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Yearly Archives: 2015

When I see the speed of modern offshore catamarans, I realize that technology has kicked pleasure boating into a realm of performance that was previously only mentioned after a large number of adult beverages. It was a long time coming. Inshore cats and tunnel boats were refined long before the offshore boats. There is a good reason for that.

Most of the development in high performance boats is a direct result of offshore racing.The first real sport boat company was Donzi Marine in 1964. By then, fiberglass was usable, marine engines were a little stronger, and a few naval architects, namely Ray Hunt and Wynne/Walters, Sonny Levi, et al, were drawing “fast” boats. Kiekhaefer and Volvo built sterndrives (I still think they are instruments of the devil) and the economy had improved a little.

The Miami/Nassau fleet of 1956/57 resembles the British rescue fleet at Dunkirk more than the world’s top offshore racing group.
The Miami/Nassau fleet of 1956/57 resembles the British rescue fleet at Dunkirk more than the world’s top offshore racing group.

More offshore races were offered to the racers. England, which swings like a pendulum do, came up with the Cowes-Torquay race in 1961. The New York group offered “Around Long Island” before that. All the races were long distance, more than 183 miles and generally rough. In an effort to level the playing field, we formed the Union of International Motorboating’s Offshore Commission. It was intended that the rules would allow one to race anywhere on the globe, and be legal. This proposition delayed engine development for years. The mills of the UIM rules committee ground very slowly, and not exceedingly fine. It took years to ‘homologate’ an engine. Cubic inch maximum of 500 c.i. x 2 meant that open class boats had about 6 or 7 hundred horsepower. In addition, the engines had to be available to all comers at a reasonable price. Simple truth. Offshore inboard cats need to be about 38 feet long to handle the head seas on the average race course. 6 or 700 HP would not “get it up” with the then-current hull technology.

Lots of people took a whack at building cats. Maury Fortney, in California, had the Jones Boys, Ron and Ted, make a really advanced 36’ or so cat using Jones’ Unlimited Hydroplane technology of honeycomb aluminum and such. It was called “Zenor Zippe” for one of Maury’s Mexican zippers, I think. Still too heavy for that day’s horsepower. I drove it before a Bahamas race, and it went 58MPH into the wind, full of fuel, ready to race. Even the outboard cat development lagged because of the available stock horsepower. Finally, the offshore racing climate began to bloom. More builders, boat and engine, showed up. Boating and sportswriters came. Egomaniacs came. Rich guys came. Good looking women came. European captains of industry came. Good looking women came. Did I mention that good looking women came?

Finally, 1977 arrived, along with some good looking women. Mercury Marine produced a homologated big Chevy V8, along with Sam Sarra’s crashbox transmission and the #3 superspeedmaster drive. Over in England, James Beard and Clive Curtis had a small boat shop in Netley, Cougar Marine, building outboard tunnel hulls for F1 and SST120 or whatever the called the single engine class. They found a client, Ken Cassir, who sold flying carpets (I think) and wanted to build a big cat. Finally, all the pieces fell into place. The built the 37’ cat, Yellowdrama, of exotic plywoods, and did heroic weight saving (They never let Clive, who weighed 14 stone, ride in it) even modifying the speedmasters to fit at an angle into each corner of the tunnel, with the skeg moved, to point straight down. Water tests were not without difficulty. Finally, they made some runs on SouthHampton waters at speeds never seen before on a full sized offshore boat. Over 90 MPH. The day of the catamaran had finally arrived. All that was necessary to prove it was a reasonably calm sea in the upcoming Cowes-Torquay race. They got it. After a slow start, Cassir and Beard passed American, Billy Elswick like a freight train past a tramp. Offshore racing was never the same again.

Yellowdrama, 1977
Yellowdrama, 1977

Cougar Marine started building in Aluminum or wood, and building for Class I, II, and III, all of which won several World Championships. With customers and investors at the door, they took on staff, and built some beautiful boats. They opened a US branch on Thunderboat Row, and made me President. We built some great stuff. This is crux of my story. No one of note was successfully building large viable cats. Someone once said “Imitation is the sincerest form of thievery”, or something like that. One of my heroes in raceboat design and construction is Peter Hledin of Skater Marine. He is a humble hero, and a great technician and boatbuilder.

