Speedboat August 2018

SPEEDBOAT MAGAZINE

DCB’S M33-R REVIEWED!

TEXAS

OUTLAW

FROM THE

BONANZA!

POKER RUN TO THE BAHAMAS

Full Coverage Of the Challenge See Page 14

TECH: How Many Blades Should Your Prop Have?

AUGUST 2018

AUGUST 2018

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Where true luxury meets speed and dependability at over 110mph.

Your next boat purchase is an investment in both your family and yourself. Make the right choice.

www.NordicBoatsUSA.com

50 years of serving the custom boat industry.

The 28SS with twin 300s... The fastest way to get to 100mph!

LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA • 800.279.5398 • E-MAIL: sales@NordicBoatsUSA.com

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Table of Contents AUGUST 2018

COLUMNS

32 LET FREEDOM RING

8 10 12 68

40 BLASTOFF TO THE BAHAMAS

RAY LEE TEAGUE ON TECH JET TECH NEW PRODUCTS

Where were you during the nation’s Independence Day celebrations? We went to Lake Havasu and Lake of the Ozarks!

Stu Jones leads his Florida Powerboat Club to those picturesque islands—where life is anything but a boar.

50 SARASOTA SLAMMIN’

FEATURES

Florida’s Gold Coast provides a thrilling backdrop for Sarasota’s annual offshore showdown.

14 TEXAS OUTLAW CHALLENGE

56 SPEEDBOAT LEGENDS

Pool parties, beautiful ladies and triple-digit speedboats: It’s a Lone Star State tradition.

This month, we pay tribute to Formula One tunnel-boat world champion Terry Rinker and his racing family.

28 DCB M33-R

60 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 BLADES?

With its newest cat, the builder combines luxury with consummate performance.

When it comes to props, how many blades are best? Brett Anderson of BBLADES provides some tips to help you decide.

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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

National Sales Director Art Director

Greg Shoemaker Jim Wilkes Valerie Collins Ray Lee ray@speedboat.com

Gail Hada-Insley

Helicopter Services Fred Young fyoung@live.com

Photographers Cover Photo by Todd Taylor Table of Contents photo by Pete Boden

Todd Taylor, Pete Boden, Kenny Dunlop, Paul Kemiel, Jeff Gerardi, Randy Nuzzo, Mark McLaughlin

Operations Manager Michele Plummer and Subscriptions michele@speedboat.com 5840 W. Craig Rd Suite 120, #386 Las Vegas, NV 89130-2730

64 HYDRO HEAVEN APBA tunnel boats triumph in Indiana, while Formula One competitors mix it up in Texas.

Webmaster

Craig Lathrop craig@speedboat.com

BRETT’S COVE

Web Design

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

70 CRISIS POINT Mid-Life Crisis, a 1978 DiMarco we featured back in the Hot Boat days, returns for an encore.

Blair Davidson

Editorial Offices

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74 BRAWL IN BURLEY Circle-boat racers clash at the 43rd Annual Burley Regatta in Idaho.

SPEEDBOAT MAGAZINE (ISSN#1941-9473) is published 8 times plus a bonus issue this year by DCO Enterprises LLC. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Domestic $34.00 for 8 times plus a bonus issue, Canada $66.00 for 8 times plus a bonus issue, International $77.00 for 8 times plus a bonus issue. All prices are for one year and in U.S. funds. For subscription info: call (702) 313-1400.

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OBSERVER’S SEAT RAY LEE They say that everything is bigger in Texas.

Well, for this year’s Texas Outlaw Challenge, this old adage was mostly true. Since its inception, Organizer and Founder Paul Robinson has worked tirelessly to grow this event to an all-encompassing powerfest. In the eleven years of its existence, the trip down to southeast Texas has become just that, as we experienced first-hand.

The Texas Outlaw Challenge consists of the Thursday evening “Stampede” Street Party on the picturesque Kemah Boardwalk, the Friday morning National Shootout Championship on Clear Lake, followed directly by the run to Poker Run, card stop #1 (better known as the infamous pool party at Kenny Armstrong’s “casa”), the Saturday “Gunslinger” Poker Run to Harborwalk and beyond, and ultimately concludes with the card turn-in and awards presentation. But as if this weren’t enough, Robinson also added the Formula One Champboat racing series, I.O.G.P. (International Outboard Grand Prix) into the mix–racing on both Friday and Sunday.

However, the days leading up to the event were anxious ones. The dreaded weather report for the Houston area was not promising and threatened massive storms and imminent flooding. It seems to be a concern each year and I believe this was a contributing factor for the smaller fleet that arrived in Texas this time. And particularly for those that didn’t.

Speedboat photographer Todd Taylor and I arrived into Houston to find mild, slightly humid weather conditions but without a flood in sight. We joined up with helicopter pilot Fred Young and videographer Carter Bahde, who had arrived the day before and we hit the ground running. We were anxious to catch the unveiling of the brand-new 540 MTI raceboat campaigned by Huski Chocolate–a Swedish chocolate beverage company looking to make a big splash in the U.S. and its offshore racing circuit.

It did not disappoint.

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Texas: The Land of Plenty Measuring 54’ in overall length, it is currently the largest catamaran in the MTI lineup and it was finished just in time to debut there at the Texas Outlaw Challenge. Sporting a powerful pair of Mercury Racing 1750 engines, this boat was awe-inspiring and it promises to be a fast force on the seas.

The next day brought the National Shootout Championship and the F1 Champboat races on Clear Lake. This was our first glimpse of seeing the big Huski MTI run at the experienced hands of throttleman Bruce Bullock of Bullock Marine and driver Tim Trahan. We were initially told that it would mainly be making a few exhibition runs, to give the crowd a little show–but that plan was short-lived. The next thing we saw was a big, long red blur shooting across the course to a recorded top speed of 164 mph on a ¾-mile track– earning Team Huski Chocolate their first “Top Outlaw” honors.

Closely behind them was the duo of Dean Hollier and Chad Sage in the DCB F32 with twin Teague Custom Marine 1400 engines that recorded a strong 160mph.

But as TexasOutlawChallenge.com claims, “there is no second place in a gunfight.”

Shifting gears in a big way, as Texans are known to do, was the Formula One Champboat races. These water rockets weren’t as big, or as fast or as flashy as some of the bigger boats that ran in the Shootout but they were just as impressive, in their own right. The racers flew their boats around the rectangular-ish race track, hull-to-hull, nimbly carving turns as hard as their vessels would allow– which was apparently quite hard. But

sometimes too hard. The Team Mercury Racing boat flipped in Turn 5, which momentarily paused the race to clear the course. Congratulations to Greg Foster and Wesley Cheatham for taking the checkered flag in their respective classes.

Now, I cannot write about the Texas Outlaw Challenge without writing about the pool parties. Especially the one at Kenny Armstrong’s residence–also known as Casa de Kenny. It’s always big, it’s always boisterous… it’s always “Kenny!”

Translation: Plenty of food, plenty of drinks, plenty of girls, plenty of EVERYTHING! And all of it is courtesy of the gracious host. His company (and one of the title sponsors) DH Tech has been good to him and he, in return, is good to the Outlaws. It has undoubtedly become the crown jewel of the Texas Outlaw Challenge.

I spoke with Head Outlaw Paul Robinson shortly after the dust had settled on the event, after he had some time to reflect on the grandeur of it all.

“After 11 years of running the Texas Outlaw Challenge, we finally reached our goal of raising $100,000 for local charities and that’s very satisfying for me and the whole team. Big shout out to the dedicated volunteers that come year after year to donate their time. They’re great and it’s hard to thank them enough,” explained Robinson.

“We have tremendous momentum on growth for this event–for new boaters and the race entity. We have the ability to host bigger race events and that certainly is in our sights,” said Paul, with a grin.

“You can be certain that we’ll be racing in the future.” speedboat.com

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TEAGUE ON TECH Too Slow

BOB TEAGUE Metal in My Oil Filter Dear Bob: I recently had my engines rebuilt by a so-called reputable engine builder in California. After about 10 hours of running, I decided to change the oil. After removing the oil filters, I noticed a lot of metallic material in the oil filters. It looks almost like metallic in paint. There was also evidence of the material in the oil that was drained from the pans. So, I removed the valve covers and noticed quite a bit of the material around the valve springs. I was told that the valve spring retainers were titanium.

The engines were built with hydraulic roller cams and I can’t seem to get them to run much over 5600 RPM even if I put smaller props on the boat. I have CMI headers and have tried it with and without my slip in mufflers. What do you think the metal is coming from and should I be worried? Also, I was expecting to be able to run more RPM to increase the performance of the boat compared to the previous engines.

Thank you.

Simon Ayckbourn Long Beach, CA I believe the metal material is coming from the underside of your titanium retainers. Titanium retainers are great for drag racing or short track racing where ultra high RPM is needed and the lighter retainer is desirable. Titanium Retainers should not be used with valve springs that have a flat damper between the inner and outer springs. The damper is sharp and will dig into the underside of the retainer step. This problem can be even more severe if the valve spring tension is too light for the camshaft profile because the springs have a tendency to dance under higher RPM. In mild applications where the desired top RPM is between 5800 and 6200, steel retainers will do the trick. A typical titanium retainer designed for 1.550"

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The upper left retainer is titanium, and the lower left is tool steel. The lower right retainer is for a stock Mercury 525EFI and the upper right is a HD machined steel. All of the retainers shown use a 10 degree keeper. to 1.560" diameter springs weigh about 18 grams. The steel retainer used on a Mercury 525EFI and most typical steel retainers weigh about 34 grams. The best alternative for ultra performance marine engines is a tool steel retainer which only weighs 6 grams more than the titanium replica. The good thing about the tool steel retainers is that they are very hard and are minimally affected by the spring damper. I like to disassemble the springs and polish the end of the damper which basically eliminates the problem when used in conjunction with the tool steel retainer.

