MTI-V 42 Is ‘American Dream’ For First-Time Performance-Boat Buyer – Speed on the Water
Born in Portugal, 54-year-old general contractor Nuno Passarinho immigrated from his home country to the United States with his parents and younger brother when he was 14 years old. His wife, Teresa, arrived stateside from Portugal when she was just five years old. Together they built a life that included building a home in Sandy Spring, Md., and raising their 29- and 26-year-old sons, buying a second place in Naples, Fla., and boating on their 35-foot Formula Boats V-bottom with inboard engine power.
Nuno Passarinho looked at a few center consoles before selecting an MTI-V 42 as his first high-performance boat. Photos courtesy/copyright TNT Marine Sales
They’re an American success story to be sure, grateful for the opportunities their hard work afforded them to maximize. Yet as often happens in the powerboat-ownership world, Nuno Passarinho wanted something with a bit more punch than his Formula, which was versatile and enjoyable but topped out at “almost 60 mph.”
Last month, the answer arrived at the Passarinho family home in Naples in the form of an MTI-V 42 center console powered by quad Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines. After checking out other performance-oriented center consoles, he ordered the 42-footer through TNT Marine Sales, the pre-owned boat brokerage and new MTI sale arm of Miami-based TNT Custom Marine.
“I always wanted to have something quicker and faster, but it had to be safe,” Passarinho explained. “I looked at one brand, but I didn’t like the top. I looked at another one, but the dash was too tall—I’m 5’8”.
“I don’t fish and didn’t want to,” he added, then laughed. “To me, ‘fishing’ is fish on plate and we can go to a seafood restaurant by boat for that.”
Enjoy more images of the 42-footer.
Passarinho landed on the 42-footer from the Wentzville, Mo., center console and catamaran builder based primarily for its aesthetic, ergonomic and build quality. But now that he has 35 hours behind the wheel, the boat’s performance is his favorite quality.
“It’s like driving an all-wheel-drive sportscar,” he said. “It’s very fun and forgiving, but before you do any twists and turns you need to tell everybody to hold on but it really, really turns. And it rides like nothing else. It gets on plane at 15 mph. It runs easily to more than 80 mph.
“I’m so freaking happy with it,” he added. “It’s bad-ass.”
Passarinho said he enjoyed working with Steven Fernandez at TNT Marine Sales as well as the MTI team in Wentzville.
“You can tell he’s into it,” Passarinho said about Fernandez. “He’s doing it because he loves it, not just because it’s ‘his job.’ He’s into it. He’s excited for you.”
Next up for Passarinho is the MTI Owners Fun Run to the Florida Keys in March. MTI client relations manager Taylor Scism secured a place for him, he said, and he “could not have been more impressed” with their dealings so far.
“Owning an MTI is the dream of dreams of for me,” he said. “This is the American dream.”
Four 500-hp engines from Mercury Racing provide more than enough wallop for Passarinho and his 42-foot center console.
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