Triple-Outboard H34Z Center Console Clicks 94.6 MPH

The past three weeks have delivered high and low moments to Julian Maldonado, the co-owner of Manatee Marine Unlimited in Palmetto, Fla. The “low” came most recently when a golf-cart incident in Key West, Fla., left him with a broken—in three places—that knocked him out of the Jackhammer team throttleman’s seat for the Race World Offshore World Championships. Maldonado is still on crutches and struggling to walk.

Manatee Marine Unlimited is the exclusive H. Craft H34Z center-console brand dealer in the United States. Photos courtesy Julian Maldonado

The high came the week before when Maldonado drove a new H. Craft H34Z center console powered by triple Mercury Racing 400R V-10 outboard engines to a top speed of 94.6 mph in testing. The H. Craft from Hayarri Marine in Abu Dhabi is the second model the exclusive United States dealer for the center console line from 18 to 44 feet long has delivered stateside.

“The delivery was a total home run,” said Maldonado, who starts physical therapy tomorrow. “It’s a roomy 34-footer with a 10-foot beam. We sold No. 3 yesterday and we have six ordered from the builder.”

The dealership currently has six H34Z center consoles coming from the Abu Dhabi-based builder.

Among the H34Z center consoles currently under construction is a poker-run edition for Jackhammer team owners Reese and Sara Langheim. The latter co-owns Manatee Marine with Maldonado.

“That’s the kind of layout United States buyers want,” Maldonado said. “And we are starting on a 50-footer right now.”