratulations! How does it feel to be a World Champion?” I said, “I don’t think we got it. I think CRC did.” Because we were literally like 10 points apart. But it was awesome. In addition to the Triple Crown, I also won Rookie of the Year, and I think I was probably most honored by that.

SB: You’ve raced at all of the offshore venues. Which one is your favorite to drive?

RR: My favorite venue was always Michigan City, IN. They really have a great crowd, and their street parade is a lot of fun.

Everything is always very well organized, and the people are incredible, always grateful that we’re there. And I just like the way the setup is, where the pits are right on the beach as well.

SB: Last year, you went to Vegas for a trade show and had what must have been the scariest night of your life. Tell our readers what happened.

RR: I woke up in the middle of the night, and I had fallen out of the bed. I was stuck between the leg of the nightstand and the bed. The nightstand was right underneath my jawbone. I couldn’t get out of there, so I laid there for maybe 18 to 20 hours.

Whenever I’m out of town on business,

I always call or text my wife in the morning to say hello. And when I hadn’t done that the next morning, she was concerned.

She called the hotel and asked security to check on me. But they clearly never came in, or they would’ve seen that my arm was directly behind my back. Fortunately, I was in Vegas with a guy that I worked with, and my wife had him go up to my room with hotel security, and they found me trapped between the bed and nightstand and ended up getting me out of there. I was in the hospital in Vegas for a few weeks and went back to Kansas City via Air Ambulance.

I remember coming to and they told me I’d had a stroke. I didn’t even know exactly what a stroke was. It was very scary. They told me to lift my left leg up and I could not do it. I was so freaked out. I remember getting to the rehab hospital in Kansas City, and the first morning they came in with this big harness that lifts you up to the ceiling and allows you to stand.

But just yesterday, I saw one of my original physical therapists. I started to walk over to her and she suddenly got very emotional and said, “Look at these goosebumps on my arm. You know what? The last time I saw you, it took three of us to help you. You were hanging from a hydraulic hoist. And now you can walk.”

SB: Some stroke victims lose the ability to speak and have to learn how to talk again.

Did you ever have that kind of impairment? speedboat.com

RR: I didn’t completely lose my ability to speak, but I did have an issue with my diaphragm. My voice was very faint for a while. Probably the biggest thing holding me back is something called “left side neglect,” which some stroke survivors experience. As much as I want to come back as soon as possible, I don’t want to do it until I can ensure that it would be safe for everybody in the cockpit, and never put any other racers in harm’s way.

SB: I was going to ask you if you missed racing, but I think that every racer in the country misses racing right now, with the pandemic causing so many events to be canceled.

RR: Actually, I haven’t even been in the race boat since my stroke. I think I’m going to go down to LOTO next week and go out in it for the first time since my stroke.

SB: Everybody in the industry is rooting for you. I hope you know how much you are loved, and we all want you for you to be healthy and happy.

RR: I’ve felt a tremendous amount of love

from the whole powerboat world. Quite frankly, it’s driven me a lot. It never fails: At least once a week I’ll get a random message

from somebody on Facebook saying, “We miss you so much. Can’t wait till you’re back.” And I can’t wait to be back.

Waves & Wheels Works Its Magic on an Outerlimits SL44.

FUELISH by

Brett Bayne

photos by

Dustin Hile

ADDICTION

A

mong the companies that are continuing to thrive in the age of Coronavirus: Waves and Wheels, the marine audio, upholstery and fabrication company based in the Lake of the Ozarks, MO. Demand for their products and services remains unabated, according to company owner Justin Wagner. “We’ve been slammed,” he tells Speedboat. “We’ve got a full house of projects, including seven or eight that we’ve cranked out in the last month and another half a dozen that we’re just wrapping up right now.”

One that they recently completed was for an Outerlimits owner who’s raving about his project boat. Andy Robinette of

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

Georgia-based Synergy Refrigeration Inc., purchased his first Outerlimits, a 2010 SL44, last October from the former owner based in Akron, OH (when it was called She’s Gone). Robinette had previously tapped Waves and Wheels to install a stereo system in his previous boat, a Sunsation Dominator.