But, Peter was building this: skater18Then he saw this:

and his next boat was this:

24Skater
Hmmmmmm! Most everyone building cats today and yesterday admit to borrowing something from Cougar. When you blast your MTI or Skater or Mystic to 200 MPH, remember the visionaries who helped get it all going. Somewhere in Heaven James Beard and Clive Curtis are looking down and saying “You Bastards”!

The Lake Cumberland Thunder Run: Situated in the beautiful Kentuckyian Lake Cumberland, the run has been going on 7 years strong and showed no signs of slowing down this year. Though it went down before the 4th of July, the Thunder Run was still well-prepared with a slew of entertainment in the form of live music and fireworks shows.

Even though the week of bad weather preceding the run threatened to rain on the parade with a 100% chance of rain prediction for Saturday deterring a few potential boaters, they still managed over 70 boats on the water which was very impressive considering the forecast. Their faith was rewarded as the weather cleared up by noon and the sun shined on the run the rest of the day.

The litany of prizes was just as impressive. You could have won: a free houseboat rental, a surge brake conversion kit provided by Hydrastar USA, $500 of gas cards provided by Southern Petroleum and Marathon, CNC Illuminated plaques for trophies, a prize package from Florida Powerboat Club, and more.. we’re not kidding when we say the list goes on. Major thanks to all the sponsors and organizers that made this happen, including Justin from Go Fast Threads.

The poker run was all about relaxation and good times, as it opens its aquadoors to any class of boat. Even cruiser class boats are welcome and able to enjoy a shorter version of the poker run without missing out on any activities. We hope you’ll make it out to Lake Cumberland next time and see why this run is still going strong after all these years.

Photos courtesy Jacob Davis of LakeLifeFotos.

Cumberland Thunder Run
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Showing boat operation and boating safety is something I am very familiar with after spending 20 years in the US Coast Guard and over 10 years with Performance Boat School. While we have trained hundreds of operators and received nothing but accolades and praise from all of our trainees, the broader message is still a miss with the general population.

After the now famous Fountain Boat spin out viral video from the Lake of the Ozarks many people gave their uninformed opinion and pontificated about causal factors, speed, responsibility and boating safety.

This video was the reason we got a phone call from producers from ABC Good Morning America. They wanted a sensational story about how to survive a boat crash. After some short conversations we just couldn’t come to terms on how the boats and the operation would be depicted. We had to make sure our passion of Powerboating was represented in a proper way. The producers passed on our proposal and went on to call at least two other potential providers to fulfill what they wanted to depict. While I am not sure why, they called back about two weeks later and accepted our proposal – we were ready to get out on the water and show America what powerboating is all about. Not just flashy hulls or fast crashes, but a level of skillful operation, mechanical marvel & engineering innovation unknown to the general populace.

Teamed up with Larry Goldman of Xtreme Powerboats we took the Powerboat Nation CIGARETTE boat and a 48′ Outerlimits cat through a variety of maneuvers in Biscayne Bay. ABC Personality Matt Guttman rode along with us and was given a factual, realistic powerboating experience. We showed them how speed was not the problem with performance boating. Rather, understanding your craft/surroundings and applying proper operation to include trim control and power management is the more central issue.

We worked hard to push the appeal of powerboating to a larger audience and to depict our lifestyle and love of boating in the right way. We hope this message will be accurately portrayed on the show.

No other powerboating media company works as hard as we do to bring the message of powerboating to a larger audience so people can find out what it’s all about. Shout outs are needed just as much for you guys – PBN couldn’t do this without the largest and most dedicated powerboating community and fans at our fingertips. Keep supporting and stand by for even bigger and better exposure!

The final air date is yet to be locked down, but look for us on ABC Good Morning America on or about July 15th!

edit: We’ve got an air date! Tuesday, July 14th, 7:30 AM! Check your local listings!

Good Morning America Shoot
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Powerboat Nation is thrilled to have Allan “Brownie” Brown on board with us as a contributing editor.  In our world Brownie is a living legend.  He has seen it but more importantly he has done it. Brownie is a real engineer whose experience spans over 60 years in the marine industry. He has developed propulsion, hydraulic, electrical, and exhaust systems for some of the best known names in the business.

Over the years he has served as: Director of Product Development for Cigarette Racing Team; President and CEO of Cougar Marine, who built powerboats winning 33 consecutive offshore races including 12 World and National Championships; Director of Product Development for Stainless Marine; Project Engineer for Gentry Transatlantic on the “Gentry Eagle,” a 113’ mega-yacht that held the transatlantic speed crossing record; Product Development Consultant for Teleflex Marine; and General Manager of Donzi Marine.

Brownie is widely regarded as a mechanical and powerboat genius. Pete Smythe, Editor of Motorboating Magazine, wrote: “Brownie is generally considered to have more engineering moxie than anyone else in the high performance boat business.” Hotboat Magazine wrote that “Brownie’s experience in the business is second to none, with almost 50 years of high performance expertise in building, driving and designing every part of a raceboat.” Powerboat Magazine called Brownie a “mechanical wizard”.

We are beyond thrilled to have Brownie with us and all of our readers should be even more excited and looking forward to his wonderful contributions that are dead on accurate and filled with wonderful humor!

Looks like Mercury’s Chinese manufacturing just got a little bit safer. One of Mercury Marine’s main manufacturing plants in Suzhou, China just received the Brunswick Corporation Chairman’s Safety Award for excellence in safety and employee management. Plant manager Eric Liu and safety officer Lawrence Liu received the award directly from Mercury Marine president, John Pfeifer, during the plant’s 10th anniversary celebration.

Thanks to the all of the employees’ hard work and tireless dedication and the watchful eye of the plant manager, the Suzhou plant also achieved a new record of three million working hours without lost time injury in 2014. In 2015, the record reached 3.25 million days.

Spectre By Pilini is bringing a new addition to its robust line of center console and high performance cats. With peoples’ boating priorities changing and the popularity of dayboating and Poker Runs only on the rise, customers have been asking for more seating, upgraded finishes. Spectre By Pilini listened, and the new 35SS Performance Center Console is the answer.

The 35SS is loaded with features that sets it apart from the competition. The customized helm seat is both plush and comfortable while remaining sleek. A real granite counter-top, stainless sink, pull out fridge and storage abounds and rounds out the bells and whistles on this bad boy. Additional seating is as cushy as it comes, with body sculpted loungers w/ V-shaped seating in the bow. Behind the built in livewell & cooler is even more seating.

The 35SS’ sleekness doesn’t end there, of course; granite also adorns the spacious console, which is packed with even more amenities: a stainless sink with pull out faucet, designer mirror, locking companion way door, natural sky light and multi color LED accent lighting, all with 6’6” headroom.

SBP’s distinctive visuals are only further enhanced by your choice of exterior customization. You can choose from a number of high gloss reflective metallic finishes for the hull sides, the t-top and the actual console. The possibilities are endless. You can also choose from a multitude of comfortable and stylish Sea-Dek flooring, available in an assortment of complementary colors and designs.

The name of the game with anything related to Pilini built boats is performance, efficiency and value. It’s what set them out from the crowd for the past 30+ years and the 35SS is no exception. Twin or triple outboard configurations are available, with twin 300’s clocking 60+ MPH representing the 35SS’ base performance with potential for more. The engines utilize a non-stepped Deep V hull for maximum comfort and handling, so you get the experience you deserve. Contact Pilini Marine Technologies for pricing and a dealer near you.

Spectre by Pilini 35SS
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Hold on to your screens, because they’re about to get an old fashioned Texan flyby. Yes, we have real and current video coverage of the hottest powerboating event at the moment: The Texas Outlaw Challenge. We know you’ve seen a couple quick pics, and maybe you’ll read about it again in some publication a month or two from now, but we’ve got the fresh scoop to keep that attention span sated and that thirst for the water slaked.

We know it’s easy to get side tracked from the actual poker run at the Texas Outlaw Challenge with all the things going on at once. From over the top mansion parties to 200+ MPH runs ( Shootout shoutout to Win Farnsworth! ), it’s almost like there’s too much awesomeness in one place. No such thing exists, but hey, this comes close. Still, the heart of the event is the poker run, not to mention the charity causes that the huge sums of money are raised for. So relive the magic with our video below. We hope you enjoy as much as we enjoyed making it.

Special thanks to John Woodruff for providing the lift in his stunning Bell Jet Long Ranger helicopter.

The Texas Outlaw Challenge is a massive boating event that gathers numerous businesses and community members from the surrounding area to support the weekend’s activities. There’s a lot of infrastructure and planning required, from safety information to patrol boats to divers to medical response. Led by Paul Robinson, the staff that brings all of these essentials to the event is comprised entirely of volunteers. You have to give it up for these guys; they deserve a heap of thanks for making this event happen. It’s no small team of volunteers, however:

One of the most important volunteer groups are the shootout safety teams. Their work begins months before the event, coordinating vessel staffing as well as maps, directions, and other safety information to be distributed to participants. There are fifteen boats on deck, split into different roles. Two medical response boats accommodate medics, divers, and the necessary equipment in preparation for (hopefully nonexistent) emergencies. Three patrol boats have the capability for high-speed response and towing capacity. One of these vessels has the ability to right overturned boats. Start, staging, and finish line vessels have a higher visibility due to their need to communicate with participants and change the course via flags and radio. Course set vessels set the initial buoys for the course. Lastly but not least, a spectator patrol vessel rounds out the fleet and keeps spectators off the run area.

Various police, Coast Guard and fire boats are on duty as well to lend their support to the challenge. The diver teams are comprised of three NASA rescue divers and several local Law Enforcement Dive Officers, further confirming that the expertise and support present from the community is outstanding. Medical helicopters had full access to the site as well.

The Challenge also makes a unique distinction in the event in an arena where too often bravado comes before safety. They want their Poker Run and Shootout to be two distinct events, with people getting the 100+ MPH runs out of their system on a closed course beforehand so the Poker Run can be the relaxed social gathering it’s meant to be. As we always say, a Poker Run is Not A Race. They’re so serious about this, in fact, that 200 GPS units are available to be distributed to participants at the poker run safety meeting. If a GPS is retrieved with a recalled speed of over 100 MPH, the boat forfeits any potential event prizes and Outlaw Gun trophy awards. Their motto is, if you’re an Outlaw, show your stuff at the shootout or don’t show it at all.

The Texas Outlaw Challenge got a lot of things right and this was no exception. It’s always appreciated to see professionalism and safety being taken seriously in this arena of powerboating. The combined experience of the team exceeds 60 years, working with racing organizations such as the APBA, OSS, SBI, and SDBA. If you haven’t been a part of this experience before you need to do so and find out why we’ve said it’s one of the biggest things in Texas.

Thanks to Jay Nichols of Naples Image for the Photo.

Big? Bigger? The biggest party? The facts are when it comes to generosity and hosting a massive event, Kenny Armstrong sets the golden standard. For this year’s Texas Outlaw Challenge, which is one big sprawling Texas Style Boating Party in of itself, fellow powerboater enthusiast Kenny Armstrong chose to not only open up his home to friends and guests alike but to create a summer wonderland with eye candy straight out of a Powerboater’s Playboy Mansion.

So, here’s the “typical” itinerary of one of Kenny’s parties: you invite 500 of your closest friends to come by land, sea and air. If by water you raft up next to the 175+ guests in their swanky assortment of high performance and pleasure boats. If by land you park along the long winding gated entry to the fortress, and if by air you land your helicopter next to the five others on the lawn. No biggie. Next you bring in five different catered meals for the guests from prime rib, to Mexican food, to fresh ahi tuna. Knowing you might be parched from the day’s hot weather Kenny stocks every corner of the event with bartenders and literally 5′ tall mountains of premium Vodka. The refreshments are as plentiful as the water out here.

Now, wanting to make sure everyone has achieved optimum comfort levels, crowds of people pour into an exquisite pool complete with water slide and bubbles machine. A DJ booth provides aural maintenance by spinning tunes. Last but not least, an optical tuneup is provided as the professional U.S. Bikini team come and strut their stuff for a complete show to be voted on by the visitors.

But hey, let’s say you are not quite tall (or active) enough to take in all this palatial estate has to offer. Don’t worry because two of the five helicopters parked in the yard provide complimentary rides ALL DAY LONG.

These words can’t really leave an impression remotely close to the true over the top nature of this party. And of course, it is all the courtesy of Kenny Armstrong himself. All praise to the party master.

Enjoy the video – truth be told, if you can imagine anything from the writeup alone then you know one thing for sure – you don’t want to miss next year.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE!

This might be a cliché when it comes to grassroots boating events, but unless you’ve seen it from the beginning you can’t appreciate how far the Texas Outlaw Challenge has come. Paul Robinson has built the event into a modern day boating pilgrimage. The extravagance and community participation can’t be denied with over 200 boats registered for the event. There’s a good reason that number’s so high:

We can tell you from first hand experience that the level of support from the community and sponsors in the area is unparalleled. It seems like the whole town is in on the event with how many things there are to do and see. Five star restaurants, a bustling night life, amusement parks, and a healthy offering of local music & culture ensure that you’ll be keeping the party going even off the water. The location truly captured the essence of a Poker Run Village.

Besides a few other challenger regions like the Key West, you’d be hard pressed to find a location with an event hosting such a wide array of pleasure boats and high end cars. We had the Powerboat Nation event trailer on site and Wynn Farnsworth displayed his stunning >200 MPH turbine boat. Chris Bradley shuttled in his latest collection of exotic vehicles, from a custom Lamborghini Huracan to Ferraris to the latest 426 Skater.

Last but not least, the shootout itself didn’t disappoint one bit either. Records were shattered with the two Top Gun Outlaws Wynn Farnsworth in his 50 Mystic and Kenny Mungle in his Gone Again 32 Skater, knocking out 201.8 MPH and 185 MPH respectively. It wasn’t just a premier performance boating event; it was a quintessential sampling of Houston, Texas and a great representation of the Lone Star State. We can’t wait for the next incarnation.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE PHOTOS

Texas Outlaw Challenge
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When you combine the premier service center, product offerings and customer loyalty of Performance Boat Center with the legendary brand of Cigarette boats, you have a pretty much guaranteed recipe for success. So it was nice to see that both went above and beyond the call of duty to create a quality, memorable event:

It was a prolific weekend for boaters, with some racking up the MPH at the Texas Outlaw Challenge while others had a more leisurely affair at the Lake Cumberland Thunder Run. But those who have experienced the Cigarette brand before are generally customers for life, so it’s unsurprising that they had an enclave loyal and large enough to warrant its own event.

Over 55 Cigarettes, new and old were spotted on the relaxed waters of the Lake of the Ozarks. We doubt you’ll find a higher concentration anywhere else, with a camaraderie and shared love for their passion to match.

We knew things would go off without a hitch with Performance Boat Center (PBC) involved. Today when we talked to Cigarette owner Skip Braver he could not stop throwing accolades and compliments PBC’s way. Extra thanks were heaped on owners Brett Manire and Mark Waddington, names well known to customers in the area. “This was the most incredible run I have ever been to. We had happy Cigarette owners everywhere. The egos were left on the dock,” said Skip. He praised the family style fun run and added, “I can’t give Performance Boat enter enough credit or accolades for how well they performed.”

PBC Owner Brett Manire was equally enthusiastic. “A great time was had by all,” he exclaimed before summarizing with “minimum anxiety, maximum fun,” a maxim that seems to fit Performance Boat Center‘s customer satisfaction as well. He noted that one Cigarette owner hauled his boat over 14 hours to make it out, and expressed the honor of hosting such an iconic run.

As for next year? Brett definitely hopes for a similar repeat in success, and hopefully with less schedule conflicts permitting. If all goes to plan look out for a 2001 Red & White Cigarette Top Gun with a Powerboat Nation logo emblazoned on the bow. We don’t just praise them for no reason; we live the Cigarette difference and know exactly what it means to say “I own a Cigarette” – clearly so did all at this unique community event. Looking forward to more! Photos below.

You can check out and share more photos of the event here on our forums.

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