‘Bug Money’ Skater 28 Catamaran A Dream Come True
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New Products: ‘Bug Money’ Skater 28 Catamaran A Dream Come True
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There is no typo in the headline above—the name of Bryan Swinney’s new 28-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 300R outboard engines isn’t supposed to be “Big Money.” The 37-year-old, who hails from Vernon, N.J., and has been a boat owner since he was 16 years old, owns BRS Backyard BugBusters, a mosquito and tick control company in the Garden State.
New Jersey’s Brian Swinney “worked like an animal” to make his dream of owning a new Skater 28 catamaran come true.
Swinney funded the build with money he worked hard to earn through his business. So calling the catamaran, which he and his fiancé, Stephanie Munson, drove to Skater headquarters in Douglas, Mich., two weeks ago to fetch a couple of weeks ago, “Bug Money” made perfect sense.
Munson ordered the boat a little more than a year ago. He considered buying a 2017 model-year Skater 28 powered by Mercury Racing 300XS outboards, but he wasn’t thrilled with the cat’s condition. During the process, he contacted to Tony Cutsuries, Skater’s national sales manager.
“’I wasn’t looking to buy brand-new, boat, when I told Tony my concerns about the 2017 Skater 28 he said, ‘Well, I can always build you a new boat,’” he said. “That was how it started.
“So I changed my lifestyle to make it happen,” he continued. “Not only did I keep growing my business—I worked like an animal to make it happen—I sold all my toys including my Harley and my Jet-Ski to make it happen. And Tony made the whole build process incredible.”
Said Cutsuries, “Bryan is one of the most enthusiastic customers I’ve dealt with since I began selling Skaters.”
To save time and money, Swinney opted for an all-white build with black trim.
Enjoy more images of Swinney’s 28-footer in the slideshow above.
After running the catamaran on Lake Michigan on delivery day, Swinney and Munson hauled it to the Detroit Metro area and it ran on Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River for the better part of a week. He included enough time to take a driving course from Shaun Torrente of Southwest Florida-based Shaun Torrente Racing. Then he and Munson headed back to New Jersey with his new ride in tow and stopped at New York’s Lake George—his longtime favorite waterway—before hauling it home.
“We had a blast and the class with Shaun really, really helped,” said Swinney. “I have been around boats my whole life—before my father died in 2001 we restored a ski-boat together—but this is a whole other thing.
“We even had dinner that Friday night with (well-known performance-boating community member) Burton Kirsten,” he added.
So far, the catamaran has reached 114 mph. Swinney said the boat is running “really well” but there is still setup work to be done.
Swinney plans to run the cat in the upcoming 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run, July 14-16, in Clayton, N.Y. A little more a month later, he and Munson will return to Clayton with Munson to get married in the Antique Boat Museum.
“It’s going to be a really good time,” he said. “All of our friends and us are coming by boat.”
Bryan Swinney and Stephanie Munson will marry next month at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, N.Y.
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