“They did such a great job with it—everything was just amazing,” he says. “And since they’re relatively close to where I live, I knew it would be the perfect fit to have them put a new stereo into the Outerlimits as well as to completely redo the interior and bring it much more up to date.”

Wagner and his crew worked on the boat over the winter, and when it was completed, Robinette was awestruck. “The first speedboat.com

time I saw the interior in person, I was just blown away. They did a stellar job. Justin and Noah Estes were excellent to work with, and came up with some very cool designs for the interior. There were a lot of FaceTime videos and chats going back and forth as they were coming up with ideas and plans, and they just did a knockout job.”

Robinette loves to attend events like the Tickfaw 200, the Kuttawa Cannonball Run and the LOTO Shootout, but until the pandemic has passed, it’s anybody’s guess which poker runs he’ll be attending in 2020, if any. In the meantime, though, he’ll be enjoying the boat on the Lake of the Ozarks with wife Stacy Robinette and their five children. The boat’s new name, Fuelish Addiction, was added to the boat’s transom by Waves and Wheels. speedboat.com

Recently, Waves and Wheels had the opportunity to make parts for a local hospital to aid them with their efforts to treat victims of the pandemic. “We made about 600 parts for the hospital and, because we do electronic repairs and things of that nature, we were allowed to stay open. But regarding COVID-19, we were pretty much ahead of the curve before local officials mandated anything. We’re blessed with a having a big facility, so we’ve kept it to two people per department and have set up hand sanitizer stations in every department. We’re seeing our clients by appointment only so we’re not filling up our showroom. That’s worked out very well. We’re still working on getting people’s boats ready for summer.”

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

59

FUELISH ADDICTION

Waves & Wheels’ challenge was to transform the interior of the Outerlimits. “They did such a great job with it—everything was just amazing,” customer Andy Robinette says. “I knew they would be the perfect fit to have them put a new stereo into the Outerlimits as well as to completely redo the interior and bring it much more up to date.”

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

speedboat.com

Justin Wagner and the crew at Waves & Wheels worked on the boat over the winter, and when it was completed, owner Andy Robinette was awestruck. “The first time I saw the interior in person, I was just blown away. They did a stellar job.�

speedboat.com

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Outerlimits Forges Ahead With Service Work, New Center Console Outerlimits Powerboats of Bristol, RI, reports to Speedboat that the company has been active and staying busy with a variety of projects during the COVID-19 pandemic: “We’ve been lucky enough to remain safe,” says Sales Manager Dan Kleitz. “All our employees are doing well.” The company has been staying busy with service work, including “a lot of boats from all different manufacturers,” he says. And then they’ve been keeping hard at work on three major tooling projects: • The 36 outboard Sports Catamaran.

• The SR (Sport RIB) 36.

• The SX 39 Center Console.

The race-bred Center Console was derived from Outerlimits’ five-step SV and SL hull design and features a pad bottom; it’s poised to target the go-fast sportfishing market. “Reggie Fountain at Fountain Powerboats did it very well for years with their 38 Center Console,” Kleitz says. “We are planning on doing a luxury version and a sport-fish version as well.”

The SX 39 will actually feature an overall length of 41 feet, as well as a 10.5-foot beam and a fuel capacity of 504 gallons.

The luxury version, he adds, will still be a terrific boat to fish from, but he points out that a lot of the center-console manufactur-

ers are already squarely aimed at the luxury segment. “I think the fishing segment will be a much larger and broader market to go into,” he says. “So that’s who we’ll be targeting—a guy who wants a very fast boat, but not necessarily all-out top speed. It’ll be a much more efficient boat than those offered by our competitors, and have much better fuel economy. That’s what these fishing guys really care about is the fuel efficiency. They need to be able to go hundreds of miles offshore on one tank of fuel, and then be able to come home. You don’t want to run out of gas in the middle of the ocean.”

