Speedboat August 2019

S PEEDBO AT M A G A ZINE

INSIDE: SARASOTA’S DOUBLE-DOOZY

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TEXAS

OUTLAWS:

‘LET’S GO!’

BARRETT Custom Marine Factory Tour

THE 450R:

Mercury Racing’s New Game-Changer A UG U S T 201 9

AU GU ST 2019

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TABLE OF

AUGUST 2019

COLUMNS

8 RAY LEE 10 BOB TEAGUE

36 MTI CHICAGO FUN RUN

FEATURES

42 SIMPLY SAVAGE

12 TEXAS OUTLAW CHALLENGE

The big guns come out for the annual speedfest, which featured all of the usual highlights—plus more.

26 SARASOTA SHOCKER

OPA and Powerboat P1 racing comes to a tumultuous conclusion in its fourth race of the season.

32 FOUR FIVE ZERO

Mercury Racing’s 450R is winning raves from those who have been lucky enough to put it to the test.

The first two bouts in OPA/P1’s series take competitors to Cocoa Beach and the Lake of the Ozarks.

This cat from Adrenaline Custom Boats is a triple-digit rocket with plenty of power and attitude to spare.

46 ERIE POKER RUN

This course is not for the faint of heart. Luckily, Mother Nature cooperated this year.

54 BARRETT CUSTOM MARINE FACTORY TOUR

Speedboat takes you behind the scenes of Lake Havasu’s most respected highperformance service centers.

60 RIVER RUSH

Continuing a tradition that kicked off in 1985, racers chart a course to central Idaho to conquer the Clearwater River.

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Cover Photo by Todd Taylor Table of Contents photo by Tim Sharkey

Speedboat.com Published by DCO Enterprises, LLC Publishers

Ray Lee

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Editor Senior Tech Editors

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Jim Wilkes

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Tech Editors

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74 IDAHO REGATTA

Southern California Speedboat Club competitors join forces for the 44th Annual Idaho Regatta/Don Moyle Memorial Race.

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70 TRIUMPH IN TOLEDO

F1 racing action comes to Ohio, where champion Ashton Rinker teaches ’em top tunnel techniques.

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Gail Hada-Insley

66 FATAL ATTRACTION

Here’s a oldie but goodie—a 1957 Chris-Craft Continental that’s both a stunning show piece and star of TV shows and commercials.

Ray Lee

Art Director

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

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7/21/19 4:00 PM

RAY LEE

Outlaw (n): (1) a person excluded from the benefit or protection of

the law. (2) a lawless person or a fugitive from the law. (3) an animal that is wild and unmanageable.

These are the definitions that the Merriam-Webster dictionary has attrib-

men attended the Awards Party the following night. They were extremely grateful to the rescue team for their prompt response and that the accident wasn’t worse. They were indeed fortunate.

Immediately following the Shootouts was the crown jewel of the Texas Outlaw Challenge–the epic pool party at Kenny Armstrong’s private residence. If you don’t know Kenny, he is the charismatic playboy that owns and operates the famous 48' MTI Phantom and is the title sponsor of the event with his company, DH Tech—a dehumidification company

Rootin’, Tootin’ Outlaw Madness

uted to the word “outlaw” and some (if not all) apply fittingly to the attendees of the 11th Annual Texas Outlaw Challenge.

Held each June, the 11th annual Shootout, Poker Run and pool parties brought out some of the rowdiest and most fun-loving boaters to congregate in Seabrook and Kemah for an extended weekend of high horsepower hi jinx.

The Street Party on the Kemah Boardwalk featured some of the finest boats for the participants, as well and the public to view and ogle over the hardware. The festive vibe of the area lends to the excitement that is yet to come.

The Shootouts on Clear Lake, that kick off the boating weekend, brought out the speed demons to test their wares against other likeminded people, all in hopes of securing the title known as “Top Outlaw” and take home one of the coolest awards around—an old western-style rifle on the plaque, held on by bullets. Those went to However, a scary incident occurred when Juan Leyva was riding along with Michael Rosenfeld in his classic Chris Craft catamaran called Ms. Helen had a mechanical failure on the starboard side engine while making a run on the 3/4mile course. It caused the boat to veer to the right and ultimately hook, pitching both men overboard.

Rosenfeld, who was briefly unconscious in the water, sustained some broken ribs, facial injuries and bruises.

Leyva was battered but OK and both

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that provides humidity and temperature control solutions to multiple industries.

Every year, he opens up his home (and pool) to all of the participants of the Challenge to come eat, drink and be merry. It also happens to be the first card stop of the Poker Run. And if the provided food, drinks and camaraderie wasn’t enough to keep you entertained, then cue the Swimsuit USA bikini contest and skydiving exhibition that lands in his yard, around the fleet of helicopters that came to join the festivities.

Saturday was the Poker Run and the

day brought some bumpy water conditions on our way out to Harborwalk in the town of Hitchcock, where another pool party awaited the fleet. I was fortunate enough to climb aboard the perfect rough water boat, the Wright Performance 360 with twin Mercury Racing 400Rs. Not to mention it was piloted by Rusty Williams the offshore Superstock race team Performance Boat Center / Auto Alert. What might have been a harrowing experience turned into a fun, thrill ride where we were one of the first ones to tie up on the docks.

In years past, the Texas Outlaw Challenge had their Awards Presentation on Sunday morning, after the event was mostly over. This proved challenging because most of the fleet were already well into their travels back home. So this year, with the help of Marine MaxHouston, an over-the-top, Casinothemed Awards Party with VIP boat slips and available bottle service welcomed the Outlaws for the final hurrah.

Our special thanks to the TOC organizers Paul Robinson, Jola Dryden, Arlette Baudat and the rest of the dedicated Outlaw Team for such great treatment and for allowing us to be a part of the Texas-sized festivities. We had a rootin’ tootin’ good time!

Photographer Todd Taylor, Blaine Ochoa (Miss Houston), Brittany Dunn (Miss Powerboat Nation) and co-publisher Ray Lee accept Speedboat’s sponsorship award. speedboat.com

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7/22/19 7:59 PM

BOB TEAGUE Oil Pump Issues

Dear Bob: I have a Schiada V-drive with a carbureted turbocharged 540 cubic inch big block Chevy coupled to a Turbo 400 transmission. Recently, I noticed erratic oil pressure and now it is very low, especially at idle. The motor has a solid roller cam, so I don’t hear any lifter noise, and seems to run OK, but I am afraid to run it. The oil pressure gauge is mechanical, so I think the low pressure readings are accurate.

Can you give me any ideas of what the problem might be?

Jason Miller Parker, AZ Modified Mellings billet aluminum oil pump and pickup.

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Oil pump assembly mounted in the engine.

It is likely that your oil pump pickup has broken off or even worse, your oil pump has broken off the rear main cap.

Standard and most high-performance oil pumps are made of cast iron and can fracture due to harmonic vibrations caused in a boat. Boats that have surfacing propellers and high-performance V-drives are more likely to have parts fail due to vibrations that are sometimes not detectable.

If you are running a two-blade propeller on your Schiada, the vibration caused by the propeller (especially when getting on plane and at lower speeds) can cause damage to other components in the boat and engine. I have seen a few cases where the oil pump has cracked or broken off the rear main cap.

Your V-drive engine is mounted in the boat backwards. A big block Chevy has the oil pump mounted in the rear of the engine (driven by the distributor) and requires that the pickup is at the front end of the oil pan because when the boat goes on plane, and during acceleration, the oil is forced to the opposite end of the pan.

