Yearly Archives: 2019

The upgrading of the P1 Panther powerboat, which is at the heart of the P1 SuperStock one-design race series, is in full swing, and the focus has now moved to carrying out an extensive and rigorous testing program initially in lake conditions in Florida and then on the challenging waters of the Atlantic.

After the P1 fleet was fitted with new carbon hulls a year ago, the announcement came last June that the boats were to repower in 2019 with the new Mercury Racing 4.6L V-8 four-stroke 300R outboards. P1 then unveiled plans to revolutionize the championship and attract a new set of racers by converting the Panther to a canopy race boat.

In early, unofficial testing, the Panther was clocked at 80 mph, prompting former champion racer Craig Wilson from Wilson Custom Composites—who are building the boat—to say: “It’s quick and nimble, and going to be an amazing boat that should reach 85 mph once we’ve found the optimum configuration of balance and prop.”

Keen to get reactions to the look of the boat with its new canopy (which has been designed to UIM specifications), P1 put the Panther on display at St. Cloud in central Florida at the end of March and invited members of the powerboat racing community—including multiple world champion Steve Curtis and experienced SuperStock racers Craig and Cynthia Belfatto—to get up close and personal. P1 chief executive Azam Rangoonwala was delighted with the comments and said, “Our aim is quite simply to harness advanced technology and materials to produce a high-speed racing work of art. The 2019 Panther will look sleek and stylish but maintain the character of the original deck design.”

The principal objectives of the upgrade program are to improve the race performance of the boats, enhance safety on the water and attract new racers to the series. Whilst the work progresses, the race crews and safety team will be undergoing specialized training and certification that includes “dunker tests.”

Two Panthers are now out of the mold, and a third is currently in the mold. “Powerboat P1 is leapfrogging the marine industry by having the most technically advanced, full safety canopy system and interior available” Wilson said. Testing will continue throughout April.

 

DCB Performance Boats recently delivered a brand-new M29 to Paul Landry of Lake Tapps, WA. The boat is powered by a single Mercury Racing 1550/1350 dual-calibration engine capable of reaching speeds of 140+ mph in 1350 mode and 150+ mph in 1550 mode.

Landry previously owned a couple of Nordics, including a 25’ Rage (a vee hull powered by a twin turbocharged 598) and a 27’ Thor (a catamaran powered by the same engine). He says word of mouth and the M29’s high-quality reputation lured him into the DCB fold.

The boat will spend time both in Lake Havasu—where he took delivery of the DCB and will run it at the Desert Storm Poker Run—and his home state of Washington. “We play on Lake Tapps, Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish,” he says, adding that there are some other DCBs on the same waters. He is currently pondering the idea of running the DCB during the Shootout at Desert Storm (April 24-28).

“The attention to detail on this boat is phenomenal,” Landry says. “The fit and finish of the M29 and the overall quality is incredible. It’s a really nice piece. Jeff Johnston and Tony Chiaramonte were really good to work with—anytime I have a problem or any question, they’re right there.”

Landry, who is retired, previously owned a freight consolidation company.

Here are some of the features of Landry’s M29:

• Beam: 9’0”
• Weight: approx. 6,350 lbs. (dry).
• Two 55-gallon fuel tanks (91 Octane) with separate 25-gallon tank (112 Octane) with electronic switchover fuel valve.
• 50% Alcantara interior package with matching under cuddy
• Custom matching carpet kit with shaved diamonds in the fabric
• Phase III gelcoat scheme
• Half cap with black powdercoated SS rubrail
• Vacuum Infused Resin (VIR) process, balsa-cored, with additional carbon-fiber
• Two Simrad NSS9 Evo3 (9”) touch screen monitors
• Garmin 922 (9”) GPS center plotter
• Two Garmin GMi20s in back of headrests
• Four-person intercom set
• Interior Rigid LED lighting package (mood lighting, courtesy lighting, LED cupholders)
Stage II stereo – Fusion head unit | Two (2) JL Audio amplifiers | Eight (8) JL midrange speakers with LED | Two (2) 12” JL subwoofers
• Mercury DTS controls
• Two billet swimsteps with SeaDek lining.
• Foot shower
• Mercury K-Planes
• Extreme Custom Trailer, tandem-axle with customized 18” FUEL rims, SS fenders and triangular drive guard, undercarriage LED lighting package, etc…
Retail price of the M29 with all upgrades and options: right around $455K.