If you think the SX 39 will be Outerlimits’ first center console, you’re wrong. Back in the mid to late 1990s, the company actually

built a handful of center consoles in both I/O and outboard configurations. In that respect, Mike Fiore—the late president/CEO of Outerlimits—was way ahead of the times.

Kleitz says that another Outerlimits center console was started in more recent times for offshore powerboat racer Bob Russell, but ultimately finished for Stephen Miles of Stephen Miles Designs (Owensboro, KY), who currently owns the boat.

Like virtually all of today’s center consoles, the Outerlimits SX 39 will feature outboard engines—no I/Os on this bad boy.

“Mercury Racing has done such a amazing job with the outboard technology’s horsepower and reliability,” Kleitz says. “They’re hard to beat, especially on a center console.”

Iconic Marine Group Producing Masks, Shields, Gowns During Pandemic Iconic Marine Group—builder of Fountain, Donzi and Baja boats—is working to produce desperately needed masks and face shields during the age of the coronavirus.

“We were trying to fulfill a couple of needs that we saw,” IMG Chief Financial Officer Tom Vale told Speedboat. “First, we wanted to ensure our employees had pedestrian masks for their own safety.

Soon after we started production of our masks, we were approached by our local government and health officials regarding the needs in our community. As a manufacturer, there are things that were within

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

speedboat.com

c

our wheelhouse that, while having nothing to do with PPE, enabled us to quickly get prototypes together and start production of masks and face shields.”

As the pandemic began to worsen, Iconic partnered with the North Carolina Textile District to manufacture 5,000 pedestrian masks. The first 1,500 will be provided to IMG and Custom Truck One Source employees and 500 to local government agencies; the remaining 3,000 will be sent back to NC Textile to be distributed to local health care agencies.

“It’s a tremendous effort from the North Carolina Textile district-they sourced material and prepared kits for simplified manufacturing,” said Natascia McCraight, IMG’s director of Finance, Supply and Production Planning.

“We have currently recruited and hired 12 parttime seamstresses to supplement our upholstery department. Our goal is to fulfill the 5,000 masks within two weeks, and then source another 5,000 mask kits and continue to manufacture them until we’ve fulfilled the demand.”

IMG has also partnered with East Carolina University (ECU) and Practicon of Greenville, NC, to manufacture plastic face shields for distribution to the local medical community.

“We have delivered approximately 150 shields and are cutting another 120 shields this week,” McCraight said. “We have acquired additional material to cut 1,600 shields next week. ECU is then assembling the completed shields and distributing them to local hospitals and medical facilities. In addition, we’ve been able to distribute shields to a local nursing home in Little Washington.”

The masks and shields have all been designed using the help and generosity of the local community. The initial head strap to hold the protective shield was initially created by Todd Jenkins on his personal 3D printer—when Iconic realized there was a bottle neck with production of the head strap, they were put in contact with Josh Pitzer, from ECU, who has acted as the liaison between ECU and IMG. “The entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to work together and help each other is remarkable,” Vale said.

“This has really been an incredible experience. I’m super proud of Iconic Marine Group leadership and our employees,” McCraight said. “Our metal shop and upholstery shop jumped right in to develop prototypes and are continuing production of PPE. Fountain speedboat.com

Powerboats is an American Iconic brand and our employees display true American spirit-it’s a great place to work.”

The crew at Iconic has continued to build boats at full capacity, while observing sensible distancing, wearing protective gear and using antibacterial gel. “We’ve never stopped, not for a minute,” said Iconic COO Jeff Harris.

“We’ve implemented phone meetings when possible, introduced staggering breaks and lunches, and do temperature checks each morning. We’re observing CDC guidelines.

Unlike a lot of factories, which cram a lot of people into a few bays, we’ve got almost 260,000 square feet here, and we can spread everybody out accordingly.”

