EVOLUTION. Evolution is what your witnessing right now in the performance engine business. The driving forces behind this evolution are technology and push by consumer demands. Goodwin Competition is leading the way with their very own engine platform and right now two full sets of their latest offerings are being readied for Bill Pyburn and Chris Bradley’s new Platinum Skaters.

The engine industry has had some limitations with what is available for use to build custom high horsepower engines. It hasn’t stopped the guys like Todd Goodwin because when what you want or need is not available he just goes out and builds it for the customers who demand it.

With the progress of the Platinum Skaters in full swing we wanted to delve deeper into just what sets the Goodwin packages apart. Todd says while its the whole package that provides the end result. The facts are that the proprietary billet engine block, heads, and intake manifolds are what actually make it all possible.

Now you have an exclusive look into what a 2000 plus horsepower engine block starts out as. First is the absolutely over the top complement of incredible CNC machines and machining capabilities at the Goodwin Competition production facility. At first glance you might think they were building high end parts for Boeing and NASA. Spotless, organized, and covered with unusual looking parts and pieces.

One major piece that is not so familiar are huge aluminum chunks of raw material. 10,000 lbs of certified T6 aluminum square ingots. That is more weight than your most your trucks that haul your boats around.

Next Goodwin Competition starts with a piece of this high end aluminum that is nearly 2 foot square by 1-1/2 foot long billet ingot of material. This massive hunk of aluminum weights 675 lbs in its raw form and Goodwin has designed all of his own tooling just to be able to manage these a giant sections of material.

Once the material has been hoisted into the machine the Goodwin team starts the CNC machining process on its first operation that will last for a total 127 hours. During this time all aspects of the engine block build are cut into the engine block and its water jacket cooling system. As the block comes out of it first steps of cutting and sculpting the raw material they are left with is a state of the art 125 lb, billet, 5.0″ inch bore spaced, 11″ deck height, custom 3″ cam tunnel, engine block that looks like it belongs in a museum as a piece of art.

This is not the only time this engine block will sit in the CNC machine as Todd points out that through the heat treating process and water jacket construction the block dimensions shift. Goodwin will have this block in the machining center for a total of 12 additional hours to true everything and verify all tolerances. So think about that! A normal work week of 40 hours would make it literally 3-1/2 weeks or almost a month of just machining time to build an engine block like this.

So after all of that if your wondering why would some one go to such lengths to produce a product like this and really want a billet engine block over a cast aluminum version? Simple answer is STRENGTH! A billet engine block is 35% stronger than cast and it is about 30 lbs lighter than a cast alternative.

Lastly MORE POWER! A billet engine blocks offer the most precision with cylinder bores and surfaces. As I always say, “The devil is in the details and these engines will prove to be powerful and last longer than the other alternatives available!

Enjoy the pictures, think of all the possibilities, and come back soon for more information and details on these incredible builds!

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SkaterFest 2014 was another great success in the 2014 boating season. High profile personalities, fast boats, and a private venue that is a powerboaters dream home were all on hand for this trip. Thanks again to Chip Miller ofMiller Marina as Powerboat Nation was once again able to capture some of the life on video from his quadcopter.

Fast boats, fun people all enjoying a great time on Lake St Clair. We hope you enjoy our short video.

Marine high performance engines demand the very best of everything to make power and most importantly last for more than one season in the harsh extremes of performance powerboating. Chief Performance has been building the very best high performance engines for over 20 years and the extreme details to which Tommy and his crew drive everything down to have brought a long list of loyal customers.

To begin the build of a 1275 H.P Chief engine Tommy starts with a Dart Big M block with billet main. Then they spend 400 plus man hours doing special machining on the block alone. Oil piston squirter passages are drilled that provide oil to the bottom of the pistons. The blocks are deck, verified, and then prepared for the Bryant billet crank with a 4.375 stroke and placed in the block after it has been balanced and verified. JE Pistons are custom built with napier ring package and thermal coated, wrist pins are custom made with very thick walls and are casidium coated for extra lubrication. Oliver billet connecting rods tie all this together and the hand assembly is limited to tolerances of .001 of an inch

After the final hone on the block a special order cam from Crane Cams installed. These cams have a larger journal diameter of 54 mm, this allows for more friendly cam lobes that are easier on valve train and increases the life of the entire valve train. The block is machined to accommodate .905 diameter lifters compared to .842 standard, this allows for more bearings and larger wheel diameter for more endurance.

