The Powerboat Nation “Rock the Boat Show” party at Mansion was, as expected a huge success. Nothing like this has every been done by anyone until we did it. The pictures say something, the memories say something, but the only way to capture what it was short of being there is the video!
Lights, Camera, Action! Enjoy the video… and as for next year? You can bet it is sure to be even bigger and better than what we did this year!
If you ever wondered how one of the power boating worlds nicest guys also becomes the sweetheart of say 150 women?
Well its easy if you are a simple genuine guy who always seems to be thinking of others. Saturday night yes that was Valentines day in the middle of what seemed like the peak of the our PowerBoat Nation party where everyone was having the time of their lives, all of the ladies were in attendance were presented with a 3′ long stemmed beautiful rose courtesy of none other that Kenny himself.
All we really have to say is Class Act and nice job Mr. Armstrong for making a wonderful event just one notch even better. To have the forethought to order a 150 roses to be delivered at Mansion to all of the ladies in attendance really shows who you are.
Mr Bill Pyburn Jr. took some time at the Miami International Boat Show after the big reveal of his brand new 388 Platinum Edition Skater to let us all know the why. Why is he on his third 388 build, Why did he go with Goodwin Competition for Power, Why did he look to Dean Loucks and The Art of Design for the paint work, and why he is so dedicated to creating the very best performance boat possible!
How does the saying go…. If it was easy anyone could do it? One thing we can guarantee, getting Bill Pyburns, 388 Pure Platinum Skater ready for the Miami Boat Show was a down to the wire, minute by minute strategy to pull off the unveiling.
If you thought that was a feat let us tell you that getting the newly prepped untested boat set to launch for not only its maiden voyage but the 90 mile trek to Islamorada rivaled every aspect of it. The team at Brand X worked tirelessly to quiet the naysayers that said it just couldn’t be done as numerous people questioned that the boat would make it.
But working through the new boat bugs and forging forward the the entire team Pure Platinum Team lead by Bill Pyburn didn’t let up and this early afternoon the brand new Goodwin Semi-Hemi Powered 388 Pure Platinum arrived at the Post Card Inn on Islamorada and was greeted with accolades from fellow boaters happy to see the boat at this years event.
Congratulations to Bill, Peter Hledin and the entire team at Skater, Todd Goodwin. Jamie at Cutting Edge Upholstery, Jason Ventura of Brand X Hi Performance Marine and everyone else involved in this fantastic project!
The charitable humanity from the boating industry is one great thing, but for sure it is completely outdone by the charity of the customers. John Woodruff started off the auction of the display propeller created and donated by Wayne Schaldenbrand of Sunsation Powerboats at $1000.00. That bid didn’t last long and the winner at the end of the day was Win Farnsworth.
Win stepped up and won with a solid $2000.00. One things for sure, regardless of the fact that the custom propeller trophy created by the Sunsation guys was out of this world cool, the real cool part is when the powerboating world comes together to support the families of those lost too early.
Thank you to all that bid and supported the effort to raise money for Mike Fiore’s Children.
DCB is by far the favorite West Coast Performance powerboat and while we may not see many on the east coast things are changing. At this years Florida Powerboat Club, Miami Boat Show Poker Run, DCB showed up in force. In total four DCB’s made the run and made an impression. The rougher than usual conditions didnt place one bit of pause for these guys. One 41 and three 35’s made the run down from Miami and back without a glitch.
n nearly every row of boats rafted up off the sea wall at Holiday isle we found a version of the popular DCB M series wide body boats. DCB boats are easily recognizable based on unique hull characteristics and vents that set that boat apart. Its exciting to see the growing numbers and were glad they braved the winter chill to hang out with everyone on the east side. You can be sure to see more and more east coast representation of this premier boat brand.
Renowned performance catamaran builder DCB has once again shown at this years LA boat show why the continue to reign as the most coveted brand of Catamaran in the West. With a super impressive display this year, they are showcasing three stunning boats at the show.
The already famous 35 Widebody with Mercury 1100’s was just finished and ready for its new home in New York. , a M31 with Mercury 565’s on Bravo XR’s and the incredible looking M29 with Mercury Racing brand new 400 HP outboards.
DCB is know world wide at a premier builder of beautiful, fast, and very good handling performance boats. Their fit and finish keeps the world of boat builders on its toes as perfection is their only standard. The West Coast Builder is sure the bring the biggest draw in LA. With hundreds of DCB’s throttling across water ways from coast to coast the DCB brand means something special and there are three new boats in LA ready to join the legion of loyal DCB owners.
A forecast of recording breaking cold weather and windy conditions break the spirit of the PowerBoaters participating in the Florida PowerBoat Clubs Miami boat Show Poker Run. Over 80 registered boats left Miami on a chilly, windy morning to run south through Biscayne bay in hopes of finding better weather.
Those little details of some not so good weather just couldn’t hold back the excited throngs of boaters who came in from all over the world to have fun with the club. With 30 mph winds from the north and 3′ seas the views were spectacular as the boats aired out to find the sweet spot for their journey through the keys. For some the ride was a little cold, a little wet or maybe a little rough but for others the conditions leveled the HP playing field and provided an opportunity to really show off in the less than favorable conditions.
