Image Of The Week—DCB M42R Getting Into The Grove

In a few hours, by-appointment performance-boat demo rides will begin at Mercury Racing’s three-day event at Grove Harbour Marina in Coconut Grove, Fla. The venue is far enough away from Miami International Boat Show, which also opens this morning, to feel like a great escape from the bustle of the annual event.

But it’s close enough for demo participants to still have plenty of time to visit the displays at the Miami Convention Center, Herald Plaza, the Venetian Marina and more.

Demo riders who made appointments to experience the new DCB M42R catamaran are in for a treat.

In town for this week’s action and the Florida Powerboat Club Miami Boat Show Poker Run the following weekend, DCB Performance Marine vice president Tony Chiaramonte will treat his demo appointees to rides in the new M42R catamaran, the build of which was chronicled extensively on speedonthewater.com. As the author of that series, I had the privilege of riding in the 42-footer in December on Lake Havasu.

And the 10-minute blast with Chiaramonte, which included a sweeping turn at 100-plus mph, was worth every bit of six-hour roundtrip drive and overnight stay in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., required to make it happen.

So Chiaramonte will have one less demo rider—this one—to impress this week in Coconut Grove. And that’s a good thing based on his upcoming appointments.

“Dude, we are wall to wall this week,” he told me yesterday afternoon.