The month of March came to a close with the 34th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show, a four-day event billed as one of the top five boat shows in the country. The show featured more than $1.2 billion worth of yachts and accessories, including hundreds of boats ranging from 8-foot inflatables to super yachts nearly 300 feet in length.

Among the exhibitors was DeLand, FL-based Mystic Powerboats.  President John Cosker told Powerboat Nation he was pleased by the turnout. “It went really well,” he said. “We always do pretty well in Palm Beach. It’s a somewhat quieter show than the Miami and Fort Lauderdale shows, but you get a really good clientele.”

Mystic displayed one of its M4200 center console vees from its dealer Seven Seas Yacht Sales (Fort Lauderdale), as well as a C3800 cat brought by Bernie Neuhaus, vice president of Mystic dealer Marine Unlimited Sales (Tom’s River, NJ).

“We had both the vee and the cat there, and we got five or six sea trials scheduled this week with people we met at the show,” Cosker said. “So that’s good.”

The C3800 is the fourth out of the mold; meanwhile, #5 is currently being painted and #6 is in the mold. Readers of Powerboat Nation will recall that Mystic’s C3800 is offered in a variety of configurations, including the standard “two plus four” seating arrangement and an “open architecture” layout. According to Cosker, customers are split about 50/50 on how to arrange their cockpit seating.

Cosker said Mystic will likely not release any new models for the remainder of the year, as the company focuses on meeting its increasing production schedule. “We’re going from delivering 16 boats last year to around 30 this year,” he said. “So that’s a big jump in production.”

 

Stu Jones (inset) and his new Project 1080 Cigarette Top Gun, powered by Mercury Racing 540s.

Stu Jones, president of the Florida Powerboat Club, is about to launch a new five-day poker run event in Orange Beach, AL, and is planning to create a new club that will mirror the structure of his Florida group. The Alabama Powerboat Club, as it will be called, will kick off with back-to-back poker runs comprising May 29 to June 2, Jones told Powerboat Nation.

“The popularity of the Friday Fun Run has really grown,” Jones said, “and I thought we could take this to the next level and make it a poker run format.”

Jones explained that Orange Beach, AL, offers so many waterways with waterfront locations that “to me it would be unfortunate not to give some of these places an opportunity to be involved in the event.” Jones said he envisioned a poker run that would kick off on Friday with a westbound “multiple checkpoint poker run,” followed by a similar run on Saturday headed east. “People will get an opportunity to do back-to-back poker runs,” he said, “and we’re managing the fuel mileage sensibly—each run would encompass about 90 miles. Most people can do it on the fuel they have, because each will be a zero fuel stop run. When they come back to the marina at night, they can top up.”

If participants only wish to do one run, Jones said, that will be up to them. However, one fee will entitle them to do both events.

Meanwhile, Jones is actively scouting for a person to fill the role of Alabama Powerboat Club President—a position that will mirror his duties in Florida. “We’re looking for a boater who is an Alabama resident,” Jones said. “We’re going to hand him this event, as well as the tools he’ll need to make the organization a total success. This person will start with four events a year, with a relatively small membership, and grow it from there.”

But Jones isn’t stopping with Alabama. It’s part of his long-range branding plan that will eventually lead to a global organization of powerboat clubs and events, that connects organizers and powerboaters on every continent.

“It’s being branded as the World Powerboat Club, which will be the ‘mothership’ to these individual club operators—whether it’s US-based in Texas, New York, Maryland or Alabama…or virtually any nation that has a base of powerboat owners and events,” he said. “We already have an ambassador-like program coming together in over two dozen countries worldwide.” This organization will be committed to overseeing and assisting organizers with their events, helping them with marketing, safety management and planning.

“Each of these ambassadors will be the president of their own club, and can make it a part-time enterprise or full-time gig, as I have for almost thirty years here in Florida,” Jones added.

Powerboat Nation will stay in tune with Jones and these ongoing growth plans, along with the Orange Beach Powerboat Week, which is being hosted at The Wharf, a popular entertainment venue with a full-service marina, dining, and on-property lodging.

For more information and registration details, visit flpowerboat.com or call the FPC Pompano Beach office at (954) 545-1414.