S P E E D B O A T | November 2019

63

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Brett’s

COVE

RAT PATROL Jeff Worthen’s 1980 HONDO

Featuring

Howard Restoration

Salute to Frank Dade

speedboat.com

S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

65

FedUp Fed Up Story by

Brett Bayne

Lead Photo by

Daren Van Ryte

Hot boat fanatic Jordan Endler returns to Speedboat to show off his latest project, a 1975 Howard Runner Bottom.

F

aithful Speedboat readers may recall seeing Jordan Endler’s 1978 Cole TR2 flatbottom featured in our March 2015 issue. That boat was powered by a 500-c.i. big-block Chevy (15% overdrive) with a Casale 10% V-drive. Another sweet Endler ride featured in these pages was his 19' Haskel, which he built from a bare hull starting when he was 19.

Endler, who lives in Santa Ynez, CA, contacted us recently to share photos of his newest acquisition, a 1975 18'5" Howard Runner Bottom he found through a friend. Although it was a complete boat, Endler planned to swap out the troubled existing engine with the 496 that had previously been powering his Cole. Toby’s Machine Shop (Santa Barbara, CA) ground the crank and rebuilt the cylinder heads, after which Endler reassembled the motor himself in his garage; he also

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

rebuilt the carburetors. “I didn’t really change any of the rigging around, just kind of removed and replaced pieces of the hardware that had kind of worn out,” he says. “I had the propeller fixed because it had a bend in it and was dinged up a bit.”

The Howard has had a couple of different names, including Get Rowdy and Mr. Bitchen; Endler re-christened it FedUp, a nod to FedEx. He says it’s been a “pretty good lake hot rod—boat.

It’s real heavy, handles very well. You could definitely put two people in there and cruise around without having to worry about it snapping in two if you hit a wake.”

Endler enjoys taking the boat to the Flat Bottom Boogie event on California’s Kings River. On the pages ahead, he shares some images of the engine overhaul and general upgrades to the Howard.

speedboat.com

Jordan Endler’s Cole was featured in the March 2015 issue of Speedboat.

Here’s the Howard as Endler first purchased it, with its previous power and name, Mr. Bitchen.

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

67

FedUp

The boat, now engine-free, will start to get cleaned up, with the wiring and other components attended to.

Above: The cylinder heads from the replacement engine reveal some wear and tear from having been run hard on the Cole over the years.

Endler’s friend Greg Evans helps pull the previous engine out of the boat.

Most of it ended up being junked.

Above and right: The cylinder heads from the replacement engine reveal some wear and tear from having been run hard on the Cole over the years.

Left: Endler checks the oil clearance on the connecting rods with a bore gauge.

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

speedboat.com

Endler file-fits the piston rings.

Above: The pistons, on a piston rack, are prepared to be installed back into the engine.

Left: Endler turns his attention to setting up the crankshaft and oil pump, as well as setting all of the clearances on the bearings.

Left: The engine’s short block has been completed, with pistons, rods, crank, etc.

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S P E E D B O A T | May/June 2020

69

FedUp

The valvetrain is prepared to be assembled onto the cylinder heads.

Endler sets the timing of the magneto using a buzz box.

The cylinder heads have been bolted down to the engine, and stud girdles are in place.

Endler fabricated this piece to space the water pump away from the cam gear. Without the spacer, the water pump was running into the cam gear.

The completed engine is lowered into the Howard.

Endler bolts the PTO (power takeoff) and flex plate to the end of the crankshaft.

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Here we see the complete assembly of the fuel system.

Here’s the Howard with its new name on the transom, FedUp, rendered like the FedEx logo. Holding the boat is Endler’s cousin, Jacob Rodriguez.

Endler drives the boat at the 2019 Outlaw Nationals event at Sundance Saloon in Parker, AZ. Photo by Daren Van Ryte.

Home Blown, an all-original 1981 Miller V-drive, belongs to Jordan Endler’s dad, Mark Endler. This is the boat that Jordan and his sisters grew up in, and what got Jordan into V-drive boats.

