Crypto Owner Joins The Outboard-Catamaran Fold

A well-known owner of exotic high-performance boats with stern-drive-engine power, South Carolina’s Chuck Stark has nothing against outboards. In fact, his MTI-V 42 center console is powered by four such engines of the Mercury Racing 500R kind.

But his 42-footer is for group outings, and Stark is a social animal so it gets frequent workouts. When it comes to high-speed blasts, Stark has long preferred stern-drive boats such as Crypto, his still-for-sale Mercury Racing 1550/1350 engine-powered Outerlimits SV 43 bottom.

Chuck Stark’s new-to-him MTI 390X will be in the mix at tomorrows Fort Myers Offshore Turkey Run to Punta Gorda.

At least until recently.

“I joined the MTI 390X outboard-powered catamaran club,” Stark said, then chuckled. “After Key West this year, I spent some time with Stephen Miles in his MTI cat. And I loved it. He said, ‘You know, you ought to get yourself a 390.’ So I called Tom Stuart at MTI and bought one. I started with a used model to make sure I was going to be happy.

Stark also owns an outboard-engine-equipped 42-foot center console from MTI.

“It’s freaking awesome,” he added. “I love it.”

Stark’s 39-footer was built in 2020 and originally powered by a Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines. Thanks to Shaun Torrente of Shaun Torrente Racing in Southwest Florida, the boat will soon have 500-hp outboards from the Fond du Lac, Wis., company. (Torrente also handled the re-power of Stark’s MTI-V 42 center console from 450R to 500R outboards.)

A closer look at Stark’s latest prize.

The catamaran will be among an estimated 50-plus boats in the mix at tomorrow’s Fort Myers Offshore Turkey Run to the Riviera Bar and Grill in Punta Gorda, Fla. “And next month, we’re going to do the ‘Four By Four’ events,” said Stark.

As for Crypto, the Stephen Miles Design-painted beauty remains for sale as it has been since August. The 43-footer currently is at American Custom Marine in Kimball, Mich.