On a motor with a hydraulic camshaft with more than .600" lift when used in conjunction with good low travel roller lifters, the valve spring tension should be in the range of 165 PSI when the valve is on the seat and around 600 PSI open. The higher pressure will keep the valves seated and help prevent valve float. Being that you are seeing material from your titanium retainers and you can’t seem to get the engine RPM up into a desirable range, your valve spring tension might be too low.

Lightweight valve train components on endurance marine engines that run constant higher RPM are not as desirable as many think because of durability compromises and harmonics that are created. I have found that running a heavier wall 3/8" push rod (.120" to .135") also has advantages for stabilizing the valve train without any performance loss.

Dear Bob: I own a 2007 Sleekcraft Heritage with a MerCruiser 496 HO and XR drive. I love the reliability of the engine package but am disappointed at the slow acceleration and low top end speed. At best, this boat will do 60 to 62 MPH. With reliability being important, will a Whipple supercharger get me into the 80 plus MPH range? If so, is hydraulic steering a requirement? I always knew I would not be the fastest boat on the water, but I also do not want to be the slowest.

Matt Harding Des Moines, IA First of all, I am sure that your boat is not the slowest. All things considered, your boat is larger than most single engine performance boats. I think it is important to maintain your reliability. Keeping in mind the size and weight of your boat, I would keep the boost on the mild side.

You will experience a significant gain in performance with the Whipple kit but I think that exceeding 80 MPH may be a little optimistic. There will definitely be a noticeable increase in acceleration and improvement of mid-range efficiency. It is likely that you will be able to go up a couple of sizes in prop pitch, which will lower your cruise speed RPM. As an alternative, you may want to consider installing CMI Sport Tube headers that will increase the power by about 70 horsepower. There is not downside to reliability going this way but it won’t be as a significant performance gain as installing the Whipple kit.

I always recommend installing full hydraulic steering on performance boats for control and safety. At a minimum, install a dual ram assist system (not single ram). Single ram systems exert more steering pressure when extending the steering ram than when retracting the ram. Dual rams provide for a balance in exerted force from the hydraulic rams.

Going to a full hydraulic system with a hydraulic helm will improve the control of the boat to another level. Once you have had a boat with full hydraulic steering, it is hard to go back to driving with a cable steering setup. speedboat.com

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Spark Plug Query Dear Bob: In a recent conversation with a friend, he stated that you told him to use NGK BPR6ES spark plugs in his 525EFIs. But I can’t find that plug for that application on the NGK website. According to the website the proper plug is a BR6ES. Can you shed some light on this for me as I would like to change the plugs in my 525EFIs also? Thanks for your help!

Jay Johnson Seattle, WA

I am not sure exactly what website you are looking at. I am holding some NGK BPR6ES spark plugs in my hand. It is what we use on all Mercury Racing stock 525 EFI engines. It is the recommended plug (Mercury Racing Service Manual) and has an extended tip.

If we install a WhippleCharger on these motors, we switch to the NGK R5671A-8, which is a colder plug without the extended tip. Our experience on supercharged engines has shown that there are fewer tendencies for the spark plug to cause pre-ignition and detonation when the tip is more protected.

Vapor Lock Dear Bob: I have a Baja 272 with a MerCruiser 502EFI Magnum motor package. At the speedboat.com

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end of last year, and this year also, I have been experiencing vapor locking at low rpm. When I start the boat for the first time, the boat will idle and run fine. When I run it at speed, then stop and park somewhere, and then start up and leave for another location, as I am idling out of a cove it stutters and then dies. If I pour cold water over the steel fuel line and wait a couple of seconds, it will start and run fine until I go to another location and stop the engine.

Then, I have to go through the whole procedure again, or the engine will die the same as before. I am not sure what is causing this problem or what to do to resolve it. I need help because no one around here seems to know what to do.

Can you provide some insight and help with my problem?

John Christensen Des Moines, Iowa Your problem is definitely related to a vapor lock condition. There are several reasons that it could be occurring now compared to a couple of years ago.

One of the major factors is that you are now probably using fuel that contains Ethanol. A couple of years ago, most marinas still offered fuel that did not contain Ethanol. Fuel containing Ethanol has a lower boiling point and will in turn vaporize at a lower temperature. Your bilge ventilation is probably marginal and now that the fuel has changed, vapor lock is more likely in hot weather.

A vapor lock condition is simply air that has developed in the fuel delivery system. A vapor lock condition can occur more readily if there are other contributing factors. If air is entering the fuel supply line because of a poor connection, loose clamp, loose fitting, or faulty pickup in the fuel tank, vapor lock is more likely. Check the entire fuel delivery system for problems. You can check your fuel pickup tube by connecting a clear hose to the fitting on the tank and drawing fuel straight up (like in a straw) and closing off the top of the hose. If the fuel stays up in the tube, the fuel pickup is probably okay. If the fuel level returns to

the tank, there is a leak somewhere in the pickup tube (probably in the tank itself ). Many fuel tanks have a plastic pickup tube that slips onto a barbed fitting in the tank. As the plastic gets older and brittle, it may become loose and create an air leak. If you notice that the problem is worse when the tank is low on fuel, I would be more suspect of the fuel pickup.

Vapor lock conditions also occur more often if there is a restriction to fuel flow. Make sure that your fuel filters are clean. If your engine is equipped with a “cool fuel” unit, there is a filter screen inside the “cool fuel” assembly between the fuel pump and the cooler. In order to clean this screen, you will have to remove the entire assembly and take it apart in order to service it.

A weak fuel pump could cavitate which will also contribute to the problem. Replacing the fuel pump may also solve the problem.

If everything checks out okay, you may have to add a supply fuel pump to the system. Many of the fuel injected engines like yours were equipped with a mechanical fuel pump mounted on the raw water pump. For a couple of years, Mercury omitted this pump relying on the injection pump to draw fuel. It was discovered that the omission of the supply pump resulted in vapor lock problems in the warmer climates. Subsequently, a retrofit kit was offered to resolve the problem.

This kit is no longer available. If your engine does not have a mechanical supply pump, the best solution is to add an electric in-line supply pump in the boat. This will require that you also install a remote in-line water separator fuel filter assembly. The electric fuel pump should be connected to a relay that is controlled by an oil pressure switch so it will not run when the engine is not running. It can also be wired with a relay connected to the supply wire to the fuel injection fuel pump. If your engine does have a mechanical supply fuel pump, it may be defective and needs to be replaced.

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Jet Tech GREG SHOEMAKER

Race oils have an anti-foaming agent that helps prevent oil from foaming.

Default Offenhauser Dual Port

if you are planning on running a 20' or 21', then an AB might be a better choice.

Dear Jet Tech: I am having a fairly mild 400 SBC built for a 12J-C (probably a B impeller). I am shooting for 380 hp. I bought some vintage valve covers with “Chevrolet” written in a script

Race Oil

font (factory). There’s no way to install a filler caps or breathers, unless I want to ruin the covers. So I have been on a search for a spread bore (Q-Jet) manifold with the filler / vent on front that would also accommodate a circulating system thermostat fitting.

I think I found one: an Offenhauser Dual Plane. Using ProMax heads, my builder is machining and building up with his hardware. My question is: How will this manifold be as a performance match to what I am trying to do? I am seeking to max out between 5,000 and 5,500 rpm.

John Thompson Bangor, ME The breather on the front of the manifold not only serves as a breather, but also an oil fill. Modifying the valve covers is not necessary at this time. Are you planning on dynoing this engine? The intake manifold you have chosen should work just fine for that rpm range. What size boat are you planning on putting this engine in? The size of the boat will also determine impeller selection. If the boat you are planning on running is an 18 footer, a B impeller would be a good choice, but

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Dear Jet Tech: My boat is powered by a big-block Chevy 468. I recently put a new cam and a few other things into the motor. I’m about to do an oil change, and plan on changing the spark plugs while I’m at it. I have been looking at the 2050 Lucas Performance marine oil. Is that something that would be better for my BBC, or is it intended for a Mercury engine? Would it be better to just use a regular 2050 race oil?

Kyle Peters Boston, MA

Log/Snail Exhaust Dear Jet Tech: I just got my first jetboat, just a family cruiser, and it seems to have a very mundane BBC. My plan is to keep the current engine cover, so is there a log/snail exhaust option for higher HP? My plan is a 540 with a large hydraulic roller cam and single four barrel. What are my options?

With the current engine cover, there is no room for anything to come up the side by the valve cover, like a header. I would love to have headers, but there’s no room.

Thanks, Fred Russo Sparks, NV

Kyle, the Lucas 20/50 racing oil is a good choice for your application. Boat engines always operate at a higher rpm and have a tendency of foaming the oil. The race oils have an anti-foaming agent that helps prevent this from occurring.

Berkeley 12JF Query Dear Jet Tech: I have been plugging away on my latest project and doing all of the basic maintenance on a 1986 Checkmate Enchanter.

It’s got a factory 454 and 12JF pump. With all of the Berkeley pumps I’ve had in the past, the bowls had gear oil in them, but this one is filled with grease. Are there any advantages to this? How do I change it?