Photo by Pete Boden

Marine Technology Inc. welcomed 50 boats and 300 people for this year’s MTI Owners Fun Run last weekend, which took the fleet from North Miami Beach to the Florida Keys for a three-day run from Thursday to Saturday. The journey encompassed 650 miles, with company President Randy Scism leading the group in the 48′ pace boat.

“We had a great run,” says MTI sales and marketing chief Tim Gallagher. “All of us made it back [to Haulover Marine Center] except for David Spear. On our way back up, we stopped at Playa Largo for lunch. He started walking around the place and said, ‘You know what? This place is nice! I’m going to stay for a couple more days.’ So he’s actually running back up right now.”

On the way down to Marathon Key, the group stopped for a buffet lunch at Gilbert’s Resort in Key Largo. “That’s pretty much the only place you can tie 50 boats up on your way down to Faro Blanco [Resort & Yacht Club] on Marathon Key,” Gallagher says. This was the fourth time that Faro Blanco has hosted MTI during their Fun Run. “We had a luggage truck carrier bring everybody’s luggage down, so that worked out very well for everyone,” he adds.

Gallagher drove the silver 340X powered by twin Mercury racing 400R outboards displayed at the Miami show. “I had some new clients with me who were getting their order finalized, so they got their seat time in the boat for the weekend, which was great.”

During the event, the MTIs made a couple of runs to Key West, staged a raft-up and visited the Bass Pro Shops at Islamorada. “With 50 boats, you have to spread them out a little bit—you can’t go everywhere together,” Gallagher explains. “There are too many boats. So Randy took some in one direction, and I took some of the others. But everybody had a great time. We had a nice finale party on Saturday at Faro Blanco with a buffet dinner and had our tech crew put up a video presentation featuring some of our antics from the weekend.”

Participants traveled from as far away as the West Coast and the Northeast. “One of our customers came from Maine, which was really cool,” said MTI’s Taylor Scism. “People came in from all over—it was our biggest showing ever, which is awesome. It was my first time attending and being involved in the planning of the Fun Run. Tim did an excellent job planning it, and I helped with some details getting everything together.”

The next MTI Fun Run takes place in Chicago on June 27-29, a collaboration between MTI and Westrec Marinas. It’s MTI’s first such event in the Chicago area.

Look for complete coverage of the MTI Owners Fun Run in the May 2019 issue of Speedboat Magazine.

 

Every boat owner wants his boat to achieve optimal performance, and usually that’s the #1 topic on Powerboat Nation. But boat owners also strive to keep their boats looking in tip-top condition as well. That’s where Joel Accuardi comes in.

For the past several years, Accuardi has been helping speedboaters transition away from wax/polymer-based products for boat protection to a longer-lasting, 21st century technique that’s redefining high-gloss polishing. Accuardi is the owner of The Ceramic Company, a Dallas-based firm that is totally revolutionizing the very concept of keeping boats in pristine condition. The company has been applying its protective coating to boats across the country through its dealer network, and word-of-mouth has been insurmountable. In addition to lasting much longer than a typical waxing, the process protects against UV damage, oxidation, corrosion, staining, seawater, scum, chemicals, fuel and practically anything else that Mother Nature—including birds—can throw at your boat.

Accuardi, who has been detailing boats since he was 18 years old, made it his goal early on to shake things up in his field. “I’ve always been looking for a technology that would better serve the marine industry and provide something a little longer-lasting than just a buff and wax,” he says.

That dream was realized with the creation of a product that protects all surfaces of a boat with a ceramic that results in a beautiful, long-lasting shine. After mastering the technique while working for others, Accuardi and his partner, Ross Gold, launched their own firm, The Ceramic Company several months ago, and began assembling a dealer network.

“The best way to describe the product is like wax on steroids, except that it can be applied to any surface of your boat, above and below the waterline, the engines, your decks, vinyls, plastics, everywhere,” he says. “And the longevity far exceeds any wax system, which usually gives you 60 to 90 days of shine. With The Ceramic Company’s Marine Coating, it’s more like 18 to 24 months.”

In addition to the long-term benefits, Accuardi points out that in the short term, The Ceramic Company’s Marine Coating greatly eases the chore of cleaning. “Even sitting in a marina not being used, a boat can really accumulate all sorts of filth,” he says. “This application makes cleaning and reviving the shine so much easier.”

