Speed on the Water – Jan/Feb 2018

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL

PROFILE: MTI-V 57

B O AT S H O W COVERAGE

MTI’s Biggest Deal As expected, the MTI-V 57 with quad Mercury Racing Verado 400R engines was a showstopper— and we got to take it for a spin.

words Jason Johnson photos Pete Boden

OVER THE LAST seven

years, Marine Technology Inc., has repositioned itself as not only a premier builder of high-performance offshore catamarans but also a leader in the luxury performance center console market thanks to its MTI-V 42 model.

From the prototype I had the chance to ride in and drive at the 2012 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout to several other 42-foot MTI models I’ve been aboard at various events, I never imagined that the Wentzville, Mo.-based company would build something that would make the MTI-V 42 look small yet feel like you’re driving a boat that’s not really 15 feet longer than its predecessor.

That’s what happened though and the speedonthewater.com 57

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team got to experience it firsthand during the 2018 Miami International Boat Show in February. Test driver John Tomlinson of TNT Custom Marine took the helm and put the 57-footer through the paces by rolling it up on plane with ease and taking it out across a choppy Biscayne Bay and out along Stiltsville, the curious collection of historic hand-built wood stilt houses on the bay.

After getting a feel for the boat since he’d yet to drive one before, Tomlinson didn’t hesitate to carve S-turns like he was driving one of MTI’s 42-footers, and the 57-footer reacted like it was a much smaller boat.

“This thing is nimble—it’s a comfortable cruiser but it gives you that nice, nimble feel when

PROFILE: MTI-V 57 you’re on the wheel,” Tomlinson said. “The acceleration is good with the 400s—the boat doesn’t feel sluggish at all. It gets up and goes pretty well actually. Naturally the hull feels like it could handle much greater speeds.

“What I like most about it, is that we could run over some chop and boat wakes and not feel a thing,” he continued. “Yet, at the same time, we could whip U-turns and figure-eights in the boat like it’s a runabout.

The visibility and wind protection are good. So is the instrumentation and placement of the controls and everything else on the dash. It’s well thought out. The joystick piloting also is a nice feature.”

Tomlinson didn’t run the boat for top speed but he did take the 21,000-pound boat past 60 mph with plenty of outboard-engine rpm left.

400

MILES, APPROXIMATELY, THAT THE MTI-V 57 COULD RUN AT A CRUISING SPEED OF 40 MPH THANKS TO ITS 460-GALLON FUEL CAPACITY AND THE FUEL-EFFICIENT VERADO 400R ENGINES CONSUMING 0.85 MPG.

TNT Custom Marine’s John Tomlinson had a blast driving the 57-foot MTI on Biscayne Bay during the Miami International Boat Show.

It’s worth noting that the boat is MTI’s third 57-footer. The first one—a champagne-colored prototype that was built upon request from one of the company’s Middle Eastern clients—was fully open and without a cabin. The second boat—a silver and charcoal beauty that was built as a tender to a super yacht—was featured at the 2017 Miami International Boat Show and powered by quad Seven Marine 627 engines.

Randy Scism, MTI’s owner and founder, said the Seven Marinepowered 57, which reached a top speed of 80-plus mph, is an awfully impressive machine, but he’s equally impressed with the performance of the boat with the 1,600 hp worth of Verado engines as he’s driven the boat up to 67 mph.

PROFILE: MTI-V 57 “Everyone at the boat show loved the new 57,” Scism said.

“The reaction was so positive.

It really does drive like a sportboat, it’s doesn’t have that big boat ‘wallow around’ feel to it. It’s still sporty and it runs mid-60s with 400s on it—I think that’s phenomenal for something this size.”

He said the fuel efficiency also is “pretty impressive” for a boat of its size.

“With the quad Verado 400s, we’re able to see .85 to .88 mpg at a 40-mph cruise.

With the quad 627s, we’re getting .50 mpg at the same cruising speed. That’s a 70percent increase in economy, which certainly adds up on a longer trip. We couldn’t be more impressed with how the quad 400s did on our 57.”

Although the MTI-V 57 wasn’t officially sold at the show, Scism thought he had a buyer, and he was right as it landed in the hands of South Carolina’s Todd and Debby Campbell, who planned to run the boat in the MTI Owners Fun Run through the Florida Keys in March.

“The service and overall experience that MTI offers across the board is top-shelf,” said Todd Campbell, who is officially taking delivery of the quad Mercury Racing Verado 400R-powered MTI-V 57 they’ve named Unbridled at the Tickfaw 200 Poker Run in Louisiana in early May. “We weren’t really looking for an MTI—I was in the market for a Hatteras motor yacht. But we knew of MTI and its owner

Featuring a 12-foot beam and weighing in at 21,000 pounds (dry), the new MTI-V 57 with quad Mercury Racing Verado 400R engines is awfully nimble for its size. It’s also quite stunning at idle with the Miami skyline behind it.

Randy Scism’s reputation through our friend Rich Bennett and when we saw the new 57 my wife fell in love and wanted nothing else. It’s a niece piece of equipment, it’s great looking and I think the power is perfect for the size.”

Campbell, who is on the board of directors for the annual Hartwell Lake Poker

Run that benefits the local Meals on Wheels services, said the 57-footer is a little large for his hometown lake, but he will have it there for the poker run in early June. After that, he’s looking forward to running the boat to the Abacos islands in the Bahamas.

Sounds like a perfect place to take the latest MTI-V 57.

MTI, 636-639-1166, marinetechnologyinc.com Mercury Racing, 920-921-5330, mercuryracing.com 60

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