Performance Boat Center 2023 Event Season Springs To Life

Brett Manire of Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach, Mo., will be the among the first people to tell you that the “off-season” at the Lake of th Ozarks is getting shorter and shorter. And as the co-owner of the thriving full-service multi-brand dealership on the shores of the Central Missouri waterway, he has a particularly well-informed perspective. But from November through April, at least Manire the Performance Boat Center crew get a “break” from event organizing.

Adam Seraphine (standing) and Mike Barnes enjoyed the day with Melissa Barnes and Billy McHugh (both below in the cockpit). Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

That break ended this weekend in fine fashion with the dealership’s Spring Fun Run. The event attracted a strong fleet of high-performance boats from the likes of MTI, Performance Powerboats, Sunsation, Skater, Fountain, Cigarette and more.

“We hit 80 registered boats,” said Manire. “What an amazing day with a great group of people. And the weather, which we were a little worried about on Friday, was perfect.”

For good reason, the Cave venue will be a regular stop for Performance Boat Center events.

Starting at Performance Boat Center headquarters, the run had just two stops—The Cave, which is owned by Mark Waddington, who also co-owns the dealership with Manire, and the Bear Bottom Resort. That lead to a casual day on the water that included virtual Lake of the Ozarks locals/business partners Greg Harris of South Florida and Minnesota’s Adam Seraphine.

“It was typical PBC, meaning everything was well-organized and easy to understand, with a whole lot of people happy to see each other again and get a new season started,” said Harris, who owns a DCB Performance Boats M37R catamaran called Mad Props. “The first part of the run to the Cave was a fun and fast 10 miles. The second stop was further up the lake and made for a nice afternoon of running and playing in the light, early-season boat traffic.

pbicspring23-02

pbicspring23-26

pbicspring23-01

pbicspring23-07

pbicspring23-27

pbicspring23-28

pbicspring23-23

pbicspring23-21

pbicspring23-08

pbicspring23-10

pbicspring23-09

pbicspring23-24

pbicspring23-29

pbicspring23-22

Enjoy more images from this weekend’s Performance Boat Center happening,

“It was beautiful,” he added. “Warm, but low humidity—perfect pool and lake weather.”

For Seraphine, the Spring Fun Run was his first full event in his new MTI 390XR catamaran. He was joined by his longtime friends Melissa and Mike Barnes, as well as Performance Boat Center team member Billy McHugh.

On Thursday before the event kicked off, Seraphine put Melissa Barnes behind the wheel “all day.”

“We had to get her into the 100-mph club,” he said. “The new boats gets there fast.

Thanks to Adam Seraphine, Melissa Barnes is now a member of the 100-mph club.

“I love that boat,” he added, then laughed. “The only complaint was from my passengers about their feet getting too cold from the air-conditioning. As for the run, it was a blast and had a ridiculous fleet of boats that rivals any big-name poker run.”

Next up on the roster of Performance Boat Center event is its annual rendezvous for Cigarette V-bottom and center console owners, which will be followed by its Outboard Fun Run, massive Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Welcome Party—Performance Boat Center is once again the event’s title sponsor—and Fall Fun Run.

But for the moment, at least, Manire, Waddington and the rest of crew get to savor another successful start to the high-performance powerboating season.