Dart heads are prepared with Inconel Valves, and a full Jesel Drive Valve Train. The valves are special manley titanium intake valves with hardened tips and special 7’ keeper grooves, exhaust valves are manley inconel. Copper beryllium valve seats are installed to combat ethanol fuels and is compatible with titanium, steel exhaust guides are installed to also challenge ethanol fuels.

Stayed tuned for the final build and other related stories including Brand New Digital Dash designed by Chief Performance.

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This is a huge year for Performance Boat Center and the RedHead Yacht Club, Brett Manire and his entire team has been hard at work to make sure the new facilities are ready for LOTO. Even though they have been up and running for some time now the LOTO Shootout week is the perfect opportunity to showcase these new facilities.

This big party will be at Performance Boat Center Thursday August 21st, from 6 till whenever.

This is going to be a big, big, event and PowerBoatNation will be on hand to bring the party live!

Free entertainment, food, drinks etc and PBC will be unavailing a new boat that they have been working on during the party. Also on display will be cars, bikes, and a large variety of Performance Boats.

Everyone is WELCOME!

When a passionate boat owner invites a group of other owners to his home for a boating event you can only assume his brand loyalty runs deep. Powerboat Nation was fortunate to be invited to attend this years SkaterFest hosted by multi Skater owner Ron Szolack on Lake St Clair, Michigan. 15 SKATERS and 1 Outerlimits V-Bottom all gathered for this invitational event that was more than something special. Skaters new and old, small to big, and well I can’t say slow to fast because they are all fast, so how about fast to faster. The owners ranged from some that were new and some that have been around with their SKATERS for years and years. Jim Lee brought his familiar 46 Freedom and a 28, Garth Tagge was on hand with his very recognizable all white classic deck 36, Other notables at the event were Skater founder Peter Hledin, Mike D’Anniballe of Sterling Performance, Chip Miller of Miller Marine, and Jerry Gilbreath was holding court at the dining room table and answered just about every boat set up and prop question being thrown at him.

The party at Flight Club was spectacular and the over the top hospitality presented by Ron at his home was as incredible as well. Of course another passionate powerboater who opens his home to the poker run crowd, Kenny Armstrong was in the house and riding along with Ron in the 46 Skater TopCat with 1350 Mercury Racing QC4v engines.

This was a great gathering of horsepower in the Motor City, I used to live in Clinton Township on Lake St Clair and I have great memories of fast boats running around everywhere. I cant wait to get back next year with a great friends very special new 388 Skater.

Special thanks to Chip Miller for the Gyrocopter pictures and video. Miller Marina is THE place on Lake St Clair for all of your powerboating needs!

Within hours of this incident occurring the rumors were floating everywhere. It appears there is more to the story. An Egg Harbor Township man reported missing after his pontoon boat hit rocks in Longport is now believed to have staged the incident, according to a police flier. Andrew Biddle, 45, is one half of teamLivorsi Marine and Team Pro Boat, which captured the2012 and 2013 U.S. championships in P1 SuperStock, a small offshore powerboat racing series. They also hold a world speed record certified by UIM, the international governing body for powerboating. He and the other half of that team, Tracy Blumenstein are accused of using Professional Boat Sales, Service and Storage in Egg Harbor Township to deceive people and steal money.

The two may have broken some boating records but they also broke laws together, according to 13 criminal complaints between them. Blumenstein, who owns the business, was arrested in February on theft and fraud charges.

Biddle, who is the business’ manager, faces nine charges in seven complaints, including selling a boat and trailer without repaying the owner, lying about the true cost of items sold and taking a down payment for a boat never provided. All of the complaints are signed by Egg Harbor Township police Detective Ray Theriault, who this week put out a law-enforcement-only flier that alleges Biddle staged the boating accident and is believed to be “alive and well and on the run.”

Andrew Christopher Biddle “is current U.S. and European offshore boat racing champion and has contacts throughout the country and abroad and could be anywhere,” reads the flier obtained by The Press of Atlantic City. When asked about the charges, Theriault said: “We are proceeding with the investigation as we would if he hadn’t been reported missing.”

Biddle was reported missing July 20, after a pontoon boat hit the rocks near the bay on 11th Avenue. Justin Belz, 23, swam ashore and called police, telling them Biddle had also been on the boat. Belz — whose Facebook page indicates he also works for Blumenstein’s company — did not return messages from local news agencies seeking comment. No charges have been filed against him in the case.

