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Yearly Archives: 2015

For the past few years we have complained about why technology has been lagging so far behind in the powerboarding segment. In the meantime, other industries such as wakeboarding are blossoming with new technologies and driver aids. You’ll find in the latest in modern plants, ones you would find in new Corvettes and Roush Cobra Mustangs for example.

In fall of last year we were privy to seeing some new shiftable transmission technology, as well as GPS throttle/trim aided planing devices were sure to change powerboating’s future. Today, we see Mercruiser has at last released a similar version to what the aftermarket has been working with for quite some time. This new system will be matched to the old, heavy cast iron blocked 6.2 small block plants – a family of engine architecture that was developed in the 1950’s – so while we see hope for newer technology to break into the market and revitalize it, we’re still waiting for that modern stern drive engine technology to match. If done right, the powerboating world could see a whole new rebirth.

Let’s face it: we all want the best technology in our boats, or even just a fraction of what the rest of the world has to offer. If you’re not in a hurry to run out and buy a 50 year old engine design for 2015 prices… well, we understand. We don’t want to buy flip phones in a carrying case for the price of an iPhone either. Still, hopefully this is a sign of things to come and will encourage manufacturers to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park.

For the remainder of July, BBLADES is offering FREE ground shipping on all new Lab Finished propellers.

Whether you need some backups to make sure you don’t miss a day on the water or are getting ready for the race season championships in the Fall, July is a good time to buy a new Lab Finished prop, and they’ll ship it to you FREE.

When you are indoors, or checking your phone in the shade at your favorite cove, look in on the BBLADES Facebook page.  You never know what you might find there, but it’s usually boating related, information you can use, or maybe even a laugh or two. It’s also the first place to learn about special offers like their free shipping special.

We mention this a lot, because no other propeller shop anywhere helps you test and tweak your boats performance affordably like BBLADES. Their test programs can help you squeeze the most performance out of your boat setup without putting a big squeeze on your wallet. The right prop and boat set-up can also save you money in fuel. Visit the BBLADES website to learn more about their test programs.

But don’t take our word for it, keep reading and hear from customers just like you who have improved their boating experience by working with the propeller professionals at BBLADES. Call them today at 920.295.4435 for more information.

West Palm Boater Doubles Down on Pro Test Program

Early in 2014, James Matthysse got a smoking deal on a 2012 Checkmate Pulsare 2400 BRX bow Rider; the boat was two years old, but a demo, and only had six hours on it. Matthysse, of West Palm Beach, Florida, then spent the next four months trying to find the right prop for the 300 horsepower Verado powering the rig.

“I tried four or five different props that I borrowed or bought with information from internet forums,” he said.

A pilot by profession, and a bit of a wrench by hobby, Matthysse was playing with the idea of a repower when Mercury Racing announced the Verado 400R this past February. He had to have one, and had to rig it himself. But when it came to prop selection, this time, Matthysse placed a call to BBLADES first.

“I actually talked to Brett a year ago – and some other prop shops – to get some basic information, but this time I wanted to take advantage of BBLADES’ test program… Brad asked me very detailed questions about my rigging and set-up, the type of boating I like to do, very technical and involved.” Read More…

Saris Racing is 3 for 3 with BBLADES

Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) Class Four Champions Saris Racing – long-time BBLADES customers – are off to a great start this season, going three-for-three in the opening races at Seaside Heights, Atlantic City and Manasquan, New Jersey.

The father/son team of Jason and Johnny Saris and their navigator, Verne French, run a 32-foot Cobra hull from 1982 with twin 650 horsepower engines that bear their name. The younger Saris said the formula for victory is an easy one: “It’s the hull,” Johnny Saris said, “Combined with my father’s right arm [throttle arm] and our set-up, which includes the props.” Read More…

Once again, the scallywags of Lanier Partners have put on a stellar charity event. The Pirates of Lanier Poker Run kicked off on the “high seas” of Lake Lanier, with ~300 boats piling onto the water to enjoy the stunning weather and scenery. Powerboat Nation was on hand to support, and of course, enjoy the event:

Host John Woodruff yet again made everyone feel welcome and threw an all around amazing, fun, and noble event. While we are still waiting on the final numbers for the total raised at the event, we know that it will be a large number for the event’s charities. Local charities Camp Sunshine, Camp Twin Lakes and the Boys & Girls Club of Hall County will be the beneficiaries and they have you loyal powerboaters to thank.

Many familiar faces and boats were present, along with a whole gang of new oddballs and oddities on hand to have fun and support a great cause.

We were thrilled to be able to participate and look forward to next year. A special thanks to our PBN support team: J.W. Davis of davis4x4.com, Shane McFall, Jeff McFall, and of course Miss PBN’s Brittany!