Should it be removed and replaced with the gear oil, and if so, how do I get it out?

Chris Gibson Lake Havasu City, AZ Berkeley pumps are designed to utilize an oil bath tail shaft. When they are changed to a grease fitting they will no longer lubricate the tail shaft correctly.

Furthermore, when pumping grease into the tail shaft, it will also have the tendency of pushing the rear bowl seal right out of the bowl housing. Stick with the oil bath and you will continue to lubricate the tail shaft correctly.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the only way to install aftermarket exhaust is to modify the engine house. You can reduce the size of the jump seats enabling you to make the house wider in order to accommodate the wider exhaust system. I just got through making that modification on a 21' Hallett, and it turned out to solve the problem. Log manifolds on a large cubic inch engine can rob you of approximately 40 to 60 hp. Exhaust is a must in your application. speedboat.com

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Pool parties, beautiful ladies and triple-digit speedboats: It’s a Lone Star State tradition.

Left: An aerial view of Kenny Armstrong’s house, the first of the poker run stops.

Opposite top: The pool party at Harborwalk.

Opposite middle: A few of the many “Outlaw Ladies” at the Challenge.

A

s one of the premier boating tition. “It was well received by the commu- luring many new boats—and boaters—to events in the nation, the Texas nity. We had big attendance from the on- the scene. “That was very refreshing. We Outlaw Challenge continues to water fleet, and the races were executed had more center consoles than we’ve ever

reinvent itself in new and interesting ways. Last year, organizers moved the site of its shootout from the open waters of Galveston Bay to the more protected waters of Clear Lake. For this year’s event, attendees got to enjoy some Formula One ChampBoat racing—the first time since the 1980s that Clear Lake has seen this kind of racing. (For more on the IOGP Texas Outlaw Grand Prix Challenge, see Page 64). “That was a first,” says event organizer and coordinator Paul Robinson of the addition of the ChampBoat compe-

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safely, both Friday and Sunday. We were happy to get some extremely nice comments from the racers—they were a very appreciative group.”

One of the most popular segments of the Challenge is an event thrown by Robinson’s neighbor, longtime participant Kenny Armstrong, whose massive party for the Outlaws attracts throngs of locals and out-of-towners alike. “We had record attendance at Kenny’s party, some really big numbers,” Robinson says.

This year’s event was also notable for

had, with lots of people on them. The overall boat count was about the same, but the people count was up.”

The Shootout’s Professional Class was won by the new 54-foot MTI, Huski Chocolate, while the Non-Professional Class winner was a Motion cat owned by Howard Davis of Louisiana, a winner from a previous year. Robinson also praised the high turnout at the Steel Horse Stampede Bike Rally, which gives awards for the Best Touring Bike, Best Chopper, Best Paint and other awards. speedboat.com

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Wet Spot is Greg August’s Nor-Tech.

TEXAS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Todd Taylor and Ray Lee

Outlaw Challenge

Warren Tillerson of San Antonio in Play Pen, his 50’ Hustler, powered by triple 575s. speedboat.com

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Above: The Harborwalk Pool Stop, hosted by event sponsor Legend Marine Group.

Left: Participating boats tie up at Kenny Armstrong’s private 200+ boat marina.

Below: Kenny with the winner of the bikini contest.

Above: The Texas-sized bikini contest at Kenny Armstrong’s house featured some of the most amazing suits—and ladies—in the state.

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Street Party

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Poker Run Left: Frank Gonzalez drives his vintage Carrera vee bottom.

Below: Tim Johnson in his 51' Outerlimits.

Bottom: Ray Andrus is owner of this 42’ Cigarette Tiger, Relentless. Andrus is the current president of the Texas Offshore Performance Squadron of Clear Lake.

Opposite top left: At the Street Party, Chance Kamp of sponsor All-Out Offroad Performance displayed his 2018 Nor-Tech CC. Opposite center left: Wired Up, Jake Nossaman’s 42' MTI-V center console.

Opposite center right: Shane Mulkey’s 44' Skater, Fast Money.

Opposite bottom: Chris Walker of Augusta GA, displays his new 47 ZXR from sponsor Adrenaline Powerboats.

speedboat.com

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Poker Run Left: Mike Muse of Spring, TX, drives his 48' Fountain Express, A-Muse-d.

Below: The 42’ MTI-V center console belongs Richard Monical.

Bill and Angela Friedrichs drives his 34' Nor-Tech center console, Other People’s Money.

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Above: Warren Foreman and friends in his 4400 Mystic, Agent Provocateur.

Far right: John Caldwell in his MTI. Near right: One of several Donzis that joined the Challenge this year included this exquisite ZR. Bottom: The Lavey Craft 29' NuEra Gettin’ Carrie’d Away.

speedboat.com

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Poker Run

Left: High-roller card players turn in their hands.

Below: the winning card combos included winner Kevin Cram’s royal flush.

Far left: Doc Ritchey and Bryan Ritchey in their 46' Skater, Four Play.

Center: Terrell Haydock and gang in his 36' Sunsation vee bottom.

Near left: Chris Ribeiro’s 50' Nor-Tech, Need for Speed.

Above: Scott Leidolf in his classic Cigarette vee bottom.

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speedboat.com

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Fountain fever: Two native Texans drive their 42' Fountains: Heath Kirkwood in his 42' Fountain, Just Plumb (above) and George Olson in his 42' Fountain Executioner, below.

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Shootout Art DiNick and Mike DiNick in their 31' American Offshore.

Eddie Willrich’s 51' Outerlimits.

Above: Howard Davis and Sean Davis, winners of the Top Gun in Non-Professional Class, in their 40' Motion.

Left: David Spear and Billy Moore in their 40' MTI, Distant Thunder.

Below: Dean Hollier and Chad Sage drive their DCB F32.

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HUSKI Chocolate, the new 54' MTI, won the Shootout after Tim Trahan (driver) and Bruce Bullock (throttles) hit a top speed of 164 mph. The boat is powered by twin Mercury Racing 1750 engines (below).

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TEXAS Outlaw Challenge 2018

Shootout

Above: Lawrence Coelho in his DCB Extreme 28' vee bottom.

Left: Scott Browning drives his 32' Skater.

Right: Jody Gally in his 38' Fountain Sports Cruiser.

Below: Spectators raft up to watch the Shootout.

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DCB T

M33-R With its newest cat, the builder combines luxury with consummate performance.

he crew at DCB Performance Boats have experienced (see Page 14). At press time, DCB was in the process of rigging such a dramatic success with its M series that their boat #3, with orders for three more to follow.

latest introduction of the M33-R can’t be a surprise to anybody. With six models in the catalog ranging from the M28 to the M44, this seventh boat in the M family bridges the gap between 31 and 35, and has been designed exclusively to take advantage of the current popularity of outboard power. Predictably, orders have been coming in briskly, and DCB’s popularity shows no signs at all of wavering.

In conceiving and sculpting the M33-R, company President Jeff Johnston and co-owner/designer Paul Miller drew up plans in January 2017 to create a demo boat to be used in-house and at speedboat events to get customers hooked. The strategy has paid off in droves: in addition to rides to prospective customers in local waters, DCB has taken its demo boat on a tour of the USA that has included stops at Desert Storm, Lake Powell Spring Run and, most recently, to the Texas Outlaw Challenge

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“When we built our 28 outboard, we made a tactical mistake,” Johnston says. “Every time we delivered one, we had to borrow our demo back.” The M33-R demo boat—which served as the basis of this review—solves that problem by remaining in DCB’s possession for the foreseeable future.

“It used to be kind of a rare breed,” Johnston says of the outboard cat, “but now it’s viewed as a reliable package with an affordable engine. We learned by watching Doug Wright and MTI that the best way was to build a demo that would not initially be for sale, but rather as a selling tool. We’re going to sell the demo boat eventually, and then we’ll build a new one for next year’s Miami Boat Show.”

The Package: Our test boat was the first one out of the mold—aka the demo boat—and like those that have followed, it’s been lavishly appointed and amply equipped. The boat speedboat.com

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY

features plush Alcantara interior, impressive display monitors (12” Simrads for the driver and passenger, plus a 12" Garmin in the center), and a super-cool Garmin VIRB Elite Action Camera system (in which a bracket is fabricated on the windshield to accommodate dual VIRB cameras that face forward and reverse). The boat is constructed with a vacuum infused lamination process that employs a carbon-fiber and carbon-Kevlar layup with foam coring—it’s a truly state-of-the-art build that can’t help but impress anybody who takes in the view.

It’s a wide boat. With a full 9-foot-7-inch beam, it’s a full 7 inches wider than DCB’s M28, so it’s a bigger tunnel with a bigger beam. The full cockpit interliner sports a built-in storage locker on the floor, and the cuddy has been fully finished with the matching Alcantara. Our tester was also the recipient of a Bluave Audio system with a Fusion head unit and additional Fusion hardwired remote on the driver’s side. “We put a lot of time and effort and thought into the ergonomics and the layout speedboat.com

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Todd Taylor

of this boat,” Johnston says, and that’s easily verifiable by looking at it. Our test crew came away from their dry-land inspection raving about the look of M33-R, inside and out—gelcoat design, installation, overall construction, interior design and every minute detail of the boat. It’s a stunner.

But the best was yet to come, as test-team members Bob Teague and Ray Lee set course on Lake Havasu to see what this baby could do.