Most properly built high-performance V-drive oil pans have a pickup assembly that extends to the front of the pan (rear of the boat) and has trap doors built into the pan to keep the oil at that end of the pan. It is also important that a good windage control system is integral to keep the crankshaft from picking up the oil at higher rpm.

Recently, I had a 24 Schiada V-drive boat come in with a TCM 1300 in it with a similar problem. It is a 564 cubic inch motor with a Whipple 8.3L supercharger.

The boat uses a two-blade Menkins propeller and does vibrate quite a bit until the speed gets above about 50 or 60 mph.

In this case, the propeller also had damage which made the vibration worse.

After the engine was removed from the boat and the oil pan was removed, it was discovered that the oil pump had broken off. Fortunately, a complete inspection of the motor and bearings revealed that no damage occurred as a result of an attentive operator.

There are a few resolutions to the problem. Obviously, converting to a dry-

sump oiling system is one, but in many cases, there is not enough room for the oil pump system or oil tank.

Another way to go is to use an external belt driven oil pump with a wet sump pan. This works well but also requires that you figure out how to mount and fit the oil pump system into your existing rigging. One concern with the belt driven oil pumps is that if you lose a blower or other belt, it can take off the oil pump belt which would likely result in instant drama and extensive engine damage.

Several of the oil pump manufacturers offer billet aluminum oil pumps that would be less likely to be affected by the harmonics that could cause damage to a cast iron pump. The problem is that they are not designed for a reverse sump pickup configuration. In the case of the 24 Schiada, I modified a Mellings billet pump so it would accommodate a reverse sump pickup. This was done by machining the bottom of the pump off (which is normally the pickup), tapping and plugging the oil passage with a half-inch pipe plug.

Then the housing was drilled and tapped to accept a pickup assembly into the side of the oil pump. A custom fitting was made that threaded into the side of the oil pump housing that the original pickup was welded to. With this system, I was able to maintain the simplicity of the wet-sump system while building an oil pump that is basically vibration-proof.

It was also discovered that the propeller had damage, which probably contributed to the problem in the first place.

The propeller was also repaired. speedboat.com

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CHALLENGE photography by

The big guns come out for the annual speedfest, which featured all of the usual highlights— plus more.

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F

Todd Taylor

or the 12th annual running of the Texas Outlaw Challenge in Kemah, TX, the MarineMax dealership signed on as a sponsor, which led to

a special “Outlaws to the Max” finale gala and awards ceremony at the firm’s showroom and private marina. “We had Cirque du Soleil with aerial scarf dancers and a Casino Night,” says event organizer Paul Robinson.

“It was just a really great get-together for everyone and an enormous success. Miss Houston, Blaine Ochoa, was there to help us with our charity checks that we were handing out. Some VIP boat slips got complimentary bottle service as part of their package; that was sold out within two days after being announced.” Otherwise, it was the usual conglomeration of triple-digit speedboats, off-the-hook pool parties and drop-dead-gorgeous girls. Next year’s event is scheduled for June 24-28.

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The pool parties at Kenny Armstrong’s house (left) and at Horbor Walk (below). Bottom: The Texas-sized bikini contest at Kenny’s house was the usual Lone Star hit.

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POKER RUN Left: The VIP fleet at Harbor Walk on Saturday.

Below: Ross Ramsey in his 36’ Skater.

Bottom: A Nordic 42’ Inferno charging Clear Lake.

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POKER RUN

Top: Nate Michel in his 40’ MTI, Cloud IX. Above: Chris Ribeiro in his 52’ Nor-Tech Left: Warren Foreman in the Mystic Powerboats C4400 catamaran Agent Provocateur.

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7/22/19 12:56 AM

POKER O RUN

Above: Pat Koch in his Shockwave 29' Magnatude.

Right: Roy Hunter in his 47’ Apache.

Below: George Lavergne and friends in his Skater.

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SHOOTOUT SHOOTOUT

Top: Krissy Reese and Ronny Sprinkle in their 2014 DCB M35 (Class C3P3-M).

Middle: Travis and Kalen Tech drive their Wright Performance 360.

Left: Don Lightfoot and Eddie Guidry drive the 52' Nor-Tech (Class C6P2-M).

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SHOOTOUT

Top: Sean Davis and Howard Davis in their 40' Motion (Class C4P2-M).

Above: Brian Cole drives his one-off 38’ Badboy, WeOnTop. com.

Right: Lawrence Coehlo in his 2002 28' DCB (Class V2P1).

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SHOOTOUT CRASH

Juan Leyva was riding along with Michael Rosenfeld in his classic Chris Craft catamaran when they experienced a mechanical failure on the starboard side engine. Both men were pitched overboard. Rosenfeld, who was briefly unconscious in the water, sustained some broken ribs, facial injuries and bruises. Leyva was battered but OK and both men attended the Awards Party the following night.

Above: Kenny Armstrong in his 2015 48' MTI, Phantom (Class C5P2-M).

Right: Art DiNick and Howie Defreez in the new 2019 29' American Offshore Patriot (Class C2S1).

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STREET PARTY At the street party, the street was stacked with models from Wright Performance, DCB, MTI and more.

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AWARDS AWARDS Left: A charity donation check is presented to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children—Galveston.

Top right: Top Gun Shootout Champion Shawn Davis.

Right: Greg Connell and Jennifer Bishop of sponsors Legend Marine Group.

Far right: “Outlaws to the Max”: Marine Max (Seabrook) Manager Troy Souther.

Above: Queen of the Outlaws Shootout Winner Krissy Reese, who drove a DCB M35 powered by Mercury Racing 1350 engines.

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Above: Event organizers Paul Robinson (far left) and Arlette Baudat (far right) with Miss Houston, Blaine Ochoa, and the “Most Wanted Outlaw,” Kenny Armstrong. speedboat.com

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Sarasota Shocker

OPA racing comes to a tumultuous conclusion in its fourth race of the season.

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Above: Lucas Oil SilverHook took second place in ClassOne after Victory Team and Miss Geico flipped.

Left: ClassOne competitors get under way, with Miss Geico, Victory Team and 222 Offshore out in front. After the first two boats rolled over, 222 Offshore was named the winner in the class.

A

Brett Bayne photos by Pete Boden story by

s OPA offshore racing came to Sarasota for the tour’s fourth meet of the season, the event ended in catastrophic fashion, with a virtually unprecedented

pair of shocking rollovers within seconds of each other.

In the final of four Sunday races, two ClassOne offshore muscleboats—the Victory Team and Miss Geico competitors—flipped over during the final two turns of the 35th Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix, dramatically bringing the day’s worth of racing to an abrupt conclusion. All team members were able to safely escape their boats: driver Salem Al Adidi and throttleman Eisa Al Ali of Victory Team (who had been in the lead) and driver James Sheppard and throttleman Steve Curtis of Miss Geico.

This left the boat that had been in the third-place position, 222 Offshore (featuring driver Darren Nicholson and throttleman Giovanni Capitella) as the winner in the class.

Driver Jay Johnson and throttleman Nigel Hook, in #77 Lucas Oil SilverHook, were promoted to second place, and Victory Team took third.

As the ClassOne race was being conducted, two Vee Extreme boats were also in the process of racing: #20 Knucklehead Racing’s Instigator (with driver Edward Smith and throttleman Anthony Smith) and #66 LSB Hurricane of Awesomeness (with driver Brit Lilly and throttleman Kevin Smith). Instigator, which had been leading the race when the ClassOne accidents occurred, was awarded first place.

