Inside The Inaugural Performance Boat Center Open House And Boat Show

No matter how you arrive—by land or water—at the inaugural Performance Boat Center Open House and Boat Show at the multi-brand dealership’s expansive Osage Beach, Mo., headquarters this weekend, you can expect to find a full house. To say the dealership pulled out all the stops to put on a good show understates the efforts of co-owners Brett Manire and Mark Waddington and their team.

The new Performance Powerboats P-280 catamaran was a hit today at the Performance Boat Center event. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Jeff Helmkamp Photos.

From the likes of MTI’s Randy Scism and Tom Stuart to current and would go-fast powerboat owners, the place teemed with activity.

And today was a school day, so to speak. The event runs through Saturday, and tomorrow’s turnout, which will include the same members of the MTI crew, likely will dwarf that of Friday.

Among the attention-getting boats on display was the Class 1 Monster Energy/M CON Skater raceboat. Though owner/throttleman Miller couldn’t make it thanks to a prior obligation for his sponsor, his throttleman/teammate Myrick Coil, the dealership’s service manager and part-owner in the Performance Powerboats brand, was on hand to answer questions.

Marine industry notables on hand to support the event included MTI’s Randy Scism and Tom Stuart.

“Performance Boat Center continues to go above and beyond for the entire boating community,” said Miller “What a great opportunity to kickstart the 2024 season with their April boat show and demo rides.

“It’s a must-attend event for everyone in who’s putting winter behind them and summer in front of them,” he added.

Though visitors to the dealership have seen it, the first Performance Powerboats P-280 catamaran also drew plenty of attention. The single outboard engine-powered 28-foot cat is the latest member of a family that 36- and 421-foot models.

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Enjoy more images from the first day of the inaugural happening in the slideshow above.

“Everybody was loving the new P-280,” said Coil.

Speedonthewater.com contributing photographer agreed. ““The new P-280 with a (Mercury Racing) 450R outboard is a cool little hot rod,” he said.

By noon, according to Helmkamp, the property was filling up with attendees for what he described as “a perfect blue-sky day.”

“I saw several MTI-V center consoles and an MTI 440X cat go out for demo rides,” he said. “Sunsation was popular among show-goers, and Tom Stuart with MTI and Rusty Williams of Performance Boat Center seemed to be the busiest people there.

Though he couldn’t there in person, Monster Energy/M CON team owner Tyler Miller sent the next best thing.

“The covered docks were full of boats from Performance Powerboats, MTI, Sunsation, Cigarette, and South Bay and Princecraft,” he continued. ‘And the showroom had center consoles from Cigarette, MTI, and Mystic along with a Cigarette 42X. There was also a display for the upcoming Shootout Offshore race and, of course, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.”

Come 10 a.m. Saturday, the fun begins again. The event ends at 5 p.m.

“I could have used 10 more people today,” Manire said, then laughed. “I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like tomorrow.”