Just ask Accuardi’s customer Tyson Garvin, whose 50’ Skater has had full ceramic coverage. He recalls taking the boat to Skaterfest last August, where the boat had to sit in a slip for several days, owning to a mechanical issue.

“With all the oil that was in Lake St. Clair, it had developed quite a scum line,” Garvin says. “This was in the middle of summer. I didn’t wash it. I then hauled it over to the Skater factory, which is on the other side of the state. It sat there for about three months as the stuff dried on the side of the boat. If you don’t wash it as soon as it comes out of the water, you’re screwed. Finally, when I picked up the boat to start working on it again, I walked over to the very visible scum line and made one pass over the side with a dry rag. And all of the buildup vanished.”

The basic cost of coating your boat with the ceramic is around $65 a foot; the price may vary depending on the size, complexity and condition of your craft. The Ceramic Company has been successfully conscripting professional installation centers and detailing shops across the country to work with the product. Then, over the next few months, the next goal will be to set up a consumer-grade house line. “We’ll be able to do people’s fridges, countertops, barbecues, etc.,” Accuardi says. “At some point we will introduce a consumer line for the marine industry, but for the time being, it’s strictly professional only.”

For more information, visit the Ceramic Company by clicking here.

Race World Offshore (RWO), the offshore powerboat sanctioning body formed in 2017, is one step closer to staging a season-ending World Championship race in Key West for the next five years, according to RWO President Larry Bleil.

“We’re 90 percent there,” Bleil told Powerboat Nation. “The city has a system where they grade you on things like what you plan to do in the future and what’s best for the city. We scored better than the rest of the field. The City Council just needs to make it official with a final vote to accept the commission’s recommendations when they meet in early May.”

As former president of the Conch Republic Offshore Powerboat Racing Association for 10 years, Bleil brings a special set of credentials to RWO and in overseeing the Key West race. RWO decided to step up to the plate because the Key West event had become “stagnant for years and years,” he said. “It just time for a change. We want to make it the spectacle that it should be. Everybody wants to come to Key West; everybody wants to win and be the World Champion. And we want to get it back to that. We’ve got to make it a World Championship. We’ve got to have the celebrities involved. I can remember having 120 boats in Key West to race, and now they’re fighting to get 40. It needs a new energy.”

RWO’s bid would end Super Boat International‘s longtime engagement holding its Offshore World Finals in Key West. The Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) had also put in a bid for Key West, but RWO won out over the competition. “SBI was not bringing anything to the table,” Bleil said. “The race teams, fans and community are going to be delighted to have RWO running the show in a very upbeat and proactive manner,” he added.

RWO vowed to provide further details in the days ahead about the organization’s 2019 race schedule and its plans for Key West. Last year, RWO staged two races: the Roar Off the Shore (Mentor, OH, July 20-22) and the Dunkirk Great Lakes Offshore Grand Prix (Dunkirk, NY, Aug. 17-19). The Mentor event will not happen in 2019, but RWO has already announced that it will hold the race in Dunkirk and at least one other race that Bleil is currently attempting to organize.

As of Monday, March 25, SBI still had Nov. 3-10, 2019, listed on its website as the dates for the 39th Annual Key West World Championships.

 

Jeff Harris, an accomplished 40-year marine industry veteran and legendary Hall of Fame boat racer, has been named Chief Operating Officer of Washington, NC-based Iconic Marine Group, which includes Fountain, Baja, and Donzi.

Best known for a storied racing career that includes seven World Speed Records, along with eight World and 12 National boat racing championships, Harris’s real strength is his hands-on experience in every aspect of boat manufacturing, sales and customer service. Among the first employees at Fountain Powerboats, Harris has done it all.

“Jeff and I worked side-by-side rolling glass on that first boat 40 years ago,” said company founder Reggie Fountain. “Whether it’s boat design, hull construction, rigging, sales, warranty or talking to customers at a boat show, Jeff’s understanding of what it takes to make a boat company work is unmatched. Behind the wheel of a center console sport cruiser, a high-performance V-bottom or a 185 mph Unlimited Superboat, there’s nobody better.”