Seven competitors battled in Supercat class. M-CON, featuring driver Tyson Garvin and throttleman Tyler Miller, took their first win of the season. In second place was #NZ-11 Pro Floors Racing (with driver Wayne Valder and throttleman Grant Bruggeman), which had been the winner of the season-opening bout in Cocoa Beach. Performance Boat Center/Jimmy John’s, with driver Myrick Coil and throttleman John Tomlinson racing their new MTI hull, finished in third place.

Competitors ran nine laps in Superstock Class, where FJ Propeller took an early lead, only to be overtaken by Team Allen Lawn Care about halfway through the race.

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SHOCKER

SuperCat competitors begin their quest for victory. M-CON would go on to the ultimate triumph.

Right: Superstock racing featured Myrick Coil and Rusty Williams in the Performance Boat Center/Auto Alert entry, which finished third.

Right: Team Allen Lawn Care, with driver Larry Pinegar and throttleman Billy Allen, took the win in Superstock class.

Left: Driver Lowin Leibel and owner/throttleman Gary Ballough picked up a second-place finish driving Ballough’s new Victory hull, FJ Propeller.

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SHOCKER [Continued from page 27] Driver Larry Pinegar and throttleman Billy Allen captured the win, with FJ Propeller (with driver Lowin Leibel and throttleman Gary Ballough) finishing second in Ballough’s new Victory hull, and S-21 Performance Boat Center/ Auto Alert (with driver Rusty Williams and throttleman Myrick Coil) finishing third.

In Super Vee Extreme Class, driver Stephen Kildahl and throttleman Steve Kildahl of #2 Boatfloater.com took a substantial early lead and the eventual win. The pair—who were also victorious in the season kickoff race in Cocoa Beach—were fol-

Vee Extreme Class winner Knucklehead Racing’s Instigator, with driver Edward Smith and throttleman Anthony Smith.

Super Vee Extreme Class winner Boatfloater.com, with driver Stephen Kildahl and throttleman Steve Kildahl. The father-son team had previously taken a win at the season kickoff race in Cocoa Beach, FL.

lowed by #5 Sun Print (with driver Steven Fehrmann and throttleman Steve Miklos) and #32 Mr. Technology (with driver Will Smith and throttleman Jimmy Deitch) in third place. #66 Rev X Oil/LSB Racing, with driver Brit Lilly and throttleman Kevin Smith, took the win in Pro Stock Vee class, beating out #05 Phase 5, #77 Done Deal and #19 R&S Racing.

Bracketed classes were the first on the course for a race that started off with clear visibility but eventually ended with a red flag due to increasingly poor weather as a storm blew into town. SimmonsMarine.

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com, victor in both Cocoa Beach and the Lake of the Ozarks earlier in the season, picked up another win in Class 4.

In other racing action: Class 5: #516 ABACO Windows / Bronx Phantom, with driver J.J. Turk and throttleman Robert Winoski, took an early lead and stayed out in front to beat #540 Pump It, which finished second. #542 Big Dreams Racing (formerly Typhoon) was third.

Class 6: #622 Rum Runner/Nu Wave Marine was the winner in Class 6, besting second-place finisher #691 Liquid Addiction and #623 Country Service /

Boom Shaka Laka in third. Nu Wave, featuring driver Mike McColgan with Fran Vellutato on throttles, got off to an excellent start this season, winning the Cocoa Beach race and following up with a win in Point Pleasant Beach as well.

P1 Superstock: Three boats competed in this class. #28 Porta Products, with driver Andy Foster and throttleman Charles Morris, took the win, beating out #09 Visit St. Pete and #03 Geico.

Class 3: Strictly Business, a Fountain driven by Louis Giancontieri and throttled by Johnny Stanch, ran unopposed in this class. speedboat.com

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Below: Class 5 winner ABACO Windows / Bronx Phantom, with driver J.J. Turk and throttleman Robert Winoski.

Simmons Marine racked up another Class 4 win after grabbing first place in Cocoa Beach and the Lake of the Ozarks.

Left: P1 Superstock Class winner Porta Products, with driver Andy Foster and throttleman Charles Morris, defeated their two competitors.

Left: Class 6 winner Rum Runner/Nu Wave Marine, with Mike McColgan (driver) and Fran Vellutato (throttles).

Bottom left: Class 7 winner Shadow Pirate/Whoa Mama, with driver Dylan Gold and throttleman Joe Reilly Sr. Bottom right: Pro Stock Vee winner Rev X Oil/LSB Racing, with driver Brit Lilly and throttleman Kevin Smith.

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F O UR FOU R FIV E FIVE ZER O

story by

Brett Bayne •

photos by

Todd Taylor

Years in the making, Mercury Racing’s game-changing 450R outboard is winning early raves from the folks who have been lucky enough to put it to the test. Here’s what they have to say.

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fter three years of R&D, engineering and behindthe-scenes testing, Mer-cury Racing has finally unveiled the next big step in its evo-

lution of the high-performance outboard engine: the fabled 450R, which boasts a 4.6-liter V8 FourStroke powerhead boosted by an exclusive supercharger to produce 450 peak propshaft horsepower and 40 percent higher torque than the firm’s massively successful 400R. As Speedboat co-publisher Ray Lee detailed in his column last month, Mercury Racing invited industry leaders and editors to a private function in Nashville, TN, where ten boats had been outfitted with the 450Rs for test rides. Among the boats were two MTIs (a 340X Cat and MTI-V42 center console vee), a Mystic C3800 Cat and a Yellowfin 36 Offshore center console vee, among others.

Prior to the introduction, it’s safe

to say that Mercury Racing’s 400R has become the go-to option for speed enthusiasts. At the recent Miami Boat Show, virtually every speedboat on display seemed to be powered with at least a pair of them. One model, Cigarette’s 59’ Tirranna, was powered by half a dozen of the 400Rs, but when it was displayed in Nashville a few months later, the Tirranna had been given a bit of an upgrade: six 450Rs. So what’s the verdict on the outboard’s performance? Boatbuilders interviewed by Speedboat are enthusiastic, to say the least. John Cosker, one of the industry’s leading go-fast icons, was in Nashville with his C3800 catamaran and has numerous boats on order for customers who want this power package on their new Mystics.

Cosker has been doing brisk business selling his boats with the 400R, and now that he’s driven his C3800 with both outboards, he can now speak with

some conviction about their performance differentials.

“The biggest thing I noticed, honestly, was with the load on the boat, the midrange acceleration and throttle response was a night-and-day difference,” he said. “I didn’t notice it so dramatically until I got it back to Florida and actually took it offshore. That’s where I really noticed the difference.

You could really throttle the boat over waves and stuff like that. You felt a little less of a victim of the ocean. You can actually really control the boat over it.”

At press time, Cosker was waiting on some props to do a little personal dialing in. “They got us some props that were up in diameter, that are bigger than anything we’d run on the boat before,” he explained. “Currently, we believe we may be losing a little bit with the diameter.” Soon enough, he said, Mystic will have some new props, and will begin some back-to-back

Above: John Cosker of Mystic Powerboats drives a 3800 catamaran with twin 450Rs.

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Above: In Nashville, Mercury Racing General Manager Stuart Halley briefs the industry about the new 450R outboard.

Right: Mercury Racing’s privately owned MTI 340X tester took two of the 450Rs. Below: Cigarette’s Tirranna 59 was upgraded from six 400Rs to six 450Rs.

A 2.4-liter belt-driven twin-screw supercharger delivers pressure charging with zero lag for instant throttle response.