“We have no proof (Biddle is) dead at this point,” Theriault said. Biddle may have run before, according to a post by the Mainland PBA Facebook page made on a Web story reporting the accident. “It is believed Mr. Biddle is alive and well and just running from his current legal problems like he has done in the past,” the post reads. Theriault — the PBA president — would also not comment to news agencies on the post. Neither Biddle’s attorney nor the one for co-defendant Blumenstein would comment on the case either.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Biddle’s attorney, Mark Roddy, said when asked about the allegations. In response to the flier becoming public, Egg Harbor Township police released a statement pertaining to the possibility Biddle fled. “This scenario must be considered, and the Egg Harbor Township Police Department’s Detective Bureau is obligated to investigate and prosecute Mr. Biddle for the aforementioned criminal acts until Mr. Biddle’s whereabouts are officially determined,” Detective Capt. Christopher Ruef wrote. Meanwhile, the State Police search for Biddle in relation to the accident is ongoing, a spokesman said. Bail for Biddle has not been set, the flier states.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Egg Harbor Township police at 609-926-4051. For more information see: Missing Egg Harbor Township man believed to have staged boating accident to escape criminal charges – press of AtlanticCity.com: CRIME: Home and http://deadspin.com/police-believe-c…/+laceydonohue

One thing I love about this performance power boating industry is we live in a world of maximums. The maximum speed, The maximum horsepower. Just as we think we’ve seen it all the bar continues to be raised as the leaders push for development and engineering to support faster speeds and bigger horsepower, the end just seems to be –Well, it just seem endless.

Take for example high performance cooling systems. Standard applications use a single water pump impeller or whats commonly phrased a single stage sea pump. As the high performance levels of the engine climb toward 1000 horsepower those engines commonly move to a two- stage sea pump and as you might imagine what it takes to cool or support the cooling systems of today’s 1350HP, 1500HP, and even 1650HP Turbo applications has risen to a three stage sea pump.

Now if you are the guy who is re-writing high horsepower marine engine development and your entry level pump gas motor program makes 1850HP and since that base engine has the capability to escalate towards the stratosphere you know you will need a level of cooling supply to escalates with it.

For Goodwin Competition already knows there is only one real source for these demanding extreme applications. Their giant 5″ bore spaced 650 cubic inch supercharged beast needs a cooling system and sea pump designed for this demanding application and Goodwin knows to pick up the phone and call his friends at Hardin Marine and they handle it with precision and confidence knowing it will be the best available.

From the view of the Hardin guys they say it goes down more like this. Goodwin calls and says our goal is to provide the very best longest lasting part as we want our engines to be the last engine you buy for your boat ever. We want a sea water cooling pump and a cooling system designed around our engines and the Platinum Skaters needs. We want a FOUR STAGE pump. The guys at Hardin say that requires a whole slew of custom components and Todd (Goodwin) says “I don’t care just build me the ultimate part”

So what your seeing here is the culmination of what the industry now knows as the Giant or Sumo of Sea water pumps. To supply these pumps takes massive Sea strainers that are designed to not only deliver a reservoir of water but withstand so all new record settings speeds.

PowerBoatNation will be highlighting more and more components to show you what it takes to reign supreme in the world of high horsepower today stay tuned because we have the leading edge on this last high performance frontier.

THE EMERALD COAST POKER RUN IS ONLY THREE WEEKS AWAY! The 22nd Annual Emerald Coast Poker Run is shaping up to be a great event. Stu Jones from the Florida Powerboat Club reports early registration is up and the Emerald Grande is sold out. The better news is many rooms are still available at alternate locations and they have a new property onboard with great rooms rates and docks on property.

Many heavy hitters are already registered and the fleet of boats looks to be very impressive. This is a really great event for smaller boats due to the fact that all the running and card stops are located within the bay waters. The fleet is usually large and spread out very well as the event covers such a vast area and this naturally spreads the fleet of boats out all over the Destin Fort Walton beach area.

Stu told us he has assembled the largest and most direct coverage for the safely management plan than any other event. Working directly with five local jurisdictions and combined with Florida Fish and Wildlife and the U S Coast Guard provides seven agencies providing law enforcement coverage and first responder assets over the entire course.

