Rooting For Hellkats? Hell Yes!

The late Ray Marino didn’t come from the go-fast powerboat world—he was a Miami-based automobile industry dude. Yet from the moment he started the Hellkats Powerboats catamaran line, he had big fans in the Sunshine State marine world including Daniel Garcia, III, of Keys Island Runners, Julian and Ricky Maldonado at Manatee Marine Unlimited, Shaun Torrente of Shaun Torrente Racing and Ryan Beckley of Kinetic Animation. Marino was as personable as he was ambitious, an inherently likeable guy with a dream of building high-performance cats and center consoles.
Marino died in a boating accident in late 2021 and yet his dream didn’t die with him. Two years ago, a group of investors revived his vision. Their first build, a 32-foot catamaran powered by Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines installed and rigged by Manatee Marine, debuted in late 2024 at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The all-carbon-fiber cat was among the event’s show-stealers.

Now the company is finishing up its first 40 foot performance-oriented center console. But the quad Mercury Racing 500R-powered Hellkats 40 isn’t a mono-hull. Like a slew of center consoles from the fishing world, this one is based on a full-tunnel catamaran hull.
Of course, it will be offered in an angling-specific set-up—that’s how hull No. 1, which will debut at the Miami International Boat Show, is set up. But it also will be offered in poker-run and pilothouse versions, and the poker-run edition should capture attention among go-fast boating fans.
“The Hellkats 40 definitely is a high-performance boat, no matter what package you order,” said Conner Berg, the company’s marketing director.

Demo rides won’t be offered during the February 12-16 Miami event as the boat will be dock-locked at the show’s Herald Plaza location. But it will be available for demo-rides during the Palm Beach Boat Show.
Ray Marino is gone. But his dream, that of a cheerful, can-do guy with a positive attitude is alive and well.
How can anyone not root for that? —Matt Trulio
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Source: https://www.powerboatnation.com/rooting-for-hellkats-hell-yes/