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photography by

Ray Lee

RatPatrol Jeff Worthen’s incredible 1980 Hondo is just one of a number of awesome hot rods in his ever-expanding stable.

A

s most hot-boat aficionados are aware, the great Irv Brendel’s fledgling Hondo Boats enterprise

was a high-performance-oriented offshoot of his earlier line, Brendella Boats. The company quickly became an elite Southern California racing institution after it took flight in 1967. (The company was famously named after his German Shepherd.) It produced some of the fastest, safest and best-known flatbottom dragsters in the history of boat racing.

There have been quite a number of famous Hondos through the years, including Panic Mouse. One stunning representa-

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tion of the Hondo is Rat Infested, a 1980 Hondo owned by Jeff Worthen, whose other boats have appeared in this magazine over the years. His collection includes a pair of crackerbox race boats, a Glen-L kit boat, a classic Biesemeyer and an Eliminator daycruiser V-drive. So what’s one more fast ride?

Worthen bought his Hondo from a friend a couple of years ago; the 500-c.i. engine is coupled to a Casale V-drive and features a pair of 1050 Dominators. Horsepower is estimated to be around 1,000. The boat was painted by Alexander’s Custom Paint, with cool lettering by Bob Thompson. The scoop was painted by Jeff Squigley. speedboat.com

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RAT PATROL

Worthen’s 1980 Hondo features a custom paint job by Alexander’s Custom Paint, lettering by Bob Thompson (dba “Team Thompson”). The 500-c.i. engine is coupled to a Casale V-drive and features a pair of 1050 Dominators. Horsepower is estimated to be around 1,000. The boat’s scoop (below) was painted by Jeff Squigley.

Our photo shoot, conducted in 2019 at Lake Elsinore as part of Speedboat’s annual swimsuit shoot, features Mikayla and Ashley (Pages 72-73) and Nicole (Page 75).

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photography by

Mark McLaughlin

Talk about a blast from the past.

Dragboat legend Frank Dade’s son acquired his former race hull and gave his pop one more run for his money—at age 91.

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The

B

ack in the golden heyday of West Coast racing, a man by the name of Frank Dade earned a solid

reputation in hotrods of the land and the sea. Dade raced cars from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, after which he started racing boats in the IHBA and NDBA circuits.

(He actually served as president and a slew of other positions in the NDBA at different times.) He ran in virtually every class that existed, and practically every boat at one time or another, but he is perhaps best known for his triumphs in Mr. Ed, Kyees Aluminum Express and Smoke on the Water.

There were several hulls known as Smoke on the Water, all built by Irv Brendel. The only one still surviving in 2020 was originally owned by Gary Rasche and raced by Dade several decades ago. For many years, Frank Dade’s son, Michael,

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Zone

attempted to purchase the boat from Rasche, who didn’t want to part with it. However, when Rasche passed away in 2018, Michael Dade bought the boat from Rasche’s trust—and decided to give his pop a chance to take a nostalgic ride in the boat for old time’s sake.

“I told my Dad, I’d like to put the boat back together and put it on the water,” Michael recalls. “I asked him what he would think about maybe making a run in it. He said, ‘I could do that!’ ” The historic event took place a week before Frank’s 91st birthday, at last season’s Fire on the Mountain Dragboat Reunion, put on by Blaine White and Scott Blevens. Frank didn’t go too fast—somewhere between 70 and 80 mph. “But he enjoyed it,” Michael says. “I just wanted to make him happy. And let me tell you, it took him six months to come down off of cloud nine.”

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DADE ZONE

Frank Dade’s ride in the former Smoke on the Water Brendella hull took place a week before Frank’s 91st birthday at the Fire on the Mountain Dragboat Reunion on Lake Ming. “He’s told that after he dies, he wants to be cremated and his ashes put in the parachute, and then pop the chute out at Ming,” his son Michael says.

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During the event, Frank “was so excited,” son Michael says. “There were so many people there that came to watch him, including a lot of old racers and a lot of old friends of his. It was pretty monumental for him.” Nobody but Frank has ever driven the boat before, but Michael says he may give the boat a spin someday.

