The need for speed remains alive and well in performance powerboating and the horsepower numbers are climbing as fast as ever. If you were along for the Miami Boat Show Poker Run then you could heard the egos of a few boisterous ones among the group touting their personal beliefs and opinions about their boats and power plants superiority. There were the OEM power fans and of course the tried and true aftermarket engine supporters. Not unlike any other area that has a competitive spirit when anyone throws down their gauntlet they have to recognize they have just pushed the competitor to bring something bigger, something better, and this pushes everything that much faster and most likely more reliable.

In this particular case while during last weeks poker run a few boat manufactures remained in the South Florida sun to run in the Miami Boat Show Poker Run. Missing was Peter Hledin of Skater Powerboats he was anxious to get back to his Douglas Michigan facility motivated by the quest to take his boats and customers to an even higher level.

Today that higher level is being brought to market by Todd Goodwin of Goodwin Competition Engines. His beautifully finished all billet aluminum 1850HP engine version that was debuted in Miami at the boat show had the entire show and industry abuzz. These new engines look to be one of the viable options away from some of the OEM power offerings that continue to rumor of some reliability issues.

As the pictures show the shear size of the engine seems mammoth but the narrow shape of the bottom of the engine actually installed easier and fit deeper in the tunnel of the boat than many of the turbo packages Skater has been installing . Peter acknowledged while it is uncertain at this point what benefits besides the shear horsepower these power plants will bring. He was quick to acknowledge that anytime lowering the center of gravity makes a huge difference in any boats overall stability and performance.

We will have the first hand performance and trial data when these boats make their way to water in the coming months.

It is up and looking good. Skater Powerboats has a new website and it looks great. Peter Hledin has built boats his entire life and remains the active component in the spectacular builds coming from Douglas Michigan.

We know Tony Cutsuries has put a ton of work into this and is ready to sell you a new or used Skater! Call him to get more info:

Tony Cutsuries
T: 252.945.8605
E:skaterpowerboats@gmail.com

Check out the new Website SKATERPOWERBOATS.COM

By this point you’ve probably seen the pictures, but pictures only tell a little bit of the story. Take a ride on the PBN Party Express and check out our video coverage of one crazy night at the 2014 Powerboat Nation Rock the Boat Show Party! Probably not Safe for viewing at work…

While Stu Jones of the Florida Powerboat Club puts on the safest best prepared poker runs anywhere. Even Stu can’t eliminate an on land calamity of a crash . While our fearless leader Brad Schoenwald attempted a feat of multi-tasking to catch just that perfect photographic picture he was clipped by none other than a low angled bench.

Startling the entire Gilbert lunch crowd, Brad pulled a acrobatic header to in the end wind up with his head gashed open and bleeding.

But as would be with all of PBN’s good luck we had beautiful bikini clad nurses that rushed to Brads attention . At first glance maybe a publicity stunt? But no just another PBN calamity . As the local law enforcement came to check things out all was well when everyone realized Brad just had two left feet.

1 of 15

We made it and are back in action. The boat came off the roof and with a dash to Brand X engines went back in thanks to the quick and hard work of the crew atBrand X. Now we are in Islamorada with the Florida Powerboat Club.

About 80 boats made the run down on Thursday and about 20 more on Friday. Nothing but a great time here on the run. The raft up party on Saturday was incredible. Kenny Armstrong sent down his Viking Convertible to anchor the group and it was a show like no other.

If by chance your in a part of the country that’s freezing or snowing I want to apologize up front as the weather and the poker run that has had everyone clambering to get to get ready for is matched with near perfect weather.

So we did some simple math and figured that in the neighborhood of 150,000 horsepower scorched the south Florida water ways today. The organization of a Florida Power Boat clubs event is second to none. The starts, card stops and al arrangements are fantastic.

Gilbert’s lunch stop is literally one of the best on water showings of powerboats that can be witnessed anywhere in the world. The event saw less casualties of broken boats than in past trips. We did see Kenny Armstrong side lined with broken 1350 Power steering pump issue but Kenny comes prepared between his bevy of ten beautiful crew women and the MTI crew dove in and the boat was fixed before we left Gilbert’s.

Keep checking back for more pictures and videos from The Florida Powerboat Club Miami Boat Show Poker Run.

If you were at the Miami boat show then your one of the thousands that viewed the stunning PBN Cigarette in the sky above the famous Clevelander bar a mere day ago. What you might not know is that one day before hoisting the boat sixty feet in the air to the roof where it was to rest during the entire Miami boat show that we were informed that the new bracing used to support it along with the weight of the boat put it over a Max weight limit .

After several months of preparation we hit the ultimate snag. But due to some great friends and the use of the Brand X service facility we worked most of the night and removed the engines. Which is no small feat in a side by side install. Yes it obvious we made it, but the part that now came as the largest challenge is that we have had 18 hours to get it off the roof and get it rerigged with the engines back installed for today Thursdays infamous FPC Miami boat show poker run.