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Left: Here’s the first catamaran from Wright Performance to be equipped with a pair of 450s. The WP 420 debuted at this year’s Miami Boat Show—originally powered by Mercury Racing 400Rs.

Right: The MTI 340X (shown here with a pair of 450Rs) was one of two MTI models in Nashville to receive the new engine. The other was an MTI V-42 center console.

runs with a 450R-powered cat and a 400R-powered cat.

Cosker told Speedboat that since the Nashville event, he has driven one of his 42' center-console vees with triple 450s. “It’s really utterly fantastic,” he said. “I had been hoping that a triple 450R boat would be equivalent to a quad 350 boat, and it exceeds it by far.

It jumps on plane with virtually no bowrise and runs about 5 mph faster so far—but we have some more prop testing to do on that boat, too. And you have more transom access with only three engines versus four. So I think that’s gonna be the ideal motor package for the 42’ going forward.”

Another convert is Randy Scism of MTI, who told Speedboat about his own experiences with the 450R. “The new package is incredible,” he speedboat.com

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said. “The 50 extra horsepower is nice, but it’s a 100 foot/pounds of torque more than the other ones. So the throttle response is incredible. The top speed, I still don’t know. We’ve put a couple of different propellers on, but they all go right to the rev limiters. So we haven’t been to the maximum speed yet, but it’s very, very impressive.”

After running his MTI-V42 centerconsole with 400s for an extensive period of time, the Nashville event provided the opportunity to run it with the 450s. His assessment? “Wow. It’s incredible. I had 16 people on it in Nashville, with probably around 200 gallons of fuel, and we were running around 83 to 84 mph. That’s incredible.

For a center console that’s probably 18,000 pounds.”

Scism says MTI currently has around

30 boats on order with 450s for power— half cats, half vees.

The 450R offers an option called Advanced Sound Control, a dual muffler system that can be toggled between an ultra-quiet mode and a deep sport tone with a stirring growl on start-up. “If you’re sitting at the dock and you push that button, it has more of a rumble to it than the super quiet mode,” Scism says.

“I’ve gotten used to quiet,” he adds. “It works good!”

MTI sales and marketing manager Tim Gallagher was also at the Nashville event and couldn’t have been more pleased by the boats’ performance.

“The power and torque is incredible,” Gallagher said. “These engines make 100 pounds more torque than a 400R, so now, when you stick four of them on the [Story continues on page 63] S P E E D B O A T | August 2019

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MTI Chicago Fun Run story and photography by

Ray L R Lee

The legendary go-fast builder teams with Westrec Marinas for a Windy City diversion.

MTI

has long enjoyed pleasure boating with their customers–and their customers feel the same, in return. This is evident by the popular MTI Owners Keys Fun Run in

South Florida and the group lunch run that is organized days prior to the Lake of the Ozarks Shootouts in Missouri. So for 2019, the Wentzville, MO builder has again expanded its itinerary for their fleet.

In collaboration with Westrec Marinas and Chicago Harbors, Randy Scism, Taylor Scism and Tim Gallagher of Marine Technology Inc. cordially invited their owners to “The Windy City” for the Inaugural Owners Chicago Fun Run in Illinois for a weekend of fun, friends, and fabulous food.

“We consider ourselves an eating team with a boating problem,” jokes Scism.

The event started Thursday, June 27 with a police-escorted boat ride up the Chicago River to the famed Riverwalk, to enjoy a hosted dinner at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. This was followed by a picturesque nighttime cruise through the channel, lined with illuminated high-rises and bright city lights, back to the weekend home docks of the 31st Street Harbor–operated by Chicago Harbors.

Friday featured a lunch run across Lake Michigan to the quaint little town of New Buffalo, MI. The group enjoyed uncharacteristically flat, glassy water on the Great Lake and evaded the storms that the weather reports continually threatened, seeing only fluffy clouds, blue skies and cheerful smiles.

“There’s so much more to do in Chicago than some of the other locations. After we’d get done boating, our guests would all go out and see things… see the town. All of the people that were there said that they loved it and have already committed to returning next year. I don’t know if we’ll get as lucky as we did with the weather but I have a feeling that next year will be quite a bit bigger,” said Scism.

Saturday brought yet another beautiful, calm water day for the lunch run to the largest marina on the Great Lakes, the newly renovated North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, IL–which houses 1,700 dock slips. Westrec President Bill Anderson, along with colleagues Enza Montano and Scott Stevenson of Chicago Harbors joined in on the fun and served as VIP tour guides for the day, highlighted with a stop a near the famous Navy Pier to the powerboat playground, known as the “Playpen”–the party hot spot well known to all of the Chicago locals.

“We hope that this is the first of many events that we do with our friends at MTI and introduce this type of boating to ‘The Windy City,’” Stevenson said. “We think that there’s a market for expanding performance boating in our harbor system and are aiming to bring more events and activities like this to Chicago.”

Plans for next year’s Chicago event are already in the works, with new dates for 2020 to be announced soon.

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Above: Randy and Taylor Scism of MTI (far left and right), with President Bill Anderson, Enza Montano and VP Scott Stevenson (center).

Below: MTI’s factory V-42, powered by quad Mercury Racing 450s.

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FUN RUN

Top: A group photo of all the Fun Run participants included nearly a dozen passengers on PG and Billy Georgiou’s boat.

Right: The MTI fleet docks at the lunch stop in New Buffalo, WI. Bottom: Eric Delisle’s 48' cat is powered by 1100 Mercury Racing I/O engines.

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Powerboat Nation is the world’s leading resource for Powerboating Videos, Photos, News and more!

There’s no better place on the web to live the powerboating life!

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FUN RUN

Top left: MTIs tie up in front of the Chicago skyline.

Above: “Randy’s Angels” pose with the company president at the welcome dinner at the Chicago Cut Steakhouse.

Above: Mike Stordhal of Tennessee picks up the pace in his 340X cat, powered by twin Mercury Racing 400R outboards.

Above right: PG and Billy Georgiou’s MTI-V42 is powered by quad 350 Mercury engines.

Bottom right: Adam and Kathy Ramirez of California in their 48 Cat. Ramirez built the boat’s big-muscle engines at his company, Kali Kustom Engines.

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This cat from Adrenaline Custom Boats is a triple-digit rocket with plenty of power and attitude to spare.

photography by

Todd Taylor

W

e got the boat as a bare hull,” says Josh Noack of Teague Custom Marine (Valencia, CA). Noack, the son-in-law of Bob

Teague, says his personal boat arrived as a bare hull from the West Coast’s Adrenaline Custom Boats (not to be confused with Georgia-based Adrenaline Powerboats) and rigged it completely at TCM. It was actually Adrenaline’s second 26 Savage out of the mold, but the first to be completely rigged. Noack’s purchase of the boat originated when he was interested in building a DCB F26. He learned that Adrenaline

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founder Dean Brown had the molds, and Brown happened to be a customer of TCM. “We priced it out and decided we could swing it,” Noack says, “So that’s what we did.”

Originally, the plan was to equip the cat with 300 XS outboards, for two reasons: one, for cost reasons, and two, “because that’s what was out at the time I was building it,” he says. “Everybody kept saying, ‘There’s going to be a new motor out soon.’

Eventually, I reasoned that we were building a real show piece, and it was going to get a lot of attention. And even though the 300Rs were pricy, I figured I would get that

back in the long run for resale purposes.”

Noack has been driving the boat for several months now, and he’s very enthusiastic about its performance. “I really like the boat,” he says. “It handles well, it’s very predictable. You can let anybody drive it. It does have a porpoise, as most outboard boats do, but once you get some experience, you can drive it so that there’s no porpoise.”

