Skater At 50—Remembering Mr. Mavrik, Roger Schaller
A couple of weeks ago—the day before Speedonthewater.com started this weekly feature, Skater At 50—an esteemed member of the “Skater Nation,” as enthusiasts of the Michigan-based Skater Powerboats brand like to call it, passed away at the age of 85. The original owner of the well-known 32-foot Skater named Mavrik, which was built in 2000, Roger L. Schaller, of Lakeport, Mich., passed away on February 6.
The original owner of the 32-foot Skater Mavrik, Roger Schaller recently passed away. Photos courtesy David Schaller
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in memory of Schaller on Monday, February 12, at the Lake Catholic Church in Lakeport with Reverend Lee Acervo presiding. Schaller, who was preceded in death by his wife Judith, whom he married in 1986 and passed away in 2019, is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, David and Stephanie; daughter and son-in-law, Teresa and Joe Pilarz; two granddaughters, Julia Schaller and Mackenzie Schaller; along with many nieces and nephews.
Eventually sold in May 2020 to a boater in Texas, Mavrik, a 32-foot cat originally equipped with 850-hp carbureted engines from Mercury Racing and eventually repowered with 950-hp fuel-injected mills from Sterling Performance Engines, was not Schaller’s first Skater.
In fact, the Schaller family goes back quite some time with the Skater Powerboats brand and company founder Peter Hledin. Roger, and his brothers, Al and Justin, all of whom raced inboard hydroplanes in 1980s, owned the third Skater 24 ever built, which was completed in 1985.
Roger and David Schaller enjoyed many days on the water in Mavrik, the Schaller family’s 32-foot Skater.
“My dad was a fan of the Skater brand and Pete (Hledin),” said David Schaller, who grew up boating with his family and is a regular attendee of the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Northern Michigan. “He and his brother, Justin, especially appreciated the quality and craftsmanship of Skaters.”
Inevitably bit by the Skater bug as well, David Schaller, who said his cousin, Larry, also owned a 21- and 24-foot Skater in the past, commissioned a Skater 388 from the Douglas, Mich., company that he named Mavrik II and took delivery of in the summer of 2020.
The 38-footer, which boasts a similar color scheme to the original Mavrik, is powered by twin Sterling Performance engines that can run on E-85 fuel and can produce close to 1,400 horsepower per side.
While he and wife, Stephanie, love their Skater 388 and have enjoyed using it the past three years, it’s apparent that the next time they take it out—with or without their extended family—is going to be pretty significant day on the water remembering the patriarch of their family who started their obsession with a brand that is celebrating 50 years in business.
Clearly Roger and David Schaller—pictured next to Mavrik II, the younger Schaller’s Skater 388—had a close bond.
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