Image Of The Week: Outboard Artwork – Speed on the Water

Say what you will about outboard-engine dominance in the go-fast boating world, but this simple fact remains: Today’s high-performance outboards are pieces of art. And for better or worse—better in my book—they are constantly on full display.

Outboard artwork in action at the Lake of the Ozarks. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

I was reminded of that yesterday as I pored through images for the upcoming Speed On The Water 2023 Year In Review magazine. Yes, hard as it is for speedonthewater.com co-publisher Jason Johnson and I to believe it’s that time of year again, the time when we get to revisit our print magazine days and create a 196-page, oversized beauty that’s heavy enough to keep a rickety end-table from shaking during a minor earthquake.

Pete Boden captured the photo above during an extensive shoot of a new Performance Powerboats P-360 catamaran last month at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri. Pretty as the 36-footer is, and you’ll get a full look at it when Year In Review 2023 publishes in January, it was this isolated shot of its color-matched Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines that first caught my eye.

They are, literally and figuratively, performance art.