Gratton Brothers Building New 38-Foot Doug Wright Catamaran
Started more than a year ago, a project spearheaded by twin brothers Blake and Brock Gratton of Sarasota, Fla., took a major step forward yesterday with the pick-up of a Doug Wright Powerboats 38 catamaran hull and deck from the boat-builder’s headquarters across the state in Melbourne. From there, Blake Gratton hauled the bare-hull 38-footer to Doug Harrell Designs, where it will be painted.
Blake Gratton hauled the new cat from Doug Wright Powerboats to Doug Harrell Designs yesterday.
“It’s finally ready and it’s a beast,’ said Blake Gratton.
Jamie Borg of Southwest Florida-based Cutting Edge Interiors will handle the upholstery work in the eight-seat catamaran. TNT Custom Marine in Miami will tackle the rigging and installation of the catamaran’s new 500-hp supercharged V-8 outboards engines from Mercury Racing.
According to Gratton, the outboards were ordered through Doug Wright Powerboats and will be delivered to TNT crew, which also install all of the cat’s electronics.
In early 2022, the Gratton brothers purchased a former 30-foot-long, triple-outboard-engine-powered Skater Powerboats raceboat dubbed Critical Lift in the hopes of transforming it into a pleasure boat. A series of delays led them to abandon that project. Now they are exclusively focused on completing their new 38-footer.
The boat will be rigged at TNT Custom Marine in Miami
“We just decided to move on,” said Blake Gratton.
Gratton expects the cat to be finished by fall and well ahead of the Joey Gratton Memorial New Year’s Day Fun Run celebrating their father, a popular local racer who died following a racing accident at the 2011 Super Boat International World Championships in Key West, Fla. The entire Gratton family attends the annual New Year’s day happening.
“It should be ready in time,” he said.
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