Performance: Speedboat’s test team was just as enthusiastic about the ride as Noack. Driving it it on Lake Havasu around Desert Storm, Myrick Coil and [Continues on page 59] speedboat.com

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performance evaluations

ADRENALINE

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SPEED (mph)

100 80 60 40 20 0

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

6,400 RPM = 108 MPH 90 80

SPEED (mph)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

0

5

10

15

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TIME (seconds)

ADRENALINE Length: 26' Engine on test boat: Mercury Racing 300R outboards Propellers: Mercury Racing 15 1/4” x 34”pitch MAX5s.

30-50 mph: 5.86 seconds 40-60 mph: 6.16 seconds 50-70 mph: 6.43 seconds Top speed: 108 mph @ 6,400 rpm ADRENALINE CUSTOM BOATS As this issue went to press, the company did not appear to have any functioning website or phone number. However, to reach a company representative, try their Facebook page. speedboat.com

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“I was impressed by the boat. We got it to go 108, and it went the same speed with the wind and against the wind. It’s very sporty.”

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2019 ERIE Poker Run This course is not for the faint of heart.

Luckily, Mother Nature cooperated this year

Photography by

Tim Sharkey

Event host venue Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel.

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Below: Jon Petersen drives his 42’ Fountain.

T

he revitalized bayfront area of Erie, PA, is famous for the crystal-clear waters of Lake Erie. It’s part of what makes Erie

a hit with recreational boaters. The Bayfront District is located on the city-side on the waterfront, which is loaded with restaurants, shopping, miniature golf, concerts and other activities.

The Erie Poker Run returned for its fifth consecutive running in June.

The event, which is produced by Elite Poker Runs, typically attracts a couple of dozen muscleboats from the east coast to Wolverine Park Marina and the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel.

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Boaters convene in Erie before making stops along the shores of Lake Erie to build their poker hands. It’s not always smooth sailing, though: the Erie waters can get pretty rough and nasty, and poor visibility has been a problem.

However, the water and weather have cooperated for the most part in more recent years. For this year’s run, 23 boats enjoyed relatively good weather, with an incident-free journey to Westfield and Dunkirk, NY, with lunch at Demetri’s on the Lake in Dunkirk.

According to organizer Anthony Scioli, the 23 boats including big Outerlimits, Skaters, Cigarettes and Scarabs, as well

as a 24-foot Formula and a good share of big center consoles (i.e., Midnight Express). Attendees included Vinnie Diorio, owner of an Outerlimits SV 43, and Danny DeSantis, owner of a Skater 388. Also on hand was main sponsor David Weschler, who owns a 52 Outerlimits, as well as Erie-based Empire Landscaping & Snow Services.

“It was typical of our poker runs,” Scioli says. “The meals and the parties are a big part of the event, not just the in-the-water stuff.”

The Erie Poker Run helped raise $5,400 for the local Children’s Advocacy Center.

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FUN RUN

Above: Danny Desantis in his 388 Skater.

Right: Vance Hagen drives his 388 Hustler Slingshot, Mean Streak.

Below: Ryan Lariccia goes airborne in his 45’ Sonic.

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FUN RUN

Left: Tom Ruff and friends in his 47’ Outerlimit GTX.

Below: Shane Watenpool’s 33’ Scarab AVS comes completely out of the water. Watenpool was one of the event’s two Rookies of the Year.

Above: Len Wodzisz’s 24’ Formula, Scarlet Lady.

Above right: Walt Bender and crew in his 40’ Skater. Bender had one of the event’s three best poker hands.

Below right: Michael McWilliams drives his 33’ Sutphen.

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FUN RUN Left: Steve McKie drives his 32’ Black Thunder.

McKie is president of the Western New York Offshore Powerboat Association.

Left: Anthony Bogino and friends in his 35’ Donzi.

Right: Vinnie Diorio drives his 43’ Outerlimits SV. Diorio, of Richfield, WI, won the award for “longest haul.”

Right: Tim Leaty in his 42’ Fountain.

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7/1/19 12:53 PM

BARRETT A

C U STOM MA RI NE

by Brett

Bayne photography by Todd Taylor

Speedboat takes you behind the scenes of Lake Havasu’s most respected highperformance service centers.

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native of San Diego, CA, Adrian Barrett learned the craft of auto and boat mechanics early in his career. He’d planned to be an auto mechanic, but that

vision abruptly changed when a job at a boat company became available first. Barrett perfected his craft at DCB Performance Boats of El Cajon, CA; he also crewed for the offshore race team Team CRC, racing with Mike DeFrees for about a year and a half.

After gaining years of experience in the field—and having quite enough of the skyrocketing cost of living in San Diego—he relocated to Lake Havasu City, AZ, where he went to work for Savage Marine. Eventually, he and a business partner bought out Savage; when that partnership didn’t work out, Barrett decided to pack his bags and launch Barrett Custom Marine in 2011—first at a location on Acoma Avenue, then to a new site on Industrial Boulevard.

The shop offers full service for all of a customer’s high-performance boat and engine

needs, and constantly strives to set a new standard in the marine industry. Barrett Custom Marine is set up to perform annual service, winter boat service, drive service, repairs, factory warranty repairs, drives, motors and beyond. “We take pride in our service and commitment to customer satisfaction,” Barrett says.

In recent years, as the economy has strengthened, so has Barrett’s business. “The economy has changed and is doing very well, so we have grown as well, partially because of that,” he says. Another key element has involved his close association with Mercury Racing and taking on their outboard line.

“I feel like we’ve become a little bit more diverse, and that has opened more doors for us,” he says. “My relationships with Mercury and Ilmor Marine have been another key to our growth.”

Currently, Barrett’s customers include a number of high-profile offshore competitors and poker-run heroes. Among them: [Text continues on page 82] speedboat.com

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Above: Inside the service facility: George Argyros’s 48 MTI, a DCB F29 and a 28 Eliminator Daytona are in for repairs and upgrades.

Left: Amanda and Paige answer phones in the front office; Adrian Barrett (inset).

Below: Barrett’s showroom offers plenty of products, apparel and a display of his famous Lake Powell Challenge “header chair.”

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Above and left: Views of the Eliminator Daytona, which was at Barrett Custom Marine for routine servicing, as well as the DCB F29, which is powered by a single Mercury Racing 700 SCi engine.

Below: One of the Mercury Racing 1350 dual-calibration engines in George Argyros’s 48 MTI was being serviced; the boat was currently being prepped for that engine’s re-installation.

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Above: This pair of Mercury Racing 1550 dual-calibration engines are from the CRC/Spooled Up boat.

Above: The Barrett Custom Marine logo is proudly affixed to the CRC/Spooled Up offshore race boat.

Right: Here’s a transom view of the DCB F29, powered by a single Mercury Racing 700 SCi engine with NXT drive spinning a five-blade cleaver-style prop. Adrian Barrett honed his mechanical skills as a rigger for DCB Performance Boats.

A pair of water pumps are being rebuilt for the Daytona.

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The parts department is fully equipped with oil filters, spark plugs, water pumps, alternators, starters, etc. speedboat.com

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[Continued from page 42]

Ray Lee had plenty to rave about. ““I was impressed by the boat,” Coil says. “Getting on plane, it has the typical bowrise, but once it breaks over, the visibility is outstanding. It’s got a bit of a hop until about 60 mph, but the trim will help with that.

After you get to the 60-80 mph range, the boat is awesome—it really likes 80 mph.