Performance: Conditions on Lake Havasu were typically pleasant, so it was the ideal day to test a boat. Right off the bat, we noticed the boat’s nimble and impressive acceleration capabilities. The M33-R doesn’t generate a great deal of noise, so it doesn’t sound all that powerful…but man, from sitting dead in the water, the boat is doing 83 mph after only 20 seconds.

“That’s pretty cool,” Teague observes. “The boat comes on plane so quickly, you never lose visibility of the horizon. Throttle

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DCB M33-R

DCB M33-R The M33-R features display monitors (12” Simrads for the driver and passenger, plus a 12” Garmin in the center), and a dual Garmin VIRB Elite Action Camera system (in which a bracket is fabricated on the windshield to accommodate a VIRB camera that faces forward and reverse).

Length: 33’4”

Beam: 9’7”

Engines: Twin Mercury Racing Verado 400Rs Average weight: 5,250 lbs.

Fuel capacity: 2 x 58 gallons Top Speed: 116 mph Features on test boat: Paragon OB brackets, 100% Alcantara interior, Rigid LED lighting package, custom matching carpet kit, LED cup holders, fully finished under cuddy with matching Alcantara interior, Bluave Audio system, two 12” Simrad NSS12 Evo3 monitors for driver and passenger, one 12” Garmin 7612 GPS monitor in center of dash, two 5” Simrad Go5 monitors on seat backs, CNC bracket on windshield strut for a dual Garmin VIRB camera package, deck hatch for under cuddy access, billet swim step, Extreme trailer, etc.

30 to 50 mph: 5.95 secs. 40 to 70 mph: 9.29 secs.

40 to 60 mph: 6.24 secs. 60 to 100 mph: 17.52 secs.

Speed at 3,000 rpm: 40 mph Speed at 5,000 rpm: 85 mph Speed at 6,000 rpm: 101 mph DCB Performance Boats 1468 N. Magnolia Ave. El Cajon, CA 92020 (619) 442-0300 dcbperformanceboats.com

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The M33-R features plush Alcantara interior throughout the boat. The undercuddy has been fully finished with matching Alcantara interior. The boat comes with an Extreme tandemaxle custom trailer with a front courtesy ladder, driver guard, custom 18” rims and SS fenders.

The boat is constructed with a vacuum infused lamination process that employs a carbon-fiber and carbonKevlar layup with foam coring—it’s a truly state-of-the-art build that can’t help but impress anybody who takes in the view.

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Todd Taylor & Julie Stepnick (Havasu) and Brad Glidewell (LOTO) PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Where were you during the nation’s Independence Day celebrations? We went to Lake Havasu and Lake of the Ozarks!

LET FREEDOM RING C

elebrating the Fourth of July is one of the most spec- noon, while LOTO recorded a comparatively chilly 93°F at the tacular things you can do in a city with a gigantic same time. Saluting our country’s freedom is a time-honored

lake full of speedboats and their patriotic owners. But you don’t have to take our word for it. The next time you’re in Lake Havasu City, AZ, or Lake of the Ozarks, MO, power up your rocket and set a course for the hot spots.

(Or you can simply check out the photos on the pages ahead.)

Both lakes were absolutely hopping with revelers this year as temperatures shot upward—the high in Havasu was 109°F by

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tradition in both the Grand Canyon State (Havasu has 53 American flags on display in 17 locations throughout town) as well as in the Show-Me State, as thousands of residents in both areas hastened to their respective lakes for the day. When the day grew dark, the skies lit up as the city-sanctioned fireworks wowed the crowd. It was a day like no other on the calendar.

God bless the USA—and bless the horsepower as well! speedboat.com

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Havasu’s iconic London Bridge (opposite, top) provides an excellent view of Old Glory, as well as the UK flag as a salute to where the bridge came from. The channel (below left) was loaded up with revelers, while some chose destinations like the Gorge, Pilot Rock, Site Six, Copper Canyon and, of course, the world-famous Sandbar. You can always spot the VIP boaters when the refreshments come out—they’ll be the ones carrying a can wrapped in a Speedboat custom koozie (right).

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Let FREEDOM Ring

Havasu Independence Day is the perfect time to show off your stars-and-stripes bikini, as Michele Woods in the Cobra 320 Razor Good Knight (right) can attest.

The lake is full of folks having fun on their Aqua Lily Pad floats (below).

One way to keep cool in the hot July weather in Havasu is to push the throttle, like the owner of this Eliminator canopied cat

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These Nordic owners came to the lake to bask in the Havasu heat while awaiting the fireworks show in Thompson Bay.

Havasu’s annual fireworks display is legendary, as these images prove.

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Let FREEDOM Ring

LOTO

Mike Maasen is the owner of this Poly Lift Cigarette.

Right: Here’s one of Celebration Cruises’ three ships. The Grand Glaize is a “lake hopper water shuttle” that operates a nature and history tour at the beginning of the week, and a lakefront restaurant and bar excursion tour during the weekends.

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Right: Celebrating at Backwater Jacks are (front row) Katie Elsen, Nikki Sorenson, Stacy Heger, Chuck Sorenson, Christy Wright, Mike Wright, and two unidentified partygoers; (back row) Jim Lee, Chris Heger, Rick Redington and Bridget Tyrey.

Jeff Gebhart is the owner of this Baja 36' Outlaw, American Outlaw.

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Let FREEDOM Ring

LOTO

This Yamaha runabout flies the Stars and Stripes proudly.

Above: Destiny McMurray and Shelda Jewell at Lazy Gators.

Satisfaction is the name of this Sunsation midcabin cuddy bowrider.

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Lavey Craft 2750 NuEra

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

?????????

Mississippi native Michael Drury was looking for a kick-ass family bowrider.

Here’s how he found it.

T

if not the only—custom performance his is the story of how one man the West Coast builders.

“Nobody seemed to have that ‘do it how boat manufacturer that can trace its heribuilt his dream boat.

Michael Drury, a Mississippibased designer of fire sprinklers, has been passionate about speedboats for many years. He’s been the owner of an outboard-powered 20-foot Allison for nearly 20 years, and has owned a variety of other go-fast rides. A couple of years ago, he happened to be in the market for a 28-foot twin-engine bowrider— something that he, his wife Melanie and their three kids could enjoy. So during a vacation to the California and Arizona, he checked out some of the offerings from

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you want’ attitude,” he recalls. “Then a good friend of mine told me to check out Lavey Craft. He told me about their awesome boat the Evo. So I looked them up and read about their long history going back to the 1950s. They were clearly a company that had ‘been there and done that.’ It reminded me of Allison, which has also been around for many decades.

Then I saw that Lavey had won an offshore championship with their hull, and that really impressed me.”

Indeed, Lavey Craft is one of the few—

tage and existence back to almost seven decades. WWII veteran Al Lavey wanted to turn his boating hobby into a lifestyle, so he founded Lavey Craft in 1952. With the help of Chris Camire and his family, the company has carried on Al’s tradition with no signs of slowing down.

So Drury called Camire, and the two forged a friendship. Camire told Drury about his 2750 NuEra vee bottom; Drury asked about the possibility of powering it with outboards. “I’ve been wanting to do one with outboards,” Camire told him. speedboat.com

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Todd Taylor

Michael Drury (right) with former Lavey Craft offshore throttleman Kevin Cooper.

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Lavey Craft 2750 NuEra

With two outboard engines and two propellers, the 2750 NuEra actually handles better than it does as a single I/O, according to Camire.

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The Lavey features a primo Bluave sound system

by Waves and Wheels. The boat’s midcabin cuddy sports two facing lounge seats.

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Lavey’s 2750 NuEra is a proven and capable performer. Originally designed to be a family pleasure boat, the hull has won numerous offshore races and world championships, thanks to Kevin Cooper and his race team. Still in competition today is Team Woody Racing with their Lavey Craft 28 EVO/SVL, a full canopy boat that utilizes the same bottom as the 2750 NuEra. “With the 2750, you don’t get a standard typical pleasure boat,” Camire says. “You get a boat that has proven itself time and time again out on the offshore race course winning races where the conditions are usually less than optimal.”

At length, Camire and Drury met in person in 2017 to talk turkey. “After one meeting, that’s all it took,” Drury says of the confidence he had that Lavey could create something truly special for his family.

“Once I saw what they were building and what they were capable of doing, I knew they would be able to take care of me. At first, I didn’t realize it was going to be as involved as it was, but creating something truly custom takes a bit more time.”

The first step in creating the 2750 NuEra was hammering out the design. “We went through about a month just on the design process, including the gelcoat design, before it even went into production,” Drury [Continues on page 82] S P E E D B O A T | August 2018

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The poker-run participants make their way around the container ship MSC Kingston.

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he Florida Powerboat Club celebrated a new milestone fifty overseas explorers took a clockwise circle tour that began for its 27th running of the Bahamas Poker Run, which with a departure from Fort Lauderdale to West End on Grand

was staged in mid-June when the summer weather conditions are most favorable for the Gulfstream crossing to the Bahamas. What was noticeably different as the event roster grew to over a dozen poker run teams was that all 12 teams had checked the box on the registration form to attend what is commonly referred to as the “Extended Trip.”

