When Almost-New Is New Enough—A TNT Delivery Tale
No matter the owner, 11 operating hours on a boat doesn’t qualify as significant use. Of course, some owners are harder on their vessels than others—we’ve all seen a few low-hour boats that, because of abuse, neglect or both, look much older than they are.
Still, for the most part, 11 hours isn’t much use.
Virginia’s Phil Gibson researched outboard-powered catamarans for a year before he decided on an MTI 390X, which he found through TNT Custom Marine Sales in Miami.
That was the case with an MTI 390X catamaran that TNT Custom Marine Sales of Miami had built for Wayne Huizenga, Jr. In the almost year-and-a-half he owned the 2023 model-year 39-footer equipped with Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines, he logged just 11 hours of running time. To make space for an MTI 440X he has coming from the Wentzville, Mo., company, Huizenga listed the cat with the TNT.. According to TNT’s Steven Fernandez, the pre-owned boat was immaculate.
For Phil Gibson of Yorktown, Va., acquiring it was akin to a new-boat buying experience. Gibson did his homework, meaning test-driving researching other high-performance, outboard-powered catamarans for a year. He knew he wanted a 390X, so Fernandez steered him to the cat formerly owned by Huizenga.
“I looked at the different ones and I liked the way the 390X handled,” said Gibson. “It felt more nimble than the others.”
That the boat was used offered another advantage. “I didn’t have the waiting time for a new one,” he said. “Waiting time was a big factor.”
The pre-owned 39-footer was immaculate.
Gibson closed the deal last Thursday and arrived at the dealership the following morning, ready to go boating in his new prize. But Fernandez and John Tomlinson, the co-owner of the TNT Custom Marine, had full schedules that day. Their plan was to familiarize Gibson—an outboard catamaran first-timer—with the boat during the weekend.
So they brought in licensed captain Bruce Austin to guide Gibson on a run from Miami to Islamorada in the Upper Florida Keys in his new-to-him cat. Gibson, who does all of his boating on the Chesapeake Bay, had never visited the Keys, much less boated in them.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “Captain Bruce knew every inch of that water.”
Now the 39-footer has 15 operating hours.
Hosted by TNT Custom Marine Sales, Gibson spent several days in South Florida enjoying the cat.
“They did about 175 miles,” said Fernandez. “Between that day and the time he spent on the water with Johnny and me, Phil surpassed the miles the cat had on it when he bought it.”
Thanks to the experience, Gibson, who most often runs with his wife, Danette, and son, Chase, is considering heading to waters outside his Chesapeake Bay comfort-zone.
“I am contemplating going other places,” he said. “Steve is in Orange Beach thjs weekend for a poker run, and that sounds interesting.”
Regardless of where the 390X takes him, his new lightly used boat is exactly what he wanted. And the purchase-and-delivery experience was unforgettable.
“Working with Steve and Johnny was just great,” he said. “I learned a lot.”
The co-owner of TNT Custom Marine and a multi-time offshore racing world champion Tomlinson (left) educated Gibson on the basics of operating an MTI 390X catamaran.
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