We got the boat to go 108, and it went the same speed with the wind and against the wind. It’s very sporty, and the acceleration between 50 to 90 is extremely fun.

“Turning this boat is not excellent, but good. However, the deceleration reaction is awesome, as is the throttle response. Midspeed tracking is very good; the more throttle you give it, the better it tracks. Overall maneuverability is very good. It’s a fun boat. All of the gauges and controls have been placed very well. The boat performed better than I predicted.”

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RIVER Rush

Brett Bayne photos by Jeannette Mignerey-Klobetanz story by

Continuing a tradition that kicked off in 1985, racers chart a course to central Idaho to conquer the Clearwater River.

Ross Schlotthauer (driver) and Jake Hedland (navigator) in Burly, the event’s overall winner and winner in Unlimited Class.

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Second place overall went to Easily Influenced, with driver Jeremy Hand and navigator Mike Kulpers.

FX Class winner Rump Shaker, with driver Chuck Thompson and navigator Jaxon Thompson.

CX Class winner Preventing Insanity, with driver Leighton Lillie and navigator Cody Holzer.

They also finished third place overall.

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W

ild jetboat racing action exploded in central Idaho recently, when the Clearwater River Rush jet

boat race continued a tradition that began in 1985. Racers in five classes (Unlimited, CX, FX, A and Club) took to the waters of the Clearwater River in central Idaho near the city of Orofino.

The three-day event kicked off with an exhibition of the participating boats, where fans could meet the racers and get a close-up look at the boats. Weekend racing ran June 15-16 at 10 a.m., with a course stretching first from Ahsahka Beach to Greer Beach, followed by lunch, then periodically continuing along the same route.

The overall winner (and winner in Unlimited Class) was Burly, which completed 10 legs of competition in 1:02:02.

The boat is piloted by Ross Schlotthauer (driver) and Jake Hedland (navigator), both of Post Falls, ID. Second place overall and in Unlimited was Easily Influenced, featuring Canadians Jeremy Hand (D) and Mike Kulpers (N) for a time of 1:03:07.

Hand is a veteran racer from Alberta who was driving his new boat.

Third place overall went to CX Class entry Preventing Insanity, driven by Leighton Lillie with navigator Cody Holzer, for a time of 1:19:25. Check out the other winners on the following pages, and congratulations to all!

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RUSH

Top: Second place in CX Class was taken by Never Satisfied, with Jake Barney (D) and Allen Paul (N) of Lewiston, ID. Right: Second place in FX Class went to Chris Barger (D) and Chandler Lytle (N) in Fatal Attraction.

Below left: FX Class thirdplace finishers Shay (D) and son Rich White (N).

Below right: A Class winners Tracey Popham (D) and Travis Blake (N) in Top Gun.

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Left: Second place in A Class was captured by Sneaky Snake, with Ryan Hudson (D) and Scott Beplate (N), both of Lewiston, ID. Their completed time was 1:26:34 Below: First place in Club Class went to first-time racers Mark Moog (D) and Alanna Kudebeh (N) of Lewiston, ID. Their completed time was 1:49:43.

Above: Third place in A Class went to Maniac, with brothers Jeff (D) and Jim Edwardsen (N) of Lewiston, ID. Their completed time was 1:31:16.

Right: Second place in Club Class went to Sick & Twisted, driven by Nate Gentry and navigated by James Sloppy, Their completed time was 1:54:46.

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[Continued from page 39] back of a boat, you really feel the difference. The boat is faster, but what’s most impressive is the acceleration. It gets up to speed in nothing flat, and surprisingly, it makes the same fuel economy at cruise as the 400R. That’s extremely impressive.

They’ve done a great job.”

Gallagher also praised the engine’s Advanced Sound Control mode: “The exhaust function lets it make a little bit more noise,” he says. “That’s a direct response to customers who have resisted making the switch over to outboards—people who say it’s just not the same experience. Well, now Mercury’s got this selectable exhaust (sport mode) that make the engines sound a little more throaty and more of a muscle feel to them.”

Speedboat also spoke to Steven Lamp, owner of Dream Catcher Charters (Key West, FL), who owns 11 boats, all but one of which is Mercury-powered. Lamp was in Nashville driving a 36' Yellowfin center console model identical to one that he owns. “I have been using the 400Rs,” he said, “and what are you going to do when you give a guy 40% more torque than that?” When Mercury Racing brought Lamp to Nashville to test the 450R, he says he was immediately aware of the huge differences beyond even the 10-mph top-speed improvement.

“Anytime you can tack an additional 10 mph on top of the top speed with just an extra 150 hp, I think it really says a lot about the torque value that’s available in that 450R engine,” Lamp said. “You can definitely tell the difference in the transient torque timing that the motor has built into it before the supercharger kicks in—it’s definitely noticeable at the midrange. It just absolutely comes alive and then that carries you right into the torque curve that the supercharger comes into.”

Mercury Racing’s Jeff Broman, the lead engineer on the 450R project, said the biggest challenge with the 450R was packaging, which included keeping the 300R cowl and fitting the supercharger, intercoolers, bypass, oil cooler, etc., underneath it.

“Thousands of hours of CAD work went into squeezing all of those com-

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ponents in,” Broman told Speedboat.

“Of course, they all had to meet strict functional targets as well. That meant CFD analysis for the cowl air intakes, intercoolers, oil cooler, and bypass, and FEA analysis for all of the structural components.”

Through the entire project, engineers paid strict attention to weight. “We’re very proud of what we accomplished—

a 450- hp engine that is essentially the same size as our 300R, the same weight as the 400R, with significantly more power and torque, all on 89 AKI fuel,” he said. “At the end of the day, we think the engine speaks for itself. I’ve been lucky enough to talk to a number of OEMs and customers who have driven the new engines, and every one of them has been thrilled with the experience.

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Brett’s

Fatal Attraction 1957 Chris-Craft Continental

Featuring

SCSC Idaho Regatta River Rush Jetboat Blowout

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FATALAttraction Here’s an oldie but goodie—a 1957 Chris-Craft Continental that’s both a stunning show piece and star of TV shows and commercials.

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story by

Brett Bayne

photography by

F

irst seen in last month’s special Swimsuit Edition of Speedboat, Bob and Steven Newcomer’s 1957

Chris-Craft Continental is a show piece that travels around to boat shows all around California, such as events at Bass Lake and Big Bear Lake— in fact, immediately prior to its Speedboat shoot at Lake Elsinore, it had been on display at the 28th Annual Antique & Classic Wooden Boat & Woodie Car Show at Lake Arrowhead with numerous other

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classics. “Occasionally, we’ll take it out for some pleasure boating, but mainly, it’s just for boat shows,” Bob says. “It has also appeared in many TV shows, like Modern Family and Rizzoli & Isles, as well as TV commercials.”

Known as Fatal Attraction, this handsome craft was repowered by the previous owner, and is now equipped with a PCM Ford engine (the typical power choice on MasterCraft wakesurfing boats). Bob, who lives in Santa Ana, is 80 years young and has owned the Chris-Craft for 10 years; he’s previously the owner of a clas-

Ray Lee

sic 1961 Chris-Craft Capri. “It was a gorgeous boat,” he says, “but the seats were very confining. You couldn’t really get up and walk around like you can in many other boats. Anyway, I’d always wanted a Continental model, and I just happened to get lucky, and picked up this model for a song.”

Newcomer gives a shout-out to Jim Wilkes of Wilkes Marine in Santa Ana, who works on this boat and several others owned by Newcomer’s friends who are all part of the international Antique Classic Boats Society.