The weekend has just started and we have lots more to come:
DCB continues to lead the entire West Coast power boating market with the release of a New M 29 catamaran with Mercury Racing’s new 400R (400HP) Outboards. DCB has decades of outboard experience and knows what and how to make these boats sheer water rockets. The Boats will make their official debut at the Los Angeles boat show next week February 19-22. These boats feature numerous DCB exclusives and are destined to be a star of the show.
Well there is always some wonder in the health of the marine industry and for good reason. As you make your way by the industries manufactures you see lots of activity and some new incredible boats for sale. The manufactures and dealers that really are committed to the future of power boating boating are working hard to make sure they are bringing the very best to the market and its working because they are writing contracts and moving boats!
If this Miami boat show is an indicator of whats to come, then the future looks bright. For manufactures and dealers like SKATER, SUNSATION , CIGARETTE, PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER, and BOATS DIRECT these companies came ready to move some product and have. Skaters SOLD the 50 Cat, Boats Direct has sold eight boats already and its only Saturday. Sunsation is a crowd favorite selling their popular 34 and 29 CCX, and Performance Boat Center sold their 42 CIGARETTE with 1100’s and Legend Marine is on fire saleing a brand new 39 GTS and a used 39 Top Fish.
CIGARETTE apparel has long been a huge part of ownership and want of ownership. The CIGARETTE Brand goes well beyond the boat and it could be said the brand can stand on its This year at the Miami Boat Show Cigarette introduced bunch of new items for both men and women.
Many of these new pieces are only available at the show at least for now. If you are in Miami for the show then the CIGARETTE booth to buy some new threads is the place to be. If you cant be here then reach out to someone who is and give them a mission. Last minute Valentine Gifts for all of us who tend to put boats a little higher on the list than other things have an option at the show. Lets hope at least for my sake it will work!
PowerBoat Nation is excited to at last reveal one of the most secretive boat builds ever and now take the cover off Bill Pyburn Jr. Brand new 388 Pure Platinum Skater, this is the second boat in the Platinum Edition Series and is the result of thousands of hours of work from a long list of craftsman and vendors.
Bill has essentially become the de-facto project manager for these builds. As a unique customer Bill has had vast on board experience , literally thousands of hours of time running fast catamarans and this has given him the unique ability to transform these builds into the the very best high performance catamarans available.
The build had to have great detail and the interior had to rival a Lamborghini or Ferrari and be nothing of a boat we’ve ever seen before. Designed and built by Jamie Borg of Cutting Edge Upholstery Inc, Jamie has spent countless hours a record amount of time. I am sure of unbelievable amount of time creating art in an interior of a boat.
Bill wanted/needed a 200MPH GPS but they don’t exist on the shelf, he also wanted a flush faced gauge that didn’t exist. But the team at AUTOMETER designed the programming and chips required to produce the first 200 MPH GPS speedometer gauge. But Autometer doesn’t build a flush faced gauge so Bill Bill turned to HARDIN MARINE to question if numerous things were possible? How do you turn the conventional instruments into flush gauges. Hardin was up for the task and designed a brand new Lexan lens capable of making the instruments a reality.
Then Bill wanted controls that were ergonomically designed to the operator, just as a fighter pilot style control that is custom fit to his own hand. To achieve this dozens of sample models those constructed and when the final model fit Bills hand it was manufactured.
In an effort to eliminate all polished finishes Bill realized the ultimate finish will be black nickel plating. But nothing is available in that finish so when Bill contacted the worlds elite steering wheel manufacture for an option they didn’t have it. So again the folks at Hardin Marine were tasked with cutting apart a brand new steering wheel modifying , dipping it in black nickel and then air shipping it to Italy where they dropped everything to reconstruct the wheel and air ship it back to make this feat come together for today.
This great boat needed paint but just ordinary paint would not do, so once again the artist was called up and thousands of man hours were applied to creating a dazzling piece of art that is capable of moving to speeds of 200 MPH. Dean Loucks, the talent, that applies real art on boats and other moving objects has created a new incredible piece that still captures the theme and fame of the Pyburn Pure Platinum Boats. TAOD Art!
For the incredible POWER! You all know by know we have been talking about GOODWIN COMPETITION. Hundreds of hours in custom design work to create the finished package into the work of art you see here. The staggering horsepower and torque numbers are incredible but the bigger story is how these engines have been engineered into a platform that will bring a evolution of the next generation of marine power plants.
PETER and his beloved SKATER’s. This is easy…Bill has had all the boats, wore all the T-Shirts, and can say with extreme confidence he as been there and done that. He is now on his third SKATER and knows better than anyone that the performance, handling, speed, and comfort comes from one builder and he has spoken to us all through is action. Peter has allowed the growth and evolution or refinement to the 388 hull to make it that much better.
Now the boat is here, its done, and will go into service at your nearest poker run. The job of maintaining this Masterpiece Watercraft is left to Jason Ventura and his team of Brand X Hi Performance Marine. You can be sure the boat will always be ready to run and run fast. Bill and Jason will now spend a ton of time showing all of us exactly what this entire team of enthusiastic craftsman have created.
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