Last but not least the show decals off and the PBN brand back on. Yes we’ve made it and we will be in full force to bring you all the grander this events has in store. Are we psychotic ? No just committed we hope you enjoy what were out to bring you. Stay tuned for our coverage of the Miami Poker Run…

On August 21st 2013 a 399 Skater V-bottom broke Boating Magazine’s New York to Bermuda challenge in just 15 Hours and 48 minutes to cover the wide open expanse of ocean.

Yesterday at the 2014 Miami boat Show Representatives from Boating Magazine Presented the boat operators Chris Fertig and Tyson Garvin awards for recognition of this accomplishment.

Specifically noted was how well, how fast, and how durable this specially prepared Skater is. The boat was originally built by Skater to show the military and law enforcement market just how capable this craft was. Rigged with diesel engines and Arneson Drives the boat has performed beyond all expectations.

Congratulations to all for a great job and to Boating Magazine for supporting this Challenge.

Skater 399 Boat Specifications

Tyson Garvin and Chris Fertig
Model – 399 V-hull
Material – Carbon/Kevlar
Engines – Twin 5.9L, 480hp Cummins
Transmissions – ZF Two speeds
Drives – Arneson #8s

Performance
Fast cruise – 78mph @ 2mpg (light load)
Top speed – 84mph (light load)

Show goers from far and wide descended on the Powerboat Nation Booth as the Boat Show rolled into the weekend. The Powerboat Nation Girls were the main attraction as many lined up and waited just to have their photo taken with these beautiful girls. Later on our own PBN Girls were joined by the Clevelander Girls and they kicked the Powerboat Nation booth into Overdrive! VIP Passes to tonight’s Party of the Year at the Clevelander were flying off into the crowd. If you haven’t picked your up, today’s the day to get one before they run out. Come by booth 4066 today or join us at the party tonight to get your photo taken with these beautiful girls if you haven’t already!

1 of 6

One of Mercury Racing’s most loved power packages, the 525EFI looks to have gone the way of the flip phone as Mercury Racing evolves forward with a new version to be recognized as the 540EFI. The new engine features their popular digital throttle and shift feature. While Mercury Racing did increase displacement from 502CID to 523CID aiding in the increased horsepower output they also claim to have increased additional torque by over 10% basically adding another 50ft lbs of torque. Best of all this engine is designed to run on the lowest of grade fuels 87 octane.

So we could just give you the reprinted jargon about how the engine uses the latest in Mercury’ racing 555 ECU technology, cylinder head advancements, CNC machine engine blocks, and so on; but there is more to the story and if you have followed the industry for very long you know that the 525EFI had one of the most restrictive intake manifolds ever and this is was what lead Mercury Racing to add dual throttle bodies to create the 565EFI

What the press pack doesn’t acknowledge is this engine features an entirely new intake system similar to the new 520EFI engine we are huge fans of. I would be willing to bet money these engines perform much better than their modest rating. These engines will bring another generation of performance enhancement opportunities to the aftermarket as well.

Either way Mercury Racing has just improved an all ready incredible power package, and if that wasn’t enough they have taken a cue from the aftermarkets demand of a shorter lower outdrive offering. Now the engine can be ordered with a new 2″ Shorty lower unit Bravo One XR stern drive featuring a dual water pick up. Not to mention after all of that Mercury Racing dropped a redesigned logo to public as well.

The 2014 Miami Boat Show is here and you can feel the optimism and renewed economic force as you walk the floor. The booth that tops the must not miss list is Marine Technologies. MTI has four boats on display this year an three of them were sold by Larry Goldman of North Miami’s Extreme Powerboats.

Larry took a few minutes away from customer’s during yesterdays show opener to talk with us about his latest work with MTI. First was the over the top Lamborghini Adventatdor themed 48 bought by Larry’s long time friend and former racing partner Gino Gargiulo,

Larry also sold the first 52 open pleasure boat to long time and multiple boat owner Mr. John Rosatti as well as yet another Slot 42 Center Console.

Larry told us things have been extremely busy and for him it looks like there is no slowdown coming and in fact look fr Xtreme Powerboats to be delivering another Slot 42 Center Console MTI is the coming months.

1 of 21

Regardless of how you view the many exotic offerings that Cigarette has brought to market over the last few years the one thing that’s for sure is that Skip Braver CEO of Cigarette boats is the industries true master of the marketing and collaborative efforts with industry leaders. This morning we were fortunate enough to cover the unveiling of what Cigarette called their highest horsepower production boat ever as well as its collaborative inspiration.

The boat was basically a beautiful evolution or I will call it a refinement of Cigarettes 50 Marauder into what Cigarette calls the Vision GT Concept. The boat is a one and a half million dollar boat powered with what is now by many people standards is the Mercury racing 1650 turbo engines with Mercury racing’s latest #8 out drives. As with most of these concept boats we can only get estimated speed numbers that are calculated to be in the 140’s. The highlight of the unveiling was the side-by-side unveiling of the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo Concept car powered by a 577-hp V-8 engine. What we find so very cool about this whole deal is that AMG and Sony (Sony Playstation) have built this car into the latest PlayStation® 3 racing game best known as Gran Turismo® 6 one of the companies best sellers ever.

1 of 6