Harris grew up and continues to lives near Iconic’s base of operations along the Pamlico River in Washington, NC. “Nobody respects Iconic’s heritage more than I do,” said Harris about his goals for IMG. “From day one we’ve enjoyed a competitive edge and I’m going to build on that. Whether it’s Fountain’s 43′ NX flagship, the revolutionary Donzi 41′ GT or the popular Baja 27′ Outlaw, boaters expect a performance advantage from Iconic. My job is to add all I’ve learned in racing and manufacturing to an already winning formula.”

“Jeff is the latest addition to IMG’s world-class management team,” said Managing Partner Fred Ross. “When we met I knew instantly that Jeff was the right leader at the right time. He joins IMG on a wave of momentum as the company just completed a record-setting quarter. My intent is to dominate in every category of boats we build and I’m confident nobody can take us there faster than Jeff Harris.”

 

Gary Ballough, the World Champion offshore driver and throttleman of FJ Propeller and numerous other boats, has just taken delivery of his brand-new 32′ Victory. Ballough’s all-carbon-fiber 32′ was shipped from Dubai to the USA, where he plans to race it on the OPA circuit when the 2019 season kicks off May 17-19 in Cocoa Beach, FL. The boat will be primarily driven by Jimmie Harrison and throttled by Ballough.

Like his previous hull, a 32′ Doug Wright, the Victory will be campaigned as FJ Propeller (an abbreviation of Frank & Jimmie’s, the Fort Lauderdale, FL-based propeller shop).

One of powerboating’s winningest and most enduring champions, Ballough picked up the boat near his home in Jacksonville, FL, this week, and immediately began removing the shrink wrap and spending the next hour admiring the great work Victory did on the hull. He will take it to TNT Custom Marine (North Miami, FL) on Monday, March 25, to have it rigged and powered by twin Mercury Racing 300XS Optimax outboards, the required powerplant for his offshore class, Super Stock.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Ballough told Powerboat Nation of the new boat, adding that his class will eventually upgrade the 300XS motors to Mercury Racing’s new 300Rs. “The 300XS outboards have the direct fuel injection, and they’re fantastic,” he says. “Right now we’re having a lot of fun with this motor, because it’s wonderful. Racers in our class are allowed to make some modifications to make it stronger and race worthy—we’re able to put a 15 inch midsection on it and change the cowlings if we want to. We make them equivalent to the 280-hp outboards as far as the strength.”

He says he’ll also be installing the STR X-ACT outboard brackets fabricated by Shaun Torrente Racing, which Ballough has endorsed since its original release. “He builds a fantastic product,” he says.

The Victory hulls are built in Dubai at a government-owned facility known as Victory Team. “They have a factory that is second to none—they’ve got a propeller shop, transmission shop, motor shop, machine shop, welding, paint, fiberglass, rigging. There’s nothing that they can’t do to facilitate anything that they need. They build it in house. When it’s made at Victory, it’s something that’s better than you can buy anywhere else.”

Other Super Stock teams racing with FJ Propeller this year will include CR Racing, Shadow Pirate, Killer Bee, DoublEdge Motorsports, Deep Vee Cats, Performance Marine, Allen Lawn Care & Landscaping and The Hulk.

DCB Performance Boats of El Cajon, CA, has delivered a brand-new DCB M31 Widebody to its customer Tony Douglas of Denver, CO. It is Douglas’s second DCB, succeeding his 2009 F32 powered by 900-hp Teague engines with IMCO drives. The M31 has been equipped with a pair of Mercury Racing 700s with SSM #6 drives.

Douglas, who owns the DTI Trucks dealership in Wheat Ridge, CO, says he’s stoked by the Widebody design, which features an innovative interior, expansive seating configuration with Alcantara fabric, all-digital displays and numerous other amenities. “The gelcoat and the overall look of the boat is incredible, and the way they did the interior is amazing as well,” he told Powerboat Nation. “They just did a stunning job on this boat.”

Douglas plans to use the M31 on lakes Havasu and Powell, and plans to run the upcoming Desert Storm Poker Run & Shootout (April 24-28), as well as the Lake Powell Challenge (Sept. 12-14).

Another impressive part of the package is the custom triple-axle trailer that Douglas had built by Adrenaline Trailers (Lake Havasu City, AZ), with sports customized 20” American Force rims, stainless-steel fenders, triangular drive guard and a truly dazzling undercarriage LED lighting package. (See photos below.)