Rather than taking a three-day adventure to Grand Bahamas Island that returns to Florida on Sunday, these adventurer seekers were “all in” for an aggressive cruising agenda that featured multiple island destinations. Over a six-day format, more than

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Bahama Island, then toured the charming Abaco Islands to Hope Town, a quaint Bahamian village that features a picturesque harbor and one that is often touted a favorite of all cruisers and sailors alike. During the Hope Town visit, FPC members went island hopping to a small island called No Name Cay, where wild (but friendly) pigs roam freely in the sand, and wait eagerly for boaters to stop by and treat them with a variety of tasty snacks and treats.

With two days logged on Grand Bahamas Island, followed by the two-day stopover in Hope Town, the group continue speedboat.com

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STORY AND PHOTOS BY

Stu Jones

BLASTOFF to the Bahamas Stu Jones leads his Florida Powerboat Club to those picturesque islands—where life is anything but a boar!

Noel & Gretchen Speranza of Florida drive their 44’ Concept, Retainage.

the tour southbound, passing beyond the southern tip of Abaco into ocean waters often referred to as the “Tongue of the Ocean,” where depths reach well over 7,000 feet. Our next stop was in the Berry Islands at Chub Cay, which lays claim as the hub of the Bahamas, where boaters can fuel up, enjoy a wonderful meal, and continue to other islands. After passing through the Berry Islands, the westbound heading across the Bahama Bank took the fleet on a long 90-mile routing to the Bimini Islands, where the group overnighted at the relatively new Hilton Resorts World Bimini—the only full-scale resort in the western Bahamas which features luxurious rooms, a small casino and a full-service marina with floating docks. speedboat.com

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With ideal summer boating conditions for the duration of the event, these courageous teams logged more than 650 miles and checked off one more box on their boating bucket list.

The Florida Powerboat Club thanks all those who attended.

Our group welcomes any would-be Bahamas explorers and reminds boaters there is one more Bimini event on the FPC event calendar for 2018. The Bimini Blast takes place Sept.

28-30, and requirements are that boats have at least twinengines, are 30 feet or longer, and all participants must have current passports for entry to the Bahamas. For more information, please visit our website, flpowerboat.com, or call (954) 545-1414. No problem, mon!

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BLASTOFF to the Bahamas

Kevin and Jenica Eisenbach of Missouri stir it up in their 33’ Baja, Stirrin’ It Up.

Left: Texas natives Roger and Pam Anderson drive their 39’ Nor-Tech, Easy Money II. Below: Weston Bass of Louisiana in his Cigarette 39' Top Gun, Change Order.

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BLASTOFF to the Bahamas Vipers & Vixens is the name of this 38' Donzi owned by Dolph and Kim Williams of Louisiana.

Above and right: FPC members interact with the wild (but friendly) pigs on No Name Cay, which roam freely in the sand and accept edible handouts. Below: Scott Kagen of North Carolina in his Sunsation F4, Mufasa.

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7/25/18 9:07 PM

Sarasota

Slammin’ PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Pete Boden

Florida’s Gold Coast provides a thrilling backdrop for Sarasota’s annual offshore showdown.

T

he 34th annual Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival Unlimited Class. The Miss Geico team of driver James Sheppard brought offshore racers in five classes to Florida’s and throttleman Steve Curtis previously won the 2017 Super

Gold Coast for some dramatic competition that was broadcast live on Facebook.

The festival, which encompasses 12 days of events ranging from golf and fishing tournaments to car shows and swimsuit contests, concludes with a major Bayfront fireworks show on July 4. The popular powerboat race, held on Sunday, July 1, at Lido Beach, attracted thousands of spectators to the region for one of the most anticipated celebrations of the year.

It’s one of the busiest weekends for the city of Sarasota, with extra law enforcement on the beach and in the water.

This year’s big winners included Miss Geico Racing, which bested Legacy Builders/Twisted Metal and Lucas Oil Silverhook (second and third, respectively) to take the checkered flag in

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Boat International World Championship in Key West.

Meanwhile, Super Cat featured a seven-boat field, with Chris Hanley and Wayne Valder of NZ-1 Pro Floors Racing leading the rest to capture the trophy. Performance Boat Center/Jimmy John’s and Cleveland Construction rounded out the top three in the class.

First place in Super Vee Lite was claimed by Mr. Technology, with Sun Print Management taking second and Boatfloater.com taking third. In Superstock 300 class, Gettel.com finished first, followed by Team Allen Lawn Care and FJ Propeller.

Ten Production class competitors fought hard for a win, with Wix Filters coming on top in Production 3, Perdition winning in Production 4, and Pump It nabbing the Production 5 trophy.

Speedboat congratulates the winners in all categories! speedboat.com

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Supercat: NZ-1 Pro-Floors leads the pack of catamarans in Supercat, including WHM Motorsports, Performance Boat Center/Jimmy John’s and AMH Construction.

#113 Miss Geico Racing, a 47' Victory hull, was the winner in Unlimited Class.

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Sarasota Slammin’ Production 4: #411 Perdition, a 34' Phantom, was the winner in P4 class, seen here ahead of Thee Dollhouse.

Production 3: Wix Filters (left) was victorious in P3 class.

Production 5: #40 Pump It, a Warlock hull, leads the competition in P5 class, including Krizen Pest Control and Two Cruel.

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Super Cat: Chris Hanley and Wayne Valder in NZ-1 Pro-Floors Racing (left) grabbed their first victory of the season in Super Cat class. Below: Second place went to Myrick Coil and John Tomlinson in Performance Boat Center/ Jimmy John’s with Cleveland Construction finishing third.

Super Stock: Gettel.com, the 32' Doug Wright hull previously known as Shadow Pirate, finished first in the class.

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Sarasota Slammin’ Super Vee Lite: Mr. Technology, the Rev-X Oil-sponsored 31’ Phantom piloted by Will Smith and Jimmy Deitch, was victorious in its class.

Super Vee Lite: Boatfloater.com, a 30' Extreme driven by Stephen Kildahl and throttled by his dad, Steve, took third place in the class.

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Above: Terry races in Bay City, MI, in 1995.

Right: Terry celebrates his win in SST120/Formula Two class National Champion title in Kankakee, IL, 2011.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY

Paul Kemiel

Terry Rinker and Family

T

he announcement that Terry on June 25, 2017, under the sanction in the hands of his sons, Ashton and Rinker, 56, of Tampa, FL, was of the F1 ChampBoat International Robert. Although he will not be driv-

retiring from Formula One tunnel boat racing caught everyone by surprise. Rinker’s stellar career began in 1995 with his Blackhawk/Rinker Racing team, and in later years with the AMSOIL sponsorship on his Caniff and Aero Slot Lee hulls on the Formula One powerboat racing circuit.

Terry established a world record with seven consecutive victories in 2006. He achieved ChampBoat championships in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012, as well as multiple APBA class championships, along with APR Superleague and Prop Formula 1 series titles. Terry amassed a total of 15 National championships and is among the winningest drivers in the sport.

At the 30th Bay City Grand Prix held

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Outboard Grand Prix (IOGP), Rinker collected his seventh career championship on the Saginaw River race course.

The first-place finish breaks the tie of six wins that Rinker held with recently retired Tim Seebold.

“I have been racing since 1986, so for the past 31 years, I have finally convinced myself that I have reached all of my goals as a driver,” Terry told Speedboat. His best race win? “Every win is the best win.” Most memorable race? “The final race in 2006 at Savannah, Georgia, with that victory, made a clean sweep with seven consecutive wins for the season. It created a new world record in the process. An undefeated and unbelievable season.”

The future of the Rinker Racing remain

ing anymore, you will see Terry at the races watching his sons race and be a crew member on this close-knit family team. The last race of the 2017 NGK F1 Powerboat Championship series was held at New Martinsville, WV, and concluded with all of the Rinkers standing on the podium steps: Rob, Ashton and Terry. The headline writes itself: “Rinker Goes Out on Top in 2017 as the High Points National Champion.” Rob came in second place, while Ashton came in third in the final points standings.

So now we look to the racing future of his sons. Rob, 30, started his racing career in 2008, and will not be racing in 2018 (he’s taking time off due to business commitments). But don’t count him out in returning to the F1 cockpit. speedboat.com

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Left: Terry catches some air at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, FL, in 2002.

Below: En route to seven consecutive wins for his undefeated 2006 season, Terry waves the victory flag in St. Louis, MO.

Below: Terry Rinker wins a race in Bay City, MI, in 2012.

Terry competes with his brother, Randy, in St. Louis, MO, in 2007.

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The Rinker Family Left: Terry (#10) and Ashton (#20) compete in SST120/Formula Two class in Rising Sun, IN, in 2013.

Below: Terry (#10) races deck-to-deck with Rob Rinker (#30) in Bay City, MI, in 2013.

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Rob’s most memorable race? “The OPC Nationals in 2011 at Kankakee, Illinois.

Dad and I enjoyed a historic Labor Day weekend. I won the SST60 National Championship. Dad won three titles in F1, SST120 and Mod U classes. I will never forget that day.”

The father/son outboard tunnel boat drivers laid claim to four out of 10 titles that day at the 26th Annual Outboard Performance Craft (OPC) National Championships, sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA) on the Kankakee River. The following year, 2012, Rob jumped up to the SST120/Formula Two class and finished on the podium in every event, winning three out of the six races and establishing a new straightaway record in the SST60/Formula3 class, collecting an APBA High Points Championship and earning himself a chair as a member of the APBA Hall of Champions.

Ashton, 32, started his racing career in 2010, after serving in the United States Marine Corps. In 2012, consistent finishes earned him the number-two spot in the APR Superleague series points standings and rookie of the year honors. In 2015, Ashton won the SST120/Formula Two APBA National Championship. He was also crowned the APR Superleague SST120 High Points Tour Champion.