“I’ve never driven a Top Fuel boat before. I may be very intimidated by it, but I think I’m going to have to try it. After all, I own it. I have to try it!”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Mercury Racing 450R Named Boating Industry ‘Top Product’ Released in 2019, Mercury Racing‘s 450R leadership is at the core of our success high-performance outboard engine has and remains a key element in our strategic been named to the 2020 Boating Industry Magazine’s Top Products list.

The seventh-annual list, which was officially announced today, includes 50 of the marine industry’s best new and innovative products selected by the editors of Boating Industry. To be eligible for consideration, products or services must be introduced or significantly updated since January 2019.

Mercury Racing and Mercury Marine are devisions of Brunswick Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of pleasure boats, marine engines, and accessories.

“We want to thank Boating Industry for selecting the Mercury Racing 450R as a Top Product for 2020,” said Dave Foulkes, Brunswick Chief Executive Officer. “Product

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growth initiatives. We have the most robust product portfolio in the industry and we are honored to win this award and congratulations to everyone at Mercury Racing who helped to make this possible.”

In February, the Mercury Racing 450R earned 2020 Innovation Award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The 450R impressed judges from Boating Writers International with its combination of unrelenting performance, technology features and styling, each intended to enhance the performance boating experience.

Launched in June, 2019, the Mercury Racing 450R writes a power prescription that combines unprecedented accelera-

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INDUSTRY NEWS Mercury Racing 450R [continued from page 80] tion and top-speed potential with rugged reliability and the latest technology from Mercury Marine. The Mercury Racing 450R features a 4.6-liter V8 FourStroke powerhead boosted by an exclusive Mercury Racing supercharger to produce 450 peak propshaft horsepower and 439 ft. lb. of torque—40% more torque than the previous Mercury Racing outboard benchmark—from an outboard that weighs as little as 689 pounds (313 Kg), the best power-to-weight ratio in the high-performance outboard category.

The Mercury Racing 450R delivers all of its performance on readily available 89-octane (95 RON) pump fuel.

“The Mercury Racing 450R set a new benchmark for outboard performance and design,” said Stuart Halley, Mercury Racing general manager. “Its inclusion as a Boating Industry Top Product acknowledges the creative talent and the engineering and manufacturing prowess of the entire staff at Mercury Racing, where we always run ‘Wide Open.’ ” Seven different products from a number of Brunswick Corporation brands won Boating Industry’s Top Products Awards:

dards to make boating more eco-friendly, more technologically inclined and most importantly easier for all,” said Boating Industry Managing Editor Adam Quandt.

“We want to thank Boating Industry for selecting seven of our products as a Top Products for 2020,” said Foulkes. “Product leadership is at the core of our success and remains a key element in our strategic growth initiatives. We have the most robust product portfolio in the industry with the leading engine company, the

best boat brands, the broadest global parts and accessories business and the largest boat club in Freedom Boat Club.

We are honored to win these awards and congratulations to everyone at Brunswick who helped to make this possible.”

Several of these class leading products including the Sea Ray SLX-R 400e, Crestliner AP-X Hull and the Mercury Racing 450R won NMMA Innovation awards earlier this year at the Minneapolis and Miami Boat Shows.

• Mercury Racing 450R. • Sea Ray SLX-R 400e.

• Bayliner Trophy Series.

• Crestliner AP-X Hull.

• Harris Solstice.

• CZone Contact 6Plus.

• Mastervolt: CombiMaster.

Inverter/Charger.

Brunswick Boat Group won four awards; Power Products’ brands took home two awards for its digital switching and electrification products.

“Brunswick and its brands continuously push the limits of recreational boating. From new hull designs like the AP-X hull from Crestliner to new engines such as Mercury Racing’s 450R, all the way to the technology-marvel of the new Sea Ray SLX-R 400e and so much more within the Brunswick portfolio, the company’s brands are setting stan-

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