As Hollywood-perfect storylines go for the upcoming Ocean Cup Gateway Marathon, a 128-mile open-open endurance race from Palm Beach, Fla., to West End, Bahamas, set for June 1-4, that of Bob Latham and Lorne Leibel is hard to beat. Start with their vessel, a 47-foot Apache—hull No. 1—originally owned by offshore powerboat racing’s favorite currently incarcerated […]
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Catch them young and you have a customer for life. That marketing axiom stands the test of time, And as often as not, product loyalty starts with the parents of the future consumer. The future of Skater Powerboats is in good hands with the likes of Lucas LaMorte. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 […]
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Three years ago, Ron Muller of Electronics Unlimited in Stuart, Fla., invited a few of friends who—like him—own Skater Powerboats catamarans for a fun run and photo session across the state in Sarasota. The intimate event typically draws about a dozen creations from the Douglas, Mich., builder, and this year’s go-round last Friday was true […]
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You’re not alone if you’ve never heard of Port Byron, N.Y. But thanks to the work of Phil Hess and his five-person crew at Upstate Powerboat, a fiberglass and paint business just 30 minutes west of Syracuse, Port Byron—population 1,096 as for 2021—has made its way onto the high-performance marine industry map. Upstate Powerboat handled […]
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Of the four catamarans Skater Powerboats dealer RP Elite Motors, currently has on order, the Springtown, Texas-based dealership’s 368 demo boat is the furthest along in the build process. RP Elite Motors principal Ross Ramsey ordered the 36-footer, which will be powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 1100 engines, to showcase the company’s full-custom […]
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Less than 30 days ago, Beau and Tiffiney Renfroe of Atlanta purchased a Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran, which began its life as the STIHL team raceboat, later became Gone Again and most recently flew the Justice League banner. As you’d expect, the cat had a layer of wrapped graphics from the Justice League team atop […]
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Registration for two of July’s hottest events, the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Boyne City, Mich., and the 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run in Clayton, N.Y., is open. Both happenings are limited to 120 boats and—if history is a guide—will sell out in short order. Despite that they happen on back-to-back weekends, Devin Wozencraft makes […]
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Poker-run fans who always wanted to experience the Pirates of Lanier Poker Run, but gave it a hard pass because Georgia in July is less than comfortable, now have one less excuse to avoid it. This year’s event on Lake Lanier—about 45 minutes outside Atlanta—is scheduled for September 8-10. Set for September this year, the […]
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Winters tend to be busy for Jason Saris and his son, Johnny, at Performance Marine—the home of famed Saris Racing engines—in Bolton Landing, N.Y. The time they don’t have to spend on their offshore racing efforts gets put to great use at their engine-building and upgrade, rigging and service business on the shores of Lake […]
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Released today, graphics for the new Class 1 Skater 438 raceboat currently under construction for the M CON/Monster Energy team are already drawing raves from offshore powerboat racing fans. As previously reported on speedonthewater.com, Monster Energy drink is sponsoring the Kansas-based team owned by Tyler and Lindsey Miller for the 2023 Union Internationale Motonautique Class […]
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If the current schedule holds, the first Class 1 raceboat built by Skater Powerboats in Douglas, Mich., in 30 years will be at Osage Beach, Mo.-headquartered Performance Boat Center early next month for installation and rigging of its Mercury Racing 1100 Comp engines. Fans will get their first look at the 43-foot catamaran in action […]
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If an Outboard Performance Class tunnel-boat pilot, a Class 1 throttleman and a Super Stock-class driver walked into a bar at the end of a long day, what would they have in common other than being powerboat racers in need of a stiff drink? Simple—all three compete using nothing but Mercury Racing power. Both Super […]
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When Powerboat P1, which holds the marketing rights for Union Internationale Motonautique Class 1 racing, allowed JBS Racing into the 2022 Championships Series, its goal was to build the fledgling fleet. The United Kingdom-based organization launched its revival of the once-global offshore racing class in 2019, but faced pandemic-driven setbacks during the next two seasons. […]
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Despite having two lakes within its borders and a river sort of running through it, Napa County, Calif., is not—and never will be—a high-performance boating destination. But that didn’t stop Skater Powerboats 28 catamaran owners Erik and Julie Breckenfelder of Fort Myers, Fla., from enjoying a visit this week to the wine-country hotbed. They even […]
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Launched in 2022 by Alvin Heathman—the founder of the annual Super Cat Fest event that runs concurrently in late August with the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri—Super Cat Fest West powered by River Dave’s Place returns to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., April 26-29. The Kicker Marine audio-sponsored event will be headquartered at […]
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In 2004, Powerboat magazine assigned me a profile story of an up-and-coming boat builder. His name was Randy Scism, his Missouri-based company was called Marine Technology, Inc., and it offered one boat, a 42-foot catamaran with sexy hips. A lifelong lover of speed on the water, Scism learned his craft as the general manager and […]
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No matter how much money and effort you throw at it, recovering from a natural disaster such as Hurricane Ian, which pummeled Southwest Florida in late September 2022, takes time. Less than a month ago, there was still too much floating debris and too many submerged hazards in the water for Fort Myers Offshore to […]
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The days are long but the years are fast. Such is the conventional wisdom passed from one generation of parents to the next, and it tends to be true. The same also hold true for the goings-on behind the scenes at speedonthewater.com. Example? In January 2022, we found ourselves on scene at Skater Powerboats in […]
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For more than a decade, South Florida-based Brand X Hi-Performance Marine principal Jason Ventura and Bill Pyburn, Jr., his longtime customer and friend who lives in the northern part of the state, have worked closely together on the well-known and respected custom high-performance powerboat enthusiast’s many exquisite catamarans. But come 2023, they’ll be sharing the […]
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With the third season of the Speed On The Water “In The Lead” video series starting production soon and featuring folks such as offshore racing great Steve Curtis of the 2022 Class 1 world champion Huski Chocolate team poker-run impresario Stu Jones of the Florida Powerboat, we’re taking a moment to look back at the […]
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