Destin, Florida’s Emerald Coast Poker Run is what I consider to be one of the best events in the country. The Emerald Coast’s geography make it ideally suited to attract boaters from all over. The barrier islands provide a large open inland waterway where you can run far and run hard. Boats of all sizes, shapes, and HP gather and unite to support the lifestyle and the charitable contributions coordinated by the Emerald Cost Foundation. The final ingredient is the overwhelming community support. The local business owners, politicians, and the community in general really get behind this event.

Yes it rained; and yes the Saturday run was officially cancelled but that certainly didn’t damper the spirits of the powerboaters at the Saturday Night Party.

Friday at Destin was pretty good. We got the boat in the water and ran in the bay for awhile and then hit the sand bar across from the Emerald Grand for the raft up party. A spectacular fun time was had by all. Many Powerboat Nation members were on hand as we fired the T-shirt Canon into the beachgoers with help from our Emerald Girls onboard Briana Marie and Natalia.

On Saturday we waited, and then waited some more with overwhelming optimism that was unaffected by the intellectual reality of the weather RADAR. Finally Jason Ventura of BrandX called and said now or you’re on your own. He and Joey had already loaded Pure Platinum and the Formula Mother Ship on the trailer and I was the last to go. I had to give in and with help from Natalia we ran the boat in a torrential downpour from the dock at AJ’s back to the Ramp.

After we finally got back to the Emerald Grand Resort to dry out and take a long hot shower it was time for the big party. Since the rain dispersed the group and I had heard of teams leaving, I was expecting an empty room.

My expectation was just as wrong as my weather forecasting. The convention center was packed. In fact I don’t remember a Emerald Coast Poker Run with this many people in the room- a thousand or maybe 2, I don’t know but it was great to see and so we stuck around all the way till the end. You see staying to the end is something I have never done. Usually I leave because I am bored and it’s time to get back to AJ’s or Sammy’s for the real after party. But this year was different, there were tons of people and we needed to stay and watch the final table to find out who would win the Grand Prize. A Brand New 2014 Ford F150 from Gary Smiths Ford was to be won by someone and as fate would have it some of the well known poker runners had made it to the table.

Chris and Angela Bradley (40 Nor-Tech) got a seat for having the worst poker hand of the night. John Woodruff (48 MTI) had a seat as well but neither of them were at the convention center. So of course substitutes were found and Kenny Armstrong (48MTI) took the seat for John and Cass Shewbart (38 Cig) somehow got Chris and Angela seat. The card game went on for a while and after Kenny and Cass both lost some hands and Cher (47 Fountain) sold her hand to the Texas Coalition AKA “Pirate Nation” Bill Robbins (38 & 42 Fountain, 38 Donzi, 40 Nor-Tech) sat in and then “Mr. Charity” Kenny Armstrong bought the last seat for $17,000.00. So now for the final hand of the night, two fine poker runners and friends both from the Great State of Texas sat across from each other. They both drew their hands, exchanged two cards and Kenny with a pair of aces over Bills pair of queens won the new truck valued at $42,000.00.

With 142 registered boats. Great community support and at least $150,000.00 raised for charity even with Saturdays Rain out the event was a huge success.

Thanks again to Brand X Hi Performance Marine for getting us to the Emerald Coast and back home to Fort Lauderdale.

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Its just another boating trip for the PBN staff as were always on a mission and not always a simple one. No two power boating events are ever the same but the sideways adventures of getting to them is often likened to that of circus: funny and always exciting.

With a month of preparation and a full truck of the latest high end video and camera equipment as well as orchestrating contacts so that we can provide the best coverage one would think this should be smooth sailing but this is yet to be anything but just another other trip as theres never two events the same. So what’s it all take to make covering such an event possible? It takes red eye flights so that staff can meet. It takes loads of coffee and Red Bull and it takes some cool equipment .

Cool equipment starts with the awesome tow rig or hauler provided courtesy of Brand-x Hi Performance in pompano beach FL . Next it took hours of prep time on the trusty PBN flagship a 38′ Top Gun Cigarette . From the drive and engine service, detailing etc. What we couldn’t quite prepare for is the calamity of this trip .

It starts with what we will just call a “Miscalculation of fuel mileage” leaving a panic to find diesel fuel that left us at about a 40 mph save fuel pace in the hunt for fuel. In the end we found fuel and no one was hurt in the excursion.

Later we were a few hundred miles into the 600 plus mile journey and wouldn’t you know it we’ve got a healthy trailer tail whip? An immediate pull off has left us sidelined with a flat tire and stranded along interstate 10

You can I’m sure imagine the place. Visualize 80 mph semi trucks blasting by a few feet away as we ponder the options of what’s next?
I’m sure you know how when you take your own vehicle you often have all the tools needed to tackle such a simple job because you know your own needs best. Well while our beautiful equipped F650 Ford was like a luxury limo it wasn’t set up exactly for our boat trailer needs.

This left us resorting to Mcgyver mode. No lug wrench !! Fortunately we scavenged a spark plug socket and a 3/8 ratchet so that two grown men looking like monkeys #%^*+€ a football could get the work out of the week by removing lug nuts with a spark plug socket .

Well were back on the road and set to bring all of the action to you in the next few days so stay tuned for some of the highlights and of course some humor on Powerboat Nation.

So for many of our members horsepower and speed are what we salivate for but for those of you that may have never had the opportunity to see some of the amazing boats that formed the foundation of our industry well you may be sincerely missing out. These boats are stunning works of art but I haven’t even touched on the beauty of Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay. This is one of the most amazing pristine crystal clear bodies of water in the country so its no wonder its the home to the long running Concours d’ Elegance.

This years show honored one of the men who had contributed so very much to the preservation of the classic wooden boat era. The gentleman was Alan Furth who had collected more wooden boats than any of us could imagine using in a lifetime as he collected and restored close to 70 of these classic boats.

The turnout for this event is mind boggling and by far one of the best prepