Miles MTI 340X Upgraded With Fresh Horses—But Not Paint—For Kuttawa Run

Powerboat paint-man Stephen Miles is the first person to admit that when it comes to the Kuttawa Cannonball Run, an event he founded eight years ago with friends Jeff Hoefling and Terry Martin, he is an organizer in name only. That doesn’t mean Hoefling and Martin don’t have day jobs, but Miles and his team at Stephen Miles Design in Owensboro, Ky., are consistently slammed with work.

Thanks to Performance Boat Center of South Florida, this MTI 340X catamaran owned by painter Stephen Miles now has Mercury Racing 450R outboards on its transom.

How slammed? His pre-owned MTI 340X still has its original paint and Miles doesn’t see that changing anytime soon. He’s simply too busy with paying work.

But thanks to Performance Boat Center’s satellite location in Fort Lauderdale, the 34-footer does have new power in the form of Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines. And of course, he’s planning to run the updated cat at the Kuttawa event, which is set for May 31-June 1 will again be based out of old Kuttawa Marina.

“It’ll be faster, for sure, but more importantly it will be more reliable and the engines have warranties,” said Miles, who had several mechanical issues with his well-traveled six-cylinder 400R outboards during his most recent outings. “Jeff Corbel and Christian at Performance Boat Center of South Florida did an awesome job.

“It even has a new interior,” he added. “Now all it needs is a new freaking paint job.”

Asked when that would happen, Miles cackled, but decline to comment.