Entering 2016 with six years of driving a tunnel boat, he laid claim once again as SST120 class High Points Tour Champion. With the start of the 2018 NGK F1 Powerboat Championship Series, the first three races have already

been held. Ashton’s performance has been very consistent, and at press time, he was leading in the points standings.

The Rinker family was born with racing in their blood and winning in their DNA. Terry remains one of the great-

est drivers in the history of the sport of Formula One tunnel boat racing. His statistics and accomplishments prove it.

The staff of Speedboat Magazine wishes them all the success on and off the race course.

Opposite center: From left: Ashton (second place, SST120), Terry (first place, SST200) and Rob (second place, SST200) at Rising Sun, IN, 2013.

Left:: Winner Terry Rinker and his Rinker Racing team, Bay City, MI, 2017.

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BY

Brett Anderson

3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 Blades?

The BBLADES 4-Speed prop helps deliver rapid planing through an extended exhaust tube length, which then increases overall hull lift as an extended planing surface.

How many is best?

Here are some tips to help you decide.

F

or more years than I like to admit,

people have asked me, “What is the best propeller for my boat?” My go to answer is most certainly another question, or two. In your boating lifestyle, what are your main performance goals?

Are they planing ability, acceleration, midrange cruising speeds and fuel economy or top speeds? Often the response will be, “yes, that is what I want!”

Ok, let’s take a step back for a minute and look through the reality glasses at our actual options. It would be wonderful if we could obtain hole shot through wide open throttle perfect performance, but the phys-

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ics and varying geometry of propellers and boat setups prevent that from happening.

There has to be some give and take when choosing a propeller to get the best performance. Getting great low end pulling power for water sports may leave a little speed on the table when you get to the upper rpm levels. Likewise, propping for fuel economy won’t help yank your 250 lb. brother-in-law up on a slalom ski. There has to be give and take. This brings us back to the original question: what is the main performance goal for your style of boating? Whether you have an offshore speedboat with a stepped bottom, deep V, ski boat, center console, fishing rig, speedboat.com

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attitude. These adjustments of blade area, diameter, rake, pitch, cup and thickness can be modified in very minor or major increments to make very minor or major changes to your boat’s personality.

These adjustments are best left to be discussed with custom propeller craftsmen, and to be performed in propeller laboratory scenarios. However, understanding how the number of blades a propeller has affects a boat’s personality, is something every boater can benefit from immediately while shopping for a prop to get closer to the ultimate goal.

3-, 4-, 5-, 6- and even 7-blade propellers can be found from propeller manufacturers around the world. Why are there so many options? Heck, when I was young, we had 2-blade props and some 3-blade props. The ultimate answer is, because we created so many different boats and more and more horsepower for different desires, applications or “goals,” we need-

or drag boat, understanding how you use your boat and the desired performance outcome, will help you choose an appropriate propeller.

Today’s propeller technology offers us so much more than only a few years ago. The variety of propeller designs available offer new blade areas, diameters, rake angles, pitch offering, thicknesses, cup heights and, for the purpose of this article, the number of blades a propeller will have. Not only are there more stock built propeller options, but the additional models and designs offer custom propeller shops a near unlimited amount of canvas to create the perfect wheel for a boater’s performance goal. All of the various geometry options I just mentioned can create confusion and get one lost. Each of the geometry terms mentioned does affect and change the propeller and a boat’s personality and

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BBlades Tech ed different blade configurations to make the boats perform to their best. In many boat styles and models, 3-, 4- or 5-blade props will all propel the boat and allow for an enjoyable day on the water. But, one of those blade configurations may be the best for you. So, before I go off on a babbling tangent, let’s look at the basic personalities of multi-bladed propellers.

3-blade propellers: Least amount of stern lift, more bow lift, potential best top speed if hooked up well with low slip numbers due to less drag because of less metal in water, lower cruise speeds and lower fuel economy.

4-blade propellers: More stern lift, better planing, better acceleration, better

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cruise speeds and fuel economy, good load carrying ability, good for water sports.

5-blade propellers: Even more stern lift, even better planing, even better acceleration, great load carrying, great for water sports, great fuel economy and possibly less top speed than 3- or 4-blades.

6-blade propellers can create too much stern lift, helpful and potentially necessary for very high “X” dimensions on stepped bottom or catamaran hulls, great load carrying ability, great acceleration.

7-blade propellers have yet to become a common option. Appropriate on some air entrapment hulls with very high “X” dimensions.

These definitions of the performance

for each prop model are generalizations.

The physics of the geometry design does dictate the definition. Each of these personality descriptions is dependent on a variety of other variables. The boat model itself is the biggest variable. In general, the least amount of drag a propeller has due to the amount metal in the water; the faster it will be on top end. But, the more metal in the water, the better hook up and acceleration the propeller will offer. It makes logical sense then to assume 4- or 5-blade prop must offer the best of all worlds. Better getting on plane than 3-blades and faster than 6-blades. On paper this is true.

When beginning your search for the perfect propeller, determine your most often style of boating. Are you only participating in poker runs? Are you into water sports? Are you fishing on a reef 100 miles offshore? These answers will help you begin your search. If you are a family or performance boater that enjoys all kinds of boating options, it is doubtful one propeller model will offer the best performance for each of your boating styles. Having more than one propeller is the only way to go. It makes sound sense to have a backup or spare propeller just like you have a spare tire for your tow vehicle and your trailer. Consider having a different model as your spare propeller that can offer another performance value for your type of boating goals.

Because there are so many propeller options today, if at all unsure of the best choice for your application, consult with a propeller and boat setup professional.

One last tidbit of information, with the physics of propellers we have discussed, it only makes sense a ONE-blade propeller would be the fastest on top end due to the fact it will have the least drag since it has the least amount of metal in the water. Again, on paper this is true.

However, please don’t try one as the vibration will rattle your teeth loose and then other expensive boat parts.

Good boating!

Brett Anderson is the Owner and President of BBLADES Professional Propellers, LLC. He is a decade-long veteran of Mercury and Mercury Racing Propeller department. He is also a Federally Licensed A&P aircraft mechanic. speedboat.com

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6/24/18 9:07 PM

STORY BY

Paul Kemiel

PHOTOS BY

Paul Kemiel, Todd Taylor and Ray Lee

Hydro Heaven APBA tunnel boats triumph in Indiana, while Formula One competitors mix it up in Texas.

F

ormula One, Two and Three “While packing up my parts for the competitors have come out race weekend, I noticed a propeller lay-

swinging this summer at races in Lawrenceburg, IN, and Houston, TX. First up: Formula Two (SST120) and Formula Three (SST60) racers came together at the 3rd Annual Whiskey City Regatta in mid-June in Lawrenceburg.

Mark Jakob of Clifton, IL, scored a “trifecta,” with two heat wins and the victory in the 30-lap final heat race in the SST120/Formula Two class. Jakob battled all day long with second-place finisher Lee Daniel of North Augusta, SC, on the Ohio River race course. Daniel scored second place in all three heats.

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ing on the bench, Jakob said. “I innocently grabbed it and added it to my prop selection. It turned out that this propeller was the right combination for the race water conditions. I used it all day for my three heat wins.” This convincing win has now overshadowed Jakob’s spectacular blowover accident at last year’s event.

Meanwhile, Tyler Welch of Wayzata, MN, grabbed the third-place finish and rounded out the podium positions.

In the SST60/Formula Three class, Jeff Krischano of Elk River, MN, found an opening in the turn and sneaked by pole sitter Sam Labanco of Northbrook,

IL, in the early stages of the 20-lap final heat, and led confidently to the finish for the win.

Leading up to the final heat race, Labanco scored back-to-back wins in heats #1 and #2. Krischano earned second place finishes in both heats. Alyssa Petroni of Kankakee IL, ran strong and she finished in third place in all three heats to earn a spot on the podium.

The action was just as hot as the temperature, as it reached 100 degrees. The race event organizers for this tunnel boat racing series was Breakwater Powerboat Association under the direction of John and Brandy Hitchcock, based in Millersport, OH. speedboat.com

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Above Left: The Formula Two class race start.

Near right: Formula Two first-place finisher Mark Jakob in #7 (above) and second-place finisher Lee Daniel in #2.

Right: Formula 3 winner Jeff Krischano in #58.

Below right: Formula 3 second-place finisher Sam Labanco in #44.

Far right: Formula Two winner Mark Jakob (top), Formula Two second-place finisher Lee Daniel (center) and Formula 3 winner Jeff Krischano (bottom).

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Hydro Heaven

Above: Champ Sport class winner Wes Cheatham in the #4 competitor.

Held in conjunction with the Texas Outlaw Challenge (see full coverage, Page 16), the International Outboard Grand Prix (IOGP) group kicked off its 2018 season with its popular ChampBoat racing series, which included Champ Sport Boat class.

Greg Foster of California was the winner of IOGP’s Texas Outlaw Challenge Grand Prix. Following two days of picture-perfect weather, strong wins cast a pall over the race from the very beginning. Foster grabbed an early lead, and it was all his competitors could do to hang on without a serious incident.

Second place went to Spencer Love, another California native. He put in a truly stellar race weekend with his Clover Construction racing crew. Third place went to Tammy Wolf of Toronto, Canada; it was the first time a female racer has made it to the podium in the F1-ChampBoat class. Chris Fairchild of Paw Paw, IL, ran respectably in second place until he stuffed his DAC hull in turn 5, ending the shortened race.