“I’ve bought lots of new boats, and usually there’s quite a ‘sorting out’ process before everything comes together,” Douglas says. “But we ran it all day, for five or six hours, and everything worked great. We didn’t have any alarms going off or the stereo kicking out that you sometimes have to deal with. DCB just did a superlative job. It felt like I was picking up a new car instead of a new boat.”

Douglas was 100% involved in his M31’s creation, and credits DCB for keeping him in the loop and flexible during the customization process. “Nothing’s out of reach—they never say no,” he says. “If you ask for something, they want to deliver. I picked out everything, from the gel and the colors on down. Those things are extremely important to me. I bought a silver 4×4 SportChassis last year, and wanted the boat to match the truck.”

How fast does the boat go? “It did 135 mph right out of the box, but I’m sure it’ll get up to 140+ once I’m able to put a few hours on it,” Douglas says.

SPECS:

Model: 2019 DCB M31 Widebody
Dealer: Preston Woolery / Horizon Motorsports AZ
Beam: 9’7”
Power: Twin Mercury Racing 700s/SSM #6 drives
Features:
• 100% Alcantara interior with matching under-cuddy custom matching carpet kit with shaved diamonds in the fabric.
• Phase III gelcoat scheme.
• Half cap with black powdercoated stainless-steel rubrail.
• Vacuum Infused Resin (VIR) process, balsa-cored, with additional carbon-fiber.
• Two Simrad NSS9 Evo3 (9”) touch screen monitors.
• Garmin 922 (9”) GPS center plotter.
• Rear view back-up camera.
• Two Garmin GMi20s in back of headrests.
• Interior Rigid LED lighting package (mood lighting, courtesy lighting, LED cupholders).
• Stage IV stereo (full custom) – Fusion head unit, four JL Audio amplifiers, 12 JL midrange speakers, four 12” JL W6 subwoofers.
• Livorsi DTS controls
• SeaDek boarding kit (walkway between engine hatches and steps down into cockpit).
• Adrenaline custom trailer, triple-axle with customized 20” American Force rims, SS fenders and triangular drive guard, undercarriage LED lighting package.

 

As the 2019 version of the Desert Storm Poker Run and Shootout (title-sponsored by Kicker Audio) draws ever closer, Powerboat Nation takes a look back at last year’s ever-popular Street Party, that occurs each Thursday of the weeklong event in late-April.

Arguably the largest boating Street Party in the nation, McCulloch Blvd. in downtown Lake Havasu City, AZ transforms itself into a sensory-overloading experience–with spectacular powerboats, power rigs and power vendors for a day. From noon-to-nine, miles of the famed boulevard is closed so that tens of thousands of people can walk up and down the street–viewing all of the pristine hardware and bountiful eye candy.

Here are just a few of the memorable displays of 2018…










MTIs are prepped for the Fun Run at Haulover Marine Center, North Miami Beach, FL.

Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) customers will chart a course for the Florida Keys this week as part of their Owner’s Fun Run. This year’s run will include as many as 50 MTIs and coverage of around 650 miles, with company President Randy Scism leading the group in a pace boat.

A captain’s party at Haulover Marine Center in North Miami Beach, FL, will officially get the fun started on Wednesday evening. Boats will depart the marina on Thursday morning and rendezvous for lunch at Gilbert’s Resort in Key Largo. From there, it’s off to the Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club on Marathon Key, which will serve as the host marina and hotel for the duration of the event.

On Friday, the MTI fleet will enjoy a Fun Run through the middle Keys. Then, on Saturday, the boats will travel to Key West for the day, then return to Marathon for a special banquet dinner and video presentation party that will feature helicopter footage taken during the event. On Sunday, the MTIs will head back to North Miami Beach with a lunch stop on the way up. “We’re going to have a lot of boating for these guys,” says MTI sales and marketing chief Tim Gallagher.

This will be the fourth time that the Faro Blanco Resort has hosted MTI during their Fun Run.

Fun Run participants, some of whom have traveled from as far away as Utah, Texas and Lake Havasu City, AZ, include Mark Schouten, Shawn Moe, Richard Bennett (in his 57′ center console, displayed at the recent Miami International Boat Show), James Branton (in his 48’) and Chris Avery (in his brand-new 340X). Randy Scism will be piloting a 48’, and Gallagher will drive the silver 340X also displayed at the Miami show.