Skater At 50—Open And Shut Cases At The Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout
Hard as this will be for rabid Skater Powerboats catamaran fans to believe, no Skater cat, open cockpit or canopied, has ever reached 200 mph in the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. That distinction and beyond—up to 244 mph in 2014 when the course was still one mile long—presently and exclusively belongs to Mystic Powerboats.
At the 2014 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, John Tomlinson ran 197 mph in a Skater 388—a record that still stands for catamarans from the famed Douglas, Mich., builder. Photo by Jay Nichols copyright Naples Image
Before anyone loses his or her own mind over the facts presented above, I am absolutely certain a few Skaters have made the 200-mph club. They just haven’t done it in Shootout competition, where an objective third party captures top speed.
But on the former mile-long and current three-quarter-mile courses, they sure have come close.
How close? In 2014, multi-time offshore racing throttleman and TNT Custom Marine co-founder John Tomlinson reached 197 mph on the one-mile course in an open-cockpit Skater 388 owned by Jon Roth. Tomlinson didn’t just do it once in the twin 1,700-hp Carson Brummett-engine equipped catamaran, he did it twice. (His only other pass on the course that weekend produced 194 mph.)
And then he was done, not just with Roth’s boat but with Shootout competitions, period. Tomlinson has not competed in the event since.
As for the fastest Skater on the three-quarter-mile course, that distinction goes to Myrick Coil and Rusty Williams. The Performance Boat Center duo ran Slug Hefner’s 43-foot Skater to 194 mph last year. An affable former automobile drag-racer, Hefner was thrilled that his 438 powered by pair of Carson Brummett engines each pumping out 2,300 hp went that fast.
Dirty Duck’s 194-mph pass on the three-quarter-mile course was dazzling—and the hometown-favorite Skater 438 is coming back for more this year. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos
“If Dirty Duck had that extra quarter-mile, it would have been over 200 mph for sure,” said Ron Szolack, who is no stranger to Shootout competition or earning Top Gun trophies in Skater cats.
Asked about the difference between running open-cockpit or canopied catamarans in the event, Szolack shrugged.
“It’s all about the horsepower,” he said. “Whether it has a canopy or not.”
Later this month, Hefner’s 43-footer will be back at it again on three-quarter-mile course. But will it be Skater’s first 200-mph Shootout man?
Tune into the August 24-25 broadcast and find out.
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