The Champ Sport class was another excellent segment of the weekend’s racing. All three podium finishers were Texans: Wes Cheatham (first), Tracy Hawkins (second) and David Johnigan (third).

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David Johnigan finished third in the Champ Sport class.

Champ Sport competitor Tracy Hawkins of Willis, TX, finished second in the class. speedboat.com

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Above: ChampBoat competitor Greg Foster of California was the winner of IOGP’s Texas Outlaw Challenge Grand Prix. He grabbed an early lead, and it was all his competitors could do to hang on without a serious incident.

Left: Tammy Wolf of Toronto, Canada, was the third-place finisher. It was the first time a female racer has made it to the podium in the F1-ChampBoat class.

Below: Second-place finisher Spencer Love in Clover Construction (near lane), another California native, runs neck and neck with Chris Fairchild in #62.

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NEW PRODUCTS

Billet Hydraulic Trim Tabs

Livorsi Marine of Grayslake, IL, is now selling a series of billet trim tabs with hydraulic cylinders and LED underwater lights. The LEDs may be added for various lighting effects when your tabs are moved up and down in the water. Wiring is routed through the tab transom plate for a clean installation.

The company is offering the tabs in five different styles. The tabs are avail-

able in electronic or mechanical trim indication, and private-label marking and powdercoat finishes are also available. The tabs may be used in conjunction with performance boats, center console cruisers, work boats, military and government boats.

These billet hydraulic tabs are available in 11 powdercoat colors and with 4” or 6” LED lights in white, blue, red, or green. The tabs, which are ideal for boats 20 to 50 feet, are CNC machined from billet aluminum, with no casting. They are Mil-Spec hard-coat anodized to prevent corrosion. Choose between plug-andplay LED electronic position indicators or mechanical position indicators (using 33C cables). Stainless steel braided hoses may be purchased separately.

For more information, please visit livorsi.com.

High-Performance Exhaust Systems Eddie Marine of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, is offering its EMI Thunder high-performance exhaust system at an affordable price. The systems feature an integral water-cooled exhaust divider, large individual runners, and a full 3½" inside diameter tailpipe for maximum torque and horsepower gain.

Constructed from high quality 356 aluminum, EMI Thunder exhaust manifolds incorporate a reliable “dry joint” connection between the riser and manifold that prevents water passage deterioration.

The manifolds are hard-coat anodized throughout to prevent corrosion of all surfaces, including the internal water passages. The manifolds are finished with an ultra-durable gloss black FusionCoat finish.

These processes give us the confidence to secure a five-year warranty from Eddie Marine.

EMI Thunder exhaust systems are available with cast aluminum risers or with a wide variety of stainless steel risers. Eddie Marine can also custom build risers for your special applications. The systems are made in the USA, in stock and ready to ship today. For more information, please visit eddiemarine.com.

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Racing Motor Oil

The TR-1R Racing Motor Oil from Torco International of Ontario, CA, comes from an original series of motor oils called MPZ Racing Oils. MPZ Racing Oils have a long history of accomplishments in many forms of racing, dating back to the 1950s. TR-1R is simply the next generation of the original chemistries and carries out a tradition of superior performance.

TR-1R is a special blend of hydro-processed petroleum base stocks, special polymers and proprietary additive systems focused on superior performance and engine protection. TR-1R is a tried and proven race formula that offers excellent thermal stability under extreme RPM and high operating temperatures of modern racing engines. It is an MPZ-fortified formula that provides unequalled anti-friction, anti-wear and minimizes frictional losses for increased power. TR-1R protects against scuffing, galling and metal transfer for longer engine life.

This oil offers race-specific additive technology, superior load-carrying and engine protection, excellent ring seal and thermal stability, and meets or exceeds all API performance requirements. In addition, it is nitro and alcohol approved.

For more information, please visit torcousa.com. spee speedboat.com spe

7/25/18 10:09 PM

Brett’s Crisis Point 18' DiMarco

Featuring Brawl in Burley

speedboat.com

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Crisis

POINT

Mid-Life Crisis, a 1978 DiMarco we featured back in the Hot Boat days, returns for an encore.

Story by Brett Bayne Photos by Ray Lee

O

ccasionally, boats that our staff ble-pumper carbs and MSD ignition.

Today, the 18' DiMarco is owned by featured many years ago in the pages of Hot Boat Magazine 25-year-old ambulance worker Michael come back to grab a second Stene of Garden Grove, CA, who is part-

shot of glory in Speedboat.

Such was the case earlier this year, when a familiar-looking DiMarco was trailered to our Lake Elsinore swimsuit shoot. MidLife Crisis, a 1978 DiMarco that appeared in our Performance Section in July 2003, was owned by Ken Simonds 15 years ago; during that time, Greg Shoemaker at GS Marine had transformed the hull into an E-ticket ride, powering the V-drive hull with a 454 engine bored 30 over, JE pistons, Comp cam, PFM Superchiller, 871 Blower Shop blower, two Holley 750 dou-

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ners on the boat with his dad, construction technician Chad Stene. The boat’s big-block Chevy is bored 30 over to a 460 and features a mechanical roller camshaft, tunnel ram with dual Holley 750cfm Dominator carbs and square port GM heads, all generating approximately 700 horsepower. The boat’s Casale V-drive sports 15-degree gears and a Lenco clutch.

Stene says he grew up around the muscleboat scene. “I was always around stuff with horsepower, whether it be hot rods

or sandrails. I had a buddy who owned a fabrication shop where he built drag cars. I grew up on the river, and my dad had a friend who raced flatbottoms, so we would always go to the drag races and watch him race. Our family had an openbow outboard boat. So all of this led to me getting a flatbottom.”

Key to that acquisition was a trip to Long Beach, CA, to attend the annual Sprint Nationals race. It was there that Stene met a fellow named Jeff Worthen.

“We just happened to park next to him that weekend and became good friends with him,” Stene recalls. “He owned the boat at the time, and later gave us a ride in the boat at the Needles regatta. That just speedboat.com

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Above: Our model Nathalie poses on the DiMarco at Speedboat’s recent summer swimsuit shoot.

Right: Here’s the boat as featured in Hot Boat Magazine 15 years ago, when it was owned by Ken Simonds.

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Crisis Point

The slogan “E Ticket” emblazoned on the boat’s dash is a fitting reminder that this boat has had some real horsepower behind it. Greg Shoemaker at GS Marine (Norco, CA) rebuilt the DiMarco’s powerplant years ago, boring the 454 30 over and adding a set of JE 8.5-to-1 pistons, along with a Comp cam ask Skat connecting rods. The engine was topped off with a PFM Superchiller, 871 Blower Shop blower, MSD ignition and a pair of Holley 750 double-pumper carbs prepared by Gary Smith. Simonds campaigned the boat in races sanctioned by the National Jet Boat Association and made several further alterations to the setup.

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GPS 100 1st place winner top: Alan Asbe and his Pathologicole flat (near lane) goes up against Ralph Richardson’s Liquid Addiction. The #4 qualifier,

These days, the boat’s big-block Chevy is bored 30 over to a 460 and features a mechanical roller camshaft, tunnel ram with dual Holley 750-cfm carbs and square port GM heads, all generating approximately 700 horsepower.

GPS 100 2nd place winner below: Ralph took home the win over Alan’s #3 position, giving Ralph his first win in a long time.

Subsequent to our Speedboat shoot, Stene reports that he bent a couple of valves, so he’s in the process of repairing those, refreshening the bearings, installing a new crank and planning for a bigger motor. Who knows? Someday this boat may be making yet another return visit to our pages.

kind of solidified my love for the flatbottom culture.”

Worthen sold the boat to a gentleman named Scott Broviak, whom Stene met at the Outlaw Nationals, held at Sundance Saloon in Parker, AZ. “We were just kind of chit-chatting about the boat,” Stene says.

“Two weeks later, we ended up buying the boat! It just kind of fell into our laps.”

We asked Stene what it was like to speedboat.com

93366_SpeedboatAug18_070-73.indd 73

first drive Mid-Life Crisis as the owner of the boat. “It was a rush, man,” he says.

“There’s nothing like sitting in a seat that’s barely big enough to hold you, and then just having the motor screaming right in your ear right behind you. You have to learn how to work the down pedal and the throttle at the same time, and feeling the vibrations of the boat and how it’s reacting to the things that you’re doing

with your feet…it’s just unreal.”

Stene says he’s taken the boat to 101 mph. “It’s been sort of a dream for me and my dad to own a boat like this, and to get into it together has been pretty awesome.

My sister, who is 18, gets into it whenever she can. She loves it—she rides in it, drives it and even helps us work on it.”

The Stenes like to use the boat in Parker, AZ, and Needles, CA. S P E E D B O A T | August 2018

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Brawl

Story and photos by Mark

McLaughlin

in Burley

Circle-boat racers clash at the 43rd Annual Burley Regatta in Idaho.

Sportsman Class: Jeff Doidge (left), driving his That Boat entry, and Tim Hoffman (right). Hoffman (far right) took the win in the class, while Doidge finished with a respectable seventh place finish overall for the weekend in the Gordon Jenningspowered machine.

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Left: Unblown Flat class gurus Ty Newton (near lane) and Paul Fitzgerald battled it out all weekend for the first-place trophy until the #24 all-yellow flatty lost its prop shaft and prop on the back stretch of the Sunday heat race, ending Fitzy’s weekend. Newton (right) would wind up the overall winner in the UBF class and Fitzgerald would finish a distant sixth.

