Uplifting Downsizing—Inside An MTI 390X Delivery
When 53-year-old Steve Welch was in his early 20s, he owned at 1979 Porsche 911 SC sportscar. Welch, who works in commercial real estate and lives with his wife, Melissa, in Norwalk, Mass., loved the car. Local law enforcement officials, however, did not—or at least they weren’t fond of his foot-to-floor driving habits.
Despite describing his MTI 48 as “the boat of a lifetime,” Kevin Welch enjoy his new 390X even more than than the 48-footer. Photos courtesy/copyright Steven Fernandez/TNT Marine Sales.
“I got more speeding tickets than you could even write about,” he said, then laughed.
And so Welch moved into the go-fast boating world, where he knew moving violations would be fewer and farther between. He started with a 27-foot Formula Boats V-bottom and eventually ended up in 48-foot MTI catamaran powered by two dual-calibration Mercury Racing 1550/1350 engines.
The Wentzville, Mo.-built cat fed his need for speed on the water. But the work involved in using, cleaning and maintaining the boat became too much for him. The issue wasn’t money. It was time.
“Don’t get me wrong, the 48 was awesome—it was the boat of a lifetime—but I just couldn’t stand the constant maintenance,” Welch explained. “I threw money at it even when it wasn’t broken, and the work to keep it up when I was done using it was a lot.”
So a week ago he took delivery of MTI 390X catamaran powered by Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines from TNT Custom Marine in Miami and, so far at least, he’s found the perfect balance of effort and reward.
A closer look at the details.
“Steve Fernandez at TNT, who sold me a lot of boats during the years, kept telling me, ‘You’ve got to make a compromise,’” he continued. “So I finally pulled the trigger and, man, what a boat. I never thought I would say this, but I like my 390 better than my 48.”
Since taking delivery of the 39-footer, Welch, who owns a second home in Lighthouse Point, Fla., has put seven hours on it. He enjoys the ride and handling of his lighter, smaller MTI, much in the way he enjoyed riding his Yamaha YZ 125 more than his Yamaha 250 YZ as a kid when he was into dirt bikes.
“It puts the ‘giggle’ back in driving,” he said. “I love the way it dances on the water. I don’t have enough good things to say about. And I have been boating my whole life.”
The MTI 390X was Welch’s first new build. When he visited MTI headquarters to finalize the design, Fernandez went with him to help and advise him.
He praised Fernandez for steering him in the right directions.
“The design team at MTI was really great—Randy Scism even came in during the process and took us out to dinner that night—but having Steve there with me was almost like having an extra designer,” Welch said. “He knows my tastes and he has helped design so many boats. If like he wasn’t there I would have made a few mistakes.”
Fernandez was equally complimentary.
“Kevin and Melissa Welch are always a pleasure to work with and it was amazing to get involved with them on building their first brand new boat—plus the MTI Team is always great to work with and helps us all deliver the best performance boats available,” he explained. “We knew the MTI 390X with 500R’s would fit perfect for their performance needs and it’s great to see it all come together. And that orange candy paint is stunning.
“The the best part is when you can call customers friends and enjoy this lifestyle together,” he added.
Said Welch of his 39-footer, “I love the way it dances on the water.”
Welch will keep the cat at his Lighthouse Point residence until June when he brings it to his Massachusetts residence, where he currently is having a lift built for it behind his home. Come September, he’ll haul the 39-footer back to South Florida.
On one of his first outings in the 390X, Welch headed to Alabama Jacks in Key Largo for lunch. A Lighthouse Point neighbor/friend ran alongside him in his Outerlimits SC 37 catamaran. At some point in the near future, the two will run together, stop and swap boats to compare them. Yet Welch is in no hurry.
“That will be fun,” he said. “But I love my new MTI. As I said before, I can’t find enough good things to say about it.”
Said Fernandez, “”Kevin and Melissa Welch are always a pleasure to work with.”
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