Stu said “The torrential rains that have beat down on this area in the two previous years before this event are not occurring and the waters are what we normally expect from this area, beautiful emerald coast.” I did ask Stu for a personal guarantee that it would not rain this year and he told me absolutely zero chance of it. So with all my trust in Stu’s forecast you can count on Power Boat Nation to be back at Emerald Coast bringing you all the life and excitement of this spectacular run.

If you haven’t yet registered you can go on one to www.FLPOWERBOAT.com or call the club directly at 954.545.1414 as room and dock availability changes occur often. The Club office is open Monday-Thursday 10 am – 5 pm.

We look forward to seeing all the PBN Supporters at Emerald Coast!

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“Raising the Steaks” is one very serious new build from Marine Technologies.

One of the benefits of belonging to the very best powerboating forum is to be able to live a little vicariously through the real lives of the other members. Such is the case for all of us being able to capture glimpses of PBN member SummerO who has been patiently awaiting the delivery of his brand new 2015 48 MTI with Mercury Racing 1350 QC4v Turbo Motors.

Set up with four forward and four rear seats, dubbed the G6 8 interior by MTI this boat features the new deck profile also found on Gino Gargiulo’s Lamborghini inspired MTI, carbon fiber layup, and the new style M8 Drives from Mercury Racing.

“Raising the Steaks” is of course named to the nature of the owners business and very tastefully reflected with the interior details and incredible paint work done by Mark Morris of Visual Imagination.

Take a look at the video from the first splash brought to us by yet another PNB member BAM. The boat will be at the ^{Lake of the Ozarks Shootout} and for sure will be a crowd pleaser.

All of us at PowerBoatNation thank SummerO for letting us all live just a little better!

Pirates of Lanier was a blast. A little weather couldn’t keep us down and Powerboat Nation was thrilled to be able to again participate and support this incredible event. In the end over 300 registered boats, $430,000.00 raised for the supported charities and a great gathering of like minded powerboaters from around the country.

We could not be more pleased than to be included in this great event and are already looking forward to next year!

I hope you enjoy our short recap video of the weekend. Lots of fun personalities on the docks!

When you own a performance powerboat a proper hauler is a usual additional requirement. The extent owners go to make their boat haulers unique and custom varies greatly and some pull out all the stops to make them unique.

For Michael and Nikki Pierce who own a one of kind 45 Cigarette Maximus they did in fact pull out all the stops to make their Freightliner Hauler something special.

The first step of this great transformation was the interior which has an incredible JL Audio stereo, integrated I-Pad, and a CNC Illuminations LED Sign integrated into the console.

Next step was a custom wrap to match the boat. This job was handled by , Geaux Signs & Graphics of Gonzales, Louisiana. The wrap has special reflective logo’s that brightly reflect in bright yellow shades when illuminated and does an outstanding job replicating the boats paint theme.

Remote door locks, custom led lights, and other cool details were the work of KINGPIN AUTOSPORTS also of Gonzales, Louisiana.

A lot of thought and work went into this truck and it came out great. PowerBoatNation is very thankful for the recognition incorporated into the theme on the tailgate.

Great Job on a great hauler!

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While the urban landscape continues to change and Urban sprawl seems to know no limits it has again laid claim to one of Southern California’s legendary Marine Hardware Suppliers.

The long overdue expansion of the 91 freeway, to help with Southern California’s legendary traffic problem has been a project that all knew has been coming for a number of years. One of the few businesses that chose to stand strong against the advancements of the State of California was that of Dana Marine. Dana’s facility lays right on the freeway and would need to be torn down for the Highway Project to continue. We have been told that negotiations had been in process for the last couple of years, but an agreement could not be reached.

So just as any large government organization does when determined to, they today have locked down the Dana Marine facility and will move forward with the evacuation of the contents and inventory and it seems like this battle will likely find itself fought out in a California courtroom.

For well over three decades Dana Marine Products has been the brain child and wizard of possibly more marine innovations than any other single individual. In the rise and high point of the most recent boom of the marine industry its fair to say that Dana Marine produced the largest segment of marine hardware our industry has seen.

In recent months product delivery and back-orders from the company have sky rocketed due to health problems from Dana Stettler the owner. These delays and back orders left numerous OEM’s and customers scrambling for options and the future of the company uncertain.

It’s unclear how the whole project will unfold as it always seems the most unsavory of people come out from the bushes in this type of event to pick and pilferage but one thing is for sure, the loss of Dana Marine would be the loss of a marine hardware Icon.