Hard-To-Categorize Mystic M5200 An Instant Hit With One Sale Inked, Three Pending
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Event Coverage: Hard-To-Categorize Mystic M5200 An Instant Hit With One Sale Inked, Three Pending
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Before he arrived this week at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, Mystic Powerboats founder John Cosker questioned his decision to bring the new M5200 center console to the Central Missouri waterway. No doubt, with the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout and Super Cat Fest running concurrently in the same general vicinity, plenty of potential buyers would see it. But the cost and effort were significant.
With one sale closed and three pending, he’s not questioning his judgement now.
For John Cosker and company, the Mystic M5200 debut at the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend has been excellent. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“Really, as late as last week, I was asking myself, ‘We’re going to truck this massive boat 1,100 miles all the way to the Lake of the Ozarks at a huge cost?’” he said. “I kept thinking, ‘This is crazy. What am I doing?’ But it’s the best move I could have ever made. And by that I mean debuting this boat in this community, where you get high-end guys from all over the U.S. and the world, for them to see it. We actually sold one yesterday and have three more serious customers ready to go for rides as soon as it’s available.”
Cosker said the 52-footer, which is powered by four Mercury Marine Verado 600 outboard engines, has been “hard to categorize” for many observers. Some see it as center console, albeit a giant one, while others see it as a yacht. Others see it as a high-performance boat suitable for overnighting in The Bahamas and other relatively far-flung destinations.
The truth is, it’s a bit of all three.
“It handles greats,” he continued. “I did a lot of different things with the bottom to help it stay on plane at low speeds. I also had to get used to the 600s because they a trim a little differently. It’s kind of like a cat—you just keep bumping down the trim to increase the speed.”
“You know, when we tested the 52 on Lake X we got to 80.8 mph basically running in long circles—it’s a small lake for such a big boat,” Cosker explained. “But there wasn’t any rough water there. We took it on the main channel of the Lake of the Ozarks yesterday with 22 people on board, cruised comfortably at 70 mph and topped out at 77 mph. It’s hard to gauge the water at the lake, but there was a performance boat headed toward us and I could see the underside of its bottom every few seconds. So I know it was rough.
Enjoy more images of the new Mystic M5200.
One more advantage to the M5200, at least from Cosker’s standpoint? Yesterday he was able to take multiple groups on one demo ride without anyone feeling crowded.
“It’s such a big boat,” he said, then chuckled. “We really didn’t know what we had on our hands before now. I’m thrilled with it.”
Cosker on unveiling the new model at the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend: “It’s the best move I could have made.”
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