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A ATTRACTION Left: Here’s a close-up of the Chris-Craft’s farforward running light (red on one side, green on the other).

Above: Back in the 1950s, ChrisCraft rigged their boats with automotive gauges. The dash on the Newcomers’ Continental still sports the original Chrysler gauges, which were refreshed and recalibrated in the last year. The knob next to the steering wheel adjusts the direction of the spotlight (seen at right).

Right: In addition to numerous cleats, the deck of the Chris-Craft features the spotlight, running lights and vents on the port and starboard sides.

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Above: The boat no longer sits atop its original trailer. The previous owner had a custom Competitive trailer built, and Newcomer recently had it freshened, sandblasted and had 10 coats of clear applied to it.

Left: At the stern, where the flag is located, you’ll notice a white light at the top of the pole, which is required by law. speedboat.com

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Start of the race: #20 Ashton Rinker finished first in Toledo, and is first-ranked among the F1 racers.

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Triumph in F1 racing action comes to Ohio’s Maumee River, where champion Ashton Rinker teaches ’em top tunnel techniques.

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T

story by photos by

Val Collins

Paul Kemiel

he NGK Spark Plugs Formula One Powerboat Championship came to downtown Toledo in June for the

second stop of its six-race 2019 season.

Boat racing fans crowded the banks of the Maumee River at Promenade Park as a total of 22 lightning-fast, 17-foot, 120-mph Formula One boats blasted off from the dock at 0 to 100 mph in 5 seconds to wage battle, excecuting mind-blowing 6.5-G turns.

The free two-day event, Rock the River Toledo, also gave fans plenty of other activities, such as live bands, VIP areas, boat displays, a three-story Jumbotron, live on-stage racer interviews, water demonstrations and food vendors.

The action began on Friday at noon with test-and-tune sessions, followed by the first set of preliminary heats at 3 p.m. The F1 drivers returned to the river on Saturday at noon, where the sharply honed cornering skills of the pilots wowed the crowd with four intense heat races. Points leader and reigning 2018 NGK F1 champion Ashton Rinker of Riverview, FL, arrived in Toledo carrying a 21-series points lead over second-place competitor Chris Fairchild of Paw Paw, IL. Two California drivers, RJ West and Greg Foster, rounded out the top 4, with Rusty Wyatt of Ontario, Canada, sitting in fifth place on the leaderboard. All of these drivers were within 50 points of Rinker.

Competitors run for 17 minutes plus 1 lap, which usually works out to 30 laps.

Rinker prevailed, taking the win after completing 30 laps in the final. The rest of the Top 10 were Rusty Wyatt, Chris Fairchild, Spencer Love, Dustin Terry, Johnny Fleming, rookie driver Jeremiah Mayo, Mike Makus, Jeff Reno and Wes Cheatham, respectively.

F1 rookie R.J. West, making a switch from the Formula lights class, had built his own boat, called Composite Craft, and won a quali-

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TRIUMPH IN

Toledo’s first-place finisher, Ashton Rinker, has secured two wins in two events, and says his goal this season is to be the first F1 driver to win all heats plus the final. Ashton is the son of former multi-time F1 Champion Terry Rinker.

fying heat on Friday. Unfortunately, he suffered some mechanical steering issues in the final and had a DNF. Meanwhile, Chris Rinker (a rookie who has stepped up from Tri Hull) had a spectacular crash on the first lap of the final and broke his boat in half.

Another racer who broke his boat was Greg Foster, who has raced for four decades and broke his transom in the first heat; he had to scratch for the weekend. Foster has a new Hoffman race boat on order, and will finish the second half of the season in that boat. Spencer Love is also in a new Hoffman this year; this is a brand-new boat and design, built by California’s Rick Hoffman. Tracy Hawkins stuffed his boat at the tail end of the final race, causing a red flag.

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Tim Seebold, NGK F1 Managing Director, said that Toledo is a perfect venue for NGK F1 Powerboat racing.

“Getting the Formula One race boats back to Toledo is great after a hiatus of 15 years,” he told Speedboat. “We’re very excited with the turnout and support for our drivers. Moving into a large market like Toledo is exactly the direction we need to take the sport.”

Race Promoter Dana Potts is also thrilled with the energy and enthusiasm that brought racers back to Toledo.

“We are excited to have the race back in Toledo. I can’t thank ProMedica enough for investing in the riverfront and also investing in us.”

Greenlight TV has been filming the NGK Spark Plugs F1 Powerboat

Championship racing action all season long, producing an exciting 30-minute show of each event to air on the CBS Sports Network. Fans can also watch the action on Motor Trend On Demand at motortrendondemand.com; liveStreamed races produced by Greenlight TV also air on the NGK Series and NGK’s Facebook pages.

The remainder of the tour schedule runs as follows: Aug. 2-4—Pittsburgh, PA (F1, F-Light).

Aug. 9-11—Springfield, OH (F1, F-Light, J-Hydro).

Aug. 31 to Sept. 1—Windsor, CO (F1, F-Light, Tri Hull, J-Hydro).

For more information about NGK Spark Plugs Inc., please visit the website: ngksparkplugs.com. speedboat.com

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Rusty Wyatt (driving the #94 boat, below) and his teammates (right) celebrate their second-place finish in Toledo. After the race, Wyatt was ranked third in NGK F1 series points behind Chris Fairchild.

Chris Fairchild (left) finished third in Toledo, driving his #62 boat, show above. For 2019, Fairchild has joined McCollough Racing with teammates Dustin Terry and Tim Kraft.

Dylan Anderson (right), a rookie racer with the only Yamaha outboard on the circuit, experienced a near-blowover. He was unable to finish the final after losing a lower unit, and couldn’t borrow one because nobody else runs a Yamaha! The 22-year-old hails from Tennessee.

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UNBLOWN FLAT: Ty Newton, shoeing for owner Dave Rankin in Wild Child (near lane) takes on Tyler Roth, who got the call to drive the Loveless machine (far lane). The two racers went deck-to-deck all weekend, with Newton taking the overall in the Unblown Flat class. A total of five UBFs showed up, including Kenny Manwill, Paul Reid and Jimmy Lawrence.

Southern California Speedboat Club competitors join forces for the 44th Annual Idaho Regatta/Don Moyle Memorial Race.

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A

lthough you could see snow on the upper level of the Idaho mountains, the 44th Annual Idaho Regatta enjoyed ideal weather

all weekend, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s as boats in nine classes came in search of checkered flags. The boat count was down a bit because two classes were no-shows: the GNs and the Cracker Boxes.

The T he e GPS 100 category boasted a stout 10-boat field, and for the first time, fulltime driver Jeff McLachlan (shoeing for the Ray Pauli group) took home the overall tim me d win w in in n the class. He would wind up in the Snake River after getting his very first first-place trophy. fir fi rstt-p p The T he e Super Stock class was added back to this show for the racers that still had the h ad th h itch to go racing. The champion for the second straight year was JJames am ess Gregory; Jeff Doidge, finished in second, and Dale Baker was a close overall. tthird-place h ird-Twelve Twe e Sportsman Extreme Class entries battled for the win. First place was taken

by Mi ik Purcyznski of Hemet, CA, followed by Dustin Daily in second, Jamey Tavares Mike

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IDAHORegatta

story and photography by

Mark McLaughlin

in third, Scott Andrews and Jay Hart in fourth, and Kip Brown in fifth place.

