Nor-Tech At 35—The First 390
The speed limit for center consoles during Florida Powerboat Club poker runs is 70 mph. It’s a sensible safety rule club president Stu Jones implemented years ago. Jones recently reminded his club members—and the entire high-performance marine industry—of that mandate in his recent commentary focused on safety.
With a fully loaded top speed of 68 mph, the first Nor-Tech 390 Sport center console was plenty fast.
But it wasn’t necessary when the first 39-foot Nor-Tech center console hit the water in 2010. Powered by a trio of 300-hp Mercury Marine Verado outboard engines and piloted by Terry Sobo, then the company’s sales and marketing director, hull No. 1 topped out at 68 mph during the club’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run.
And Sobo was ecstatic.
“We had eight people on board with all their gear and a full load of fuel, and we still ran comfortably at 68 mph,” he said after reaching Holiday Isle Resort, the event’s destination, in Islamorada. “At wide open, the boat with triple 300-hp Verado outboards got .8 miles per gallon. At 60 mph, it got around 1.5 miles per gallon.
“The boat is efficient, but the way it rides in rough water is its most impressive performance characteristic,” he continued. “We were completely comfortable, all the way down.”
Though their top speeds have increased substantially during the past 15 years, some 500-plus 390 Sport center consoles later the ride remains the same.
And Sobo—still with Nor-Tech—remains ecstatic.
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