I

nboard-powered circle boats set course for Burley, ID, in June for the 43rd annual running of

the Burley Regatta, and competition was, as is the tradition, off the hook. Racers vied not only for a firstplace finish in each of their classes, but also for the coveted Faulkner Trophy, which comes in a handmade oak case on wheels and is awarded each year to the boat that makes the fastest lap or speed clocked on the race course during the weekend. This year it went to K Racing class winner Mike Stock’s K-777, shoed by Duff Daily, whose top speed was 140+ mph.

Unblown Flat class gurus Ty Newton and Paul Fitzgerald battled it out all weekend for the first place trophy until Fitzgerald’s all-yellow flatty #24 lost its prop shaft and prop on the back stretch of the Sunday heat race, ending his weekend. Newton would wind up the overall winner in the UBF class, while Paul would finish a distant sixth.

Meanwhile, Comp Jets put on a tremendous show all weekend, with an amazing seven-boat field that guaranteed some superlative action. Vance Lund, getting off the start each time all weekend, helped him get the upper hand and take home the first place trophy Sunday night. Comp Jet driver Mark Moyle went for a bit of a ride across the top of his boat, cartwheeling into the water while the boat spun around and landed upright Sunday afternoon (see photos sequence on Page 79).

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Brawl in Burley

Super Stocks had a three-boat field all weekend, and the results were pretty consistent after each and every heat. Participants included James Gregory (far lane), Mike and Cody Wotton of New Zealand, who took turns shoeing the #89 boat (center), and Jason Purcell (near lane), driving the #500 boat. The overall winner was Gregory (top, with Glen Dilworth at right). Dilworth designed and built the impressive first-place trophies for the six winners in the classes. Each one represented the class it was for. Gregory dedicated his trophy and wins to his father, whom he lost a few months ago. Grand Prix Shootout: Hot doggin’ on the parade lap in the Sportsman Entry class, Kip Brown waves to the crowd in his SE 130 boat. Brown would eventually finish fourth in the class and finish second overall in the Grand Prix Shootout.

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Comp Jets were exciting to watch all weekend, with a seven-boat field that made the action wild. Vance Lund getting off the start each time all weekend helped him grab the upper hand and take home the first-place trophy Sunday night. Right: Glen Dilworth, trophy builder extraordinaire, hands Lund his first-place masterpiece.

CJ #501 flies high, with Craig Bisseger behind the wheel of his jet. He would snatch up the secondplace podium finish in the class after a couple infractions sent the favorite, CJ #702, to third overall for the weekend

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Brawl in Burley The perpetual Faulkner Trophy comes in a handmade oak case on wheels. It’s handed out each year by the Faulkner family (Bill Jr. is shown here in the yellow canary pride colors). This year’s recipient is Mike Stock (right). Helping present it is announcer Mike Minegar (holding the microphone) and Louis Schindler, Chairman of the Idaho Regatta. This trophy is awarded each year to the boat that makes the fastest lap or speed clocked on the race course during the weekend. This year it was Mike Stock’s K-777, below. Duff Daily pilots this beautiful, brand-new K boat through the course with a speed of 140+ mph, en route to the overall first place trophy in the K Racing Runabout class.

Runner-up in the K Racing Runabouts was Tyler Roth, driving the K-401 for Doug Lindsay of Oregon. Roth had a great weekend, finishing second overall to Daily.

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Charley Hamill also drove a brand-new boat, the K-55, for Dustin Millard. He was third overall after a tough five-boat field of talented K-boat drivers.

Congratulations to all of the K boats—they all put on a super show! speedboat.com

7/26/18 11:41 AM

After a flawless weekend of racing in 20+ mph wind conditions on a shortened course Saturday, and the full course on Sunday, Comp Jet driver Mark Moyle—right out of Burley, ID—went for a bit of a ride across the top of his boat, cartwheeling into the water while the boat spun around and landed upright Sunday afternoon.

Mark was picked up by the rescue squad and checked out bruised but OK by the local paramedics. With the obvious DNF in the final, he would end up in fourth place overall for the Comp Jet class.

Comp Jet Crash

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7/26/18 11:41 AM

Brawl in Burley GPS: The newly acquired capsule boat that Jim Mobley got from Dave Rankin (top left) is the old K-69 that Tony Scarlata shoed for years. Mobley turned it into a very quick Unblown Flat machine that Cory Ferguson is getting used to driving. After only one test session at Bakersfield, Ferguson has a pretty good handle on the winged flatty coming into Idaho. He finished fourth overall in the class behind some very stout machines in the category. Ferguson and Mobley also had the GPS 100 black and sparkled silver flatty there as well. Ferguson drove that one to the GPS 100 championship in a tough field of five competitors. Below left: Announcer Mike Minegar, Cory Ferguson, Louis Schindler and Jim Mobley. The Idaho Cup trophy is the second-place trophy for the fastest average speed over the course of the weekend closest to the current record.

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7/25/18 10:20 PM

DCB M33-R [Continued from page 29] response is excellent. The dash layout is cool, the controls are perfect and the seats are amazing. There are no negatives about the workmanship in this boat. The fit and finish is amazing.”

Equally impressive: the boat turns extremely well through all of the speed ranges and conditions. Cruising through the curves on the lake at 30 mph or at triple-digit speeds, it turns on a dime and then gives you change. “Just tuck it in and crank the wheel,” Teague says.

“The boat never leans out—it always leans in. And for that, I’m giving the boat a grade of 10 on all of the slaloms.”

Bob and Ray gave the thumbs-up to the DCB’s ride at midrange and highend speeds, handing out grades of 9 and 10 to the boat’s maneuverability, workmanship, handling, ease of using controls and overall comfort. The M33-R is a light boat, so it was a testament to its construction when the boys encountered wakes caused by a ferry boat.

“When we’re trying to make a top speed run, it did upset the ride just a bit.

However, it’s also a pretty good-sized boat, so it doesn’t seem to be affected much by weight shift—it’s a wide stance,” Teague says.

The Bottom Line: Teague does not mince words: “I don’t know how to say this without pissing anybody off, but this M33-R is my favorite of the outboard boats. We were able to repeat our 116-mph top speed maybe 10 times.

This boat is very deluxe.”

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Lavey Craft 2750 NuEra says. “After that, Chris would email and text me weekly updates and photos during the building process. His son Christopher was also extremely involved in this process, and played a big part in perfecting the graphics on the boat.” In addition to keeping tabs on the build via the Internet, Drury also took as many as four trips to the factory to monitor the project.

A key component in the boat’s creation was figuring out how to turn what was typically a single-engine I/O into a twin-engine outboard boat. “That was not an easy task to accomplish,” Camire says. “With most transformation builds like this, where you take an I/O boat and turn it into an outboard boat, the quickest and easiest thing to do is eliminate the integrated swim step and bolt on the outboards. That was not an option for us.

We all wanted to retain a usable swim platform on the outsides of the engines to still allow swimming entry/exit off the rear of the boat. It required a lot of thought, planning, and modifications. But once again, we executed this perfectly.”

Drury first saw the finished boat in April at this year’s Desert Storm poker run.

“I got there on Thursday morning and saw it at the Street Party,” he says. “It didn’t immediately sink in that I was looking at the boat I was fixing to go home with. I was just thinking, ‘Wow, this is a cool boat.

Let me take a closer look at this thing!’”

His first seat time in the Lavey was during the poker run. “It definitely exceeded all my expectations,” he says. “I knew what I was hoping for in terms of the boat’s performance, and it did it.” His wife Melanie, who played a big part in designing the boat’s graphics and color scheme, was also delighted with the finished project.

Among the cool features of the 2750 is the carpet-free liner flooring, which makes cleanup a breeze, according to Drury. “It turned out really well,” he says.

“The water washes out it cleanly, and there’s never any wet carpet.” The boat also sports a high-quality Bluave sound system by Waves and Wheels Marine Audio (Lake Ozark, MO).

At press time, Drury estimates that he has put about 40 hours on the boat by himself. He uses on the Tickfaw River and Lake

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Pontchartrain, and recently participated in the Tickfaw 200 poker run. So how do people in the Southeast react to the boat?

“It’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen—they’ve never seen anything like it before,” he laughs. “There’s nothing else like it around here. The colors really pop.”

Of the boat’s performance, Drury is thrilled by the twin 300 outboards.

“They really blow me away,” he says.

“This package exceeds my expectations. I was hoping for a top speed in the mid-80s for everyday use, and I’m still striving to get to that 90-mph mark. I’m at 88 and I’m going to get those other 2 mph out of it.”

To accomplish this feat, Drury plans to swap a 15” jackplate for the 12” model he is currently using to fine-tune the Lavey’s

handling. He also sent his Bravo props to Tim Hackney at Performance Propeller (Soddy-Daisy, TN) to have them massaged. “They’re phenomenal—I use no tabs now, and there’s no chinewalk or porpoise or anything at low to mid 80s. It’s just continues to impress me every time I make a few changes. The reaction to the changes is immediate.”

Drury gives thanks to Pacific Boat Trailers (Chino, CA), which custom-built the trailer. “It’s phenomenal—people comment on the quality of the trailer almost as much as they do the boat itself,” he says. He also salutes Steve Glenn, owner of Hydro Dynamics (Quitman, TX), who provided the Rapid Jack plates that made an important upgrade to the boat.

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