Performance Boat Center Fun Run Celebrates The Outboard Revolution
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Event Coverage: Performance Boat Center Fun Run Celebrates The Outboard Revolution
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For the third year in a row, outboard engine-powered catamarans and center consoles—and even one brand-new Velocity V-bottom sportboat—descended yesterday on the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri for the Performance Boat Center Outboard Fun. The MTI, Performance Powerboats, Sunsation Boats and Velocity Boats dealer once again teamed up with Mercury Racing to create a multi-stop day on the water, the only place to be in Saturday’s sweltering weather, for powerboat owners with Mercury Racing and Mercury Marine outboards providing the juice.
Carried by Performance Boat Center, Sunsation CCX center consoles were everywhere during the multi-brand dealership’s third annual Outboard Fun Run. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.
In addition to the lines Performance Boat Center carries, DCB Performance Boats, Nor-Tech, Renegade, Skater and more were represented in the event.
“It was an absolute blast,” said Brett Manire, who co-owns Performance Boat Center with Mark Waddington. “There were 85 boats and everyone had a great time—and a few more than expected showed up the for awards dinner. And The Cave, our first stop after leaving Performance Boat Center yesterday morning, was a huge hit.”
Yesterday’s stop at The Cave was a first for a Performance Boat Center event, but it won’t be the last.
Among those folks was Shelby Smith and his wife, Jennifer. The Arkansas-based couple has a second home at the Lake of the Ozarks and took delivery of an MTI V-50 center console last month.
Powered by five Mercury Racing 450R outboards with approximately 15 operating hours so far, the 50-footer earned the event’s Best Center Console award.
“It was a good, hot but a good day,” said Shelby Smith. “I really enjoyed seeing all the different boats that came to participate.”
The 85-foot fleet included a broad mix of outboard-equipped sport catamarans and center consoles.
Smith’s new ride wasn’t the only V-50 in the mix. MTI company owner Randy Scism and his wife, Cherell, ran the company’s demo model in the event. They were joined by their daughter, Taylor, the MTI’s client relations manager, her boyfriend Shaun Peters, who also works at the company, and sales manager Tom Stuart.
Among the day’s highlights for the group was The Cave, the run’s first stop, which is owned by Waddington.
“It’s a great new venue with fantastic food,” said Taylor Scism.
In advance of the event, Performance Boat Center took delivery of its first 29-footer from Velocity Powerboats.
The event attracted a healthy contingent of 32- and 34-foot Sunsation CCX center console, which makes sense given that Performance Boat Center is the Algonac, Mich., boat-builder’s largest dealer and Waddington joined the company’s owners group in January.
Said Sunsation national sales manager Ryan Wenk, who attended this weekend’s event with marketing manager Brad DiMaggio, ‘With a majority of our boats being ordered through PBC, it was awesome to see such a great turnout of past, current, and future owners at this year’s outboard fun run.”
As noted above, a new Velocity 290 SC model was in the mix. The Mercury Racing 400R outboard-powered, closed-deck 29-footer is the first creation delivered by the Sanford, Fla., boat-builder since Performance Boat Center took on the Velocity sportboat line in January.
“It’s a cool 100-mph machine,” said Manire. “And it’s our first one.”
Though Manire described the event as “a total team effort,” he praised Chy Mare Muscia, who manages Performance Boat Center’s courtesy-and-fuel-dock operation, for her grace under pressure and consistently strong work during the day—and every day.
“Chy literally runs from one dock to the other,” he said. “I mean literally runs. “She honestly is the hardest-working person, ever.”
MTI’s Tom Stuart and Taylor Scism were among the participants in the event. Said Scism, “It was a great day.”
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