First 44-Foot Statement Marine Center Console Stateside
A week ago Thursday, I headed to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to meet with Randy Sweers and check out the first Statement Marine 44 GTrs center console. The 44-footer was slated to arrive in Jacksonville, Fla., from the Sao Paulo, Brazil, area where it was built. Then it would be hauled south to Fort Lauderdale for upholstery installation and other finishing touches, ahead of the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run, November 5-10.
No one was happier than Randy Sweers to see the first Statement 44 GTrs model in Jacksonville.
That was the plan, at least. Problem was, I made it to Fort Lauderdale but the boat still hadn’t reached Jacksonville.
As anyone currently involved in international shipping can attest, transit schedules don’t always go as planned. The quad quad Mercury Racing 500R outboard engine-equipped boat arrived in Jacksonville yesterday and is now in Fort Lauderdale.
The center console will be ready in time for its Key West Poker Run debut. It will even be part of the fleet for the annual Saturday Speed On The Water photo shoot outside Key West Harbor so it can be included in the daily powerboating news website’s 10th annual Year In Review print magazine.
From the Port of Jacksonville, the center console has been hauled to Fort Lauderdale for interior completion.
“Eric Lonabough, the owner, has been amazing to work with and very patient through the build process,” Sweers said. “I really need to thank him for his patience—he’s been nothing but a gentleman to deal with even with the normal delays inherent in building the first one.”
Statement 44 GTrs No. 2, according to Sweers, is being painted at the Brazil facility. The third and fourth builds “are not far behind.” By the end of the month, he added, the first three Statement 396 catamarans will be on board a ship to begin the 30-day journey from Brazil to Jacksonville.
The complete 44-footer will debut during the next month’s Key West Poker Run.
For the moment, Sweers’ focus is on the first 44 GTrs model in Florida.
“I am elated to have the new 44 in America,” he said. “It’s a dream that has come to reality.”
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