Skater At 50—A Rockette Ship

The first 438 model catamaran built by Skater Powerboats, Rockette has been dropping jaws—and making grown men cry with envy—since the Mercury Racing 1550/1350 engine-powered beauty was introduced in the 2017. Several 43-footers have been built since then, but Rockette remains the sky-high standard by which all others are measured.

Rockette has turned heads since it burst on the go-fast boating scene in 2017. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

And not just because Rockette is aesthetically flawless in every way, which made it the highlight of every Skaterfest—no small distinction given the typically outrageous fleet at the annual event in Michigan—produced by Ron Szolack. Rockette is a rocket, as Performance Boat Center’s Myrick Coil learned when he ran it on the Lake of the Ozarks in early 2018.

With its twin dual-calibration engines in the 1,350-hp mode, the 43-foot cat reached 180 mph on the Central Missouri waterway.

“We would have gone faster but I ran out of room,” Coil said in a speedonthewater.com article about cat. “I was exhilarated. The way it turns, the way it leans in and carves—it felt like I was driving a big raceboat. I called (former Super Cat-class teammate) John Tomlinson and I was like, ‘It’s been awhile since I’ve run 180.’

Right from the start, the 43-footer delivered impressive performance.

“We got to talking and he counted like eight or nine different boats he’d been in at over 180 mph,” he continued. “It was six or seven, some of those with Johnny, different boats for me. So I was really, really excited.”

As photogenic as the Rockette Skater is, pictures don’t do it justice. You have to see it in person to appreciate it, and chances are good you’ll be able to catch it in action during the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Northern Michigan in July. According to Szolack, the 43-footer also will part of an invitational Weekend at Ronnie’s event at the Lake of Ozarks in September.