We will have an update as soon as the numbers come in from our powerboating extraordinaire, helicopter ace pilot Mr. John Woodruff.

See all the photos here!

Pirates of Lanier 2015
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We’re back in the studio taking on another aspect of cooling system management. With so many different styles of cooling systems, it brings different challenges to controlling a marine engine’s water temperature. In this episode we look at the option of using the engine exhaust system to preheat the inlet water as it enters the engine. This allows for an accelerated rise of temperature to the engine’s optimum cooling temp. We’re essentially using the engine’s natural resources to help build engine temperature in a non-thermostat controlled engine. We hope you enjoy!

There’s no doubt that PBN continues to grow daily, and with that growth we get one step closer to bringing our message to a broader audience. The other day we had an amazing opportunity to get our message on boating safety out to the general public by appearing on a nationally syndicated television spot on ABC’s Good Morning America.

When ABC reached out to us looking for an authoritative source of knowledge on boating safety, Brad was a clear choice. As a Performance Boat School instructor and PBN representative he was the perfect fit for squeezing a clear, complex message into a short, couple minute segment as a recognizable community member.

We’re very honored and excited for the chance to exercise our connections in the Powerboating world to bring even more people into its fold. Hopefully the average Joe took away our message about safety and got a small visual taste of what Powerboating is about to boot.

Take a look at the video below or watch a recap on the live broadcast on ABC’s page.

It’s inevitable that weather will triumph over the best-laid boating plans. If those plans are the first ever Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees Performance Boat Challenge Shootout then safety will definitely prevail, so it’s even more impressive that first GLOC Shootout event was a success despite inclement weather and high water closing down waterside facilities. They had a healthy amount of satisfied spectators, and the weather didn’t completely dampen the run; many >150 MPH runs were made, including one by Skater aficionado Kenny Mungle hitting 158 in his Gone Again. Carlton Bass hit 140 in his DCB M35 Widebody, and DCB owner Jake Nossman hit 139 in his 35′. Once again though, Win Farnsworth took it in his Low Altitude at 165 MPH, continuing his streak from the past two shootouts he participated in.

All in all, the event had a great showing despite the crappy weather and the crowd left satisfied. For its first attempt that is more than promising; we now know for sure that even without weather permitting the event will be even more popular next year.

We asked for your 4th of July weekend pics and stories and you guys definitely delivered. We chose our five favorite photos off of the forums, Facebook, and Instagram – each of you guys will receive a free T-shirt and a little limelight on our network! Here are our top 5:

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View of the fireworks on the Detroit River in Trenton, MI.
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Hook’em definitely accurately captioned his own photo when he sent this in – “Classic Americana.”
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Jrdonnellyjr is getting them hooked on power young.. “Boating 4th of July weekend with the family at the Lake of the Ozarks. My son thinking he’s hot stuff sitting in HIS seat which he kicked Mommy out of!”
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Thanks to Shane McFall from Florida for sending this pic in of his family on the water.

And last, but definitely not least, Sommerfliesby takes it for the most thematically fitting and visually pleasing entry!

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Sommerfliesby writes, “We had an awesome weekend up in Traverse City, MI at the National Cherry Festival. Watched the USAF Thunderbirds at the air show on Saturday, and followed it up with an afternoon raft-off in the West Bay. Bill and Monica’s 43 Checkmate is a very patriotic boat, and I had to take advantage of the holiday and Mrs. Sommerfliesby’s bikini selection for a couple pics…”

Shoutouts to all the other entries! We got some great ones. Congrats to the winners, we’ll be contacting you soon. Let this be a lesson to always keep your camera ready and keep sharing your photos with us anyway on Facebook, Instagram and the forums because we repost fan pics – get your photos out there to the whole Powerboat Nation community!

The 7th annual F. Wayne McLeskey,  Jr. Memorial Powerboating for a Cure Poker Run, presented by the Mid Atlantic Powerboat Association, was a huge success yet again. Over the last seven years the organization has raised over $200k for the fight against breast cancer. This has not gone unnoticed, making local news headlines in the Norfolk, VA area about the charitable event.

All proceeds from this year’s event ($35,000) was given to the Susan G. Komen Tidewater Organization. Even the Top Hand prize of $1,500 was immediately regifted back to the charity, as were many other generous donations that came from participants.

It was my first time attending, and boy did we have a great time. On Friday the fun run went to Mark and Nancy Tuck’s house where they generously hosted a catered lunch, then invited everyone to crash his neighbor’s pool. On the way back to the docks we were serviced with even more catered hor d’oeuvres and some cold ones. Sounds tough, I know, but that wasn’t the end of the glamor.

The International Bikini Team followed, putting on a great competition and show for the crowd. Of course, our very own Miss PBN Brittany took home first place and was sashed by our Active Duty military friends who were along for the ride.

Still on day one, a private party bus took us to front row at the Kid Rock concert. A run that brings me up front of stage at a huge concert? This was now officially a Poker Run like no other. Bobby was even holed up at the Sheraton, the host hotel, but only one of his guitar players made it to the lobby bar after the show.

Saturday morning we enjoyed another generous host breakfast. We took off on flat seas and great weather to the card and lunch stops. A long weather delay at lunch actually brought everyone even closer. This run was more like a pack of boating friends hanging out over a weekend. An incredible time.

Powerboat Nation was hosted aboard the 42′ Outerlimits owned by none other than J.W. Davis and Miss PBN Brittany.  A huge thank you to both of you for your hospitality and support.

A big awards presentation followed by a crazy dock party made for some fun loving, very memorable moments.  We won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.

The awards dinner brought the house down and was completely silent when Grayson Kirby told of how the generosity of the people of powerboating at this event last year made such a difference to him when he was involved in a harrowing accident that was predicted to take his life.

Then, a celebration, when a marriage proposal surprise was dropped on everyone. Michael Nix popped the question to Ashley Dyer – she said yes – and now they’re a bonafide engaged powerboating couple.

It was a complete thrill for me to be invited to this great event and I can’t wait to go back.  Such a great group of people raising money and awareness for a great cause.  Special thanks is in order to the team of tireless volunteers and organizers who put this all together.

Check out all the Photos here!

Powerboating for a Cure
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Michigan’s Boyne City is home to about ~3,700 people and the ~17,000 acre Lake Charlevoix. Though it’s known as a winter ski destination, it’s actually become a boating hotspot for the region. The Boyne Thunder Poker Run plays a big part in that as an event that has evolved in attendance from less than 40 boats to 110 strong. Even better, proceeds help fund two local charities for children. The weather was perfect, the crowd was perfect, there wasn’t much else you could ask for. Industry icons such as Peter Hledin, founder of Skater Powerboats, were in full attendance and commented on the exceptional quality of the run, with some even saying that it rivals Desert Storm. There’s not too much else to say after that claim so let these pictures from Pete/Shoot2Thrill speak for themselves: hint, they’re saying that you need to put Boyne Thunder on your poker run bucket list ASAP.

Special Thanks to Pete / Shoot2Thrill for this article’s cover image!

In our previous talk with Tony Chiaramonte of DCB, we talked about what made customers stay loyal to DCB. The M29 widebody from DCB is the base boat for the M widebody series and it is a great boat.  At Lake Havasu DCB’s Tony took Powerboat Nation for a ride and explained the evolution of the brands M Series and also gave us a run down of the M29’s Performance and cost.  The appeal to own a DCB is higher than ever and DCB has responded with creating a package at a price point more attainable to a greater group of potential new powerboaters.  The same brand, the same quality, along with the same pride of ownership.  The M29 flat out performs and deserves a close up look.

We’ve covered plenty of customized rigs in the past but this one is particularly notable. Costa Mesa’s Dave Kutscher and Pat Weismann of Traction Products Inc./Weismann Marine LLC have brought their marine expertise and passion for performance boats out to the party and it wouldn’t be surprising if they were the life of it; these guys know their way around the racing circuit and engineering for the win. When talking about their new boat, they emphasized that they “…are not allowed to race this package in the top classes. Our semi-automatic transmissions were banned in 1997, after we went 11 for 11, winning the class 1 title in APBA and SBI. Our drives were banned in 2001. We race the boat in the Performance class which is just a MPH restriction.”

11 for 11 is pretty impressive, so what’s under the hood of this boat? The banned WBD transmissions mentioned have serious torque capacities, so good across vehicle types that they’re even found in trophy trucks and Ferraris with a history rooted in the Indianapolis. Getting into the more technical aspects, Weismann said that “the internals can be coupled with the WHT differential section, and be made into a transaxle. It can also be made into a 4-wheel drive system with the addition of a drop-box. We made a special case so the trans would bolt to the drive on our boat. As you can see, it’s been designed for versatility.”

Besides a whole other host of oil capacity and shift/throttle mods, the main course is the engine components: twin LS7s. Why that choice? The answer was simple, Weismann explained: “Power to weight. We looked at a supercharged LS2 6.0 liter in the beginning, but opted for the simplicity of naturally-aspirated motors. The 7,400 RPM redline was very appealing. Fuel economy was highly considered for weight savings as well. We used 50 gallons during a race, compared to 200 gallons from our supercharged big block we had originally. The difference in fuel weight savings was 350 pounds versus 1,400 pounds. We are the first to make this combination, but now they are starting to be used by the bigger companies. The engines themselves are not stock, either.”

Many more parts were custom-designed for their marine engine needs due to their industry connections with companies like Racepak, MSD and K&N. With all of the custom parts and needs for their application, it’s almost a surprise the boat took only two years to make. You can see that it was well worth the effort:

With a boat this impressive, we can’t wait to see what these guys come up with next!

LS Twins
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Powerboat Nation is in Norfolk, Virginia to participate in the Powerboating for a Cure Poker Run. For 7 years now the Mid Atlantic Powerboat Association (MAPA)has done an amazing job raising money & awareness for this stellar powerboating event. All poker run profits benefit various local and national charities.

I have a long list of great friends in Norfolk & the surrounding area. I can’t wait for what is shaping up to be a great weekend. A special thanks to J.W. Davis and PBN’s Ms. Brittany for hosting me this weekend abord their 42′ Outerlimits.

Powerboat Nation is always on the move, so we’ll be bringing you more coverage from the event soon. It’s a truly noteworthy event so get out on the water for a cause. Stay tuned for photo and video coverage.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LATEST PHOTOS!

These fine boaters will are registered to be in attendance:

  • Bill Rippel 30′ Scarab
  • Craig Mytelka 34′ Sunsation
  • Sonny Shelton 36′ Concept
  • Jon Bucenel 39′ Cigarette
  • Bob Osburn 36′ Concept
  • Bob Veith 30′ Scarab
  • Mikey Dacey 29′ Warlock
  • Steve Ballard 42′ Cigarette
  • S.B. Ballard 44′ SeaRay
  • Chuck Guthrie 35′ Formula
  • Rick Quigg 35′ Donzi
  • Emily Langhorne-Bell 35′ Scarab
  • John Livingston 32’ Outlaw
  • John Hope 37′ Active Thunder
  • Christopher Torin 35′ Formula Fastech
  • Blake Salmon 34’ Formula SR1
  • Kevin Cates 27’ Checkmate
  • Mark Tuck
  • Linwood Carneal 39′ Cigarette
  • Jeff Ainslie 72′ Sea Ray
  • Mike Momper 32′ Sunsation
  • Forrest Riddle 35′ Sonic
  • Joey Cutrona 38’ Formula
  • Robby Johnson 30’ Fountain
  • Brad Crowder 33’ fountain
  • Steven Abel 33’ Scarab 33 AVS
  • Doug Hayes Jr 35′ Flame
  • Bradley Brown 28’ Donzi
  • Jim Reese 36’ Wellcraft Scarab
  • Michael Shugart 35’ Fountain
  • Michael King 38’ Fountain
  • James Davis 42’ Outerlimits
  • Mike Martin 26’ Chapparal
  • Michael Nix 36′ Sonic
  • DAVID JILEK 30’ sonic
  • Jeremy Collins 33′ Donzi ZX
  • Bob Livengood 30’ Spectre
  • Dwayne Fulcher 42’ Fountain
  • Todd Martin 30’ Scarab
  • Chuck Ward 32’ Renegade
  • Brian Tillett 38’ Active Thunder
  • Yankey Schmidt 35’ Cigarette
  • Wayne Wilkerson 28′ Wellcraft
  • Rick Vernon 29′ Sunsation
  • Bobby Theodore 38′ Cigarette
  • Richard Szesnat 40′ Hustler
  • Greg Dynia 38’ Donzi
  • Joshua Tawes 39′ 377 Talon
  • Barry Peters 42′ Fountain
  • Billy Cully 42’ Cigarette
  • Joby & Kim Kifus 38’ Formula
  • Gregory Barber 38’ Donzi
  • Emmett Kenney 38′ Cigarette
  • Dutko John 36’ Cigarette
  • Paden Robert 30’ Formula
  • Taylor Harvey 38’ Cigarette
  • Mone Tony 31’ Sonic
  • Allen Archie 42’ Sonic
  • David Williams 38′ Sonic
  • Landon Smith 28′ Volicity
  • Kenneth Anderson 27′ Formula
  • Dean Clarke 32′ Sunsation
  • James Holthoff 42′ Sea Ray
  • Allan Smith 40′ Cigarette
  • Will Dillon 38’8″ Hustler
  • Bobby Smith 33′ Scarab
  • Linnie Hiter 40′ Cigarette
  • Jack Bergman 29′ Chaparral
  • Ralph Roland Hague Jr. 42′ Fountain
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