The race featured the Grand Prix Shootout, held on Saturday afternoon after all racing was completed. The shootout consisted of two boats from each class for a total of eight boats. They would line up with timed starts for each class, beginning with the slowest class taking off first, and so on up to the quickest class. At the end, the winner and all the rest of the drivers had a nice purse to split up. The winner was Duff Daily in his K777; second place was Mike Purczynski in his SE 151, and third place was Kip Brown in the SE 130.

With all the points and times combined over the course of the weekend, the Faulkner Cup, Idaho Cup, and Governor’s Cup had the three winners with the highest percentage score going to Tim Hoffman, who received the Faulkner Cup with a 97.64 percent; Dustin Daily got the Idaho Cup with a 97.12 percent, and Vance Lund got the Governor’s Cup with a 95.64 percent.

Next year’s Idaho Regatta is set for June 26-28.

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REGATTA

Top: Duff Daily in the capsuled K Boat prepares to pass Kip Brown in the SE 130 machine on the last lap of the Gran Prix shootout. Daily would pass all drivers to take the overall crown and the first-place money.

Above left and right: Sportsman Extreme class winner Mike Purczynski in his own SE 151 flatty.

Top right: Duff Daily’s son Dustin drove the Mike Stock-owned SE 40 all weekend. He gathered up enough points to receive the Idaho Cup trophy, which was the second-most sought-after trophy in the three-cup category.

Left: Super Stock class winners: Jeff Doidge (second place overall), James Gregory (first place) and Dale Baker (third place).

Below: The Super Stock field: Jeff Doidge (near lane), Dale Baker (center lane) and James Gregory (far lane, taking the lead on the warmup lap).

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Apparently, when Samantha MacDonald came around the corner of turn #1, her propshaft and prop just stopped, spinning her around and sinking the boat. The whirlaway is supposed to prevent that from happening. Samantha was fine, just a little wet, and the boat was done for the weekend. speedboat.com

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REGATTA A five-boat field of Nostalgia jetboats showed up for the regatta, with Joe Dilworth leading the way. The overall winner, he would get a partial hand-made trophy from father Glen. He joked that he’d been trying all these years for one of these trophies, and now he has to go home and finish it himself. Second-place finisher Randall Dilworth (at left, and near lane) and third-place finisher Craig Bisseger (far right and outside lane) round out the podium.

What can you say about Unblown Flat racer Ty Newton? Seems like he’s always at the top when it comes to boat racing. At left, he’s coming around turn #1 straight at the cameraman. Above, he receives his hand-made trophy (center). He’s joined by second-place finisher Tyler Roth at left and thirdplace finisher Kenny Manwill on the right.

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GPS 100: Jeff McLachlan (above center and inside lane), driving for Ray Pauli, took home the overall win in the class; it was his very first first-place trophy, so he took a dip in the river. Tim Hoffman (above left) finished second, and Danny Bement (right) finished third.

Driving with McLachlan at right are Jasper MacDonald and Don Dunster.

There was only a three-boat field in the K Boat class, but what a show they put on! On the first day, Jay Hart went the distance with Duff Daily for all three laps, but hurt the motor as he kept up with the 777 boat. Hart would not return in the K16, but finished on the podium with the third-place trophy. Jason Purcell and Duff ran a great final on Sunday together, but on lap 3, they both shut off on the backside of the island at the exact time and everyone thought they collided and went down. Daily lost a blower belt at the exact same time Purcell had his right foot pegged on the loud pedal when the pedal broke off the bracket. So the crowd saw them being both towed in at the same time and at press time, still do not know who won. At left, Purcell is shown coming around turn 2.

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REGATTA

Vance Lund (above) took the overall win in the Comp Jet Class. Out of six boats registered, Lund ran an almost perfect race, winning his beautifully hand-made firstplace trophy and also capturing the Governor’s Cup trophy (left). The Governor’s Cup was part of the three-trophy series combining all points and times for a percentage to the winners. Tim Hoffman received the Faulkner Cup with a 97.64 percent, followed by Dustin Daily getting the Idaho Cup with a 97.12 percent, and finally Lund with his Governor’s Cup and a 95.64 percent. Congratulations to all!

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[Continued from page 54] • George Argyros, whose 48' MTI cat was in the shop during our photo shoot.

• Mike DeFrees of the MTI Team CRC/ Spooled Up. • Craig Hargreaves, owner of the Spooled Up 52' MTI and M44 DCB sister boats.

• Sean Moore, owner of the 46' Skater Lick This, as well as a Fountain.

• Steve Lyman, owner of a DCB and a Nor-Tech.

• Jeff and April Lamb (Desert Storm’s inaugural Queen of the Desert).

• Kenny Gonzales, owner of the DCB M41 Perfect Pair.

• Tim and Miranda Jones, the reining Queen of the Desert, and their 40’ Skater, powered by Brummett-built engines (blown 1,350 Sterlings with 13.5 pounds of boost).

There are others, but some customers prefer to stay off the radar. “The other day, I asked one guy if I could post a photo of his boat. He said, ‘OK, but don’t post my name. I don’t want to be on social media!’ I said, no problem,” Barrett chuckles.

Aside from his boat and engine work, Barrett has also gained notoriety in the industry for having created custom chairs fabricated with boat headers—the first of which was auctioned off at the Lake Powell Challenge a few years ago.

“The first year we did it, it raised quite a bit of money for charity,” Barrett says.

“I told them that if it raised over a certain amount, we would build a second chair. Well, we ended up going over that amount by quite a bit.” So a second chair was built, and later bid on and won by customer George Argyros.

The idea for building the original chair was inspired by a similar one fabricated from jetboat headers. “It was kind of cool, but I felt it could have been a lot nicer-looking,” he says. “It had been in the back of my head that it’d be kind of a cool thing to do for someone’s man cave.”

Asked if he plans to bring another one of his cool chairs to the next installment of the Lake Powell Challenge (Sept.

12-14, 2019), Barrett holds his cards close to his chest. “We have a couple of ideas that we’re playing with,” he grins. “It’s a

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matter of whether all the pieces come together or not.”

As his company has grown, Barrett has naturally had to focus on being more of a business owner than a mechanic, but he still likes to get his hands dirty.

“It’s been an adventure, and it’s obviously had its ups and downs,” he says. “But I’d say I still have the passion for it. I still like getting out in the shop and working on stuff. We have a lot more customers now, so it can be a little bit distracting. In year one, we started off with about 250 customers; now I honestly couldn’t tell you what the number is.”

Another potentially difficult part of success is getting too backed up with business. Barrett takes a positive approach: “We’ve been able to handle it, partly because we train our customers to actually come in sooner,” he says. “We’ve been booked out as far as eight weeks before, but you always run the risk of getting a call from one of your longtime customers who wants a rush job. In those cases, we try our best to squeeze

them in, and maybe stay a little late.”

As for the future, there’s one other project he’d like to spearhead, but it’ll be tricky to pull off. While Ilmor Marine has stepped back from building performance engines, “they have a small block LS motor that’s really bitchen,” Barrett says. “Nobody is really paying a lot of attention to it—everybody’s been going to bigger and bigger power. But now, with boats getting lighter and smaller and faster, it would be kind of cool to put a pair of those motors on a boat. We’ve been part of many Ilmor projects, but it’s just a matter of finding a customer who’s serious about getting involved in a project like this. I had two customers who were interested, but neither one of them wanted to fund the project. There are no guarantees—there’s an unknown quotient involved, and nobody wants to be the guinea pig. But it would be great to see how these engines would perform in an Eliminator 28 Speedster. I’m willing to put in my labor for free just to see if it works.”

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