Fourth Annual Outboard Fun Run Cave-Bound And More

When The Cave Bar and Grill opened at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri last summer, the Performance Boat Center Outboard Fun Run was the first organized event to stop there for lunch. That made perfect sense as Mark Waddington, who co-owns the full-service Osage Beach, Mo., MTI Performance Powerboats and Sunsation Boat dealership with Brett Manire, also owns the waterfront hotspot.

MTI will be among the many go-fast powerboat brands represented this weekend at the Performance Boat Center Outboard Fun Run. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

Set for this Friday, the fourth annual Outboard Fun Run will return to the now-popular venue as its first stop. Registration currently stands at 48 boats, not counting the MTI, Performance Powerboats, and Sunsation models the dealership itself will have on the water. And registration is still open.

“We should hit around 60 boats,” said Manire.

The day will start Friday morning with breakfast and a drivers meeting in the Performance Boat Center showroom. If the schedule holds, the boats will head to The Cave at 10:30 a.m. and stay there 2 p.m. From there, the fleet will move to Coconuts Caribbean Bar Grill before heading back to Performance Boat Center for a dinner celebration with awards and a fireworks celebration.

The event has grown steadily since its inception, when it attracted 42 boats. Last year, there were 85 registered boats in the mix. Among the boats in the group this time will be an MTI 440X catamaran and MTI V-50 center console. Both equipped with Mercury Racing’s new 500R outboard engines.

The first stop of the day, The Cave is one of the hottest waterfront haunts at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Taylor Scism and her fiancé, Shaun Peters, will run the cat while MTI principals Randy and Cherell Scism will pilot the center console. The company is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

“I love a local, Lake of the Ozarks run,” said Taylor Scism, who’s already logged multiple trips to Florida this year to represent MTI at the Miami International Boat Show MTI owners events, as well as competing alongside John Tomlinson offshore racing’s 450R Factory Stock class in the TS Motorsports raceboat. “Performance Boat Center and Mercury Racing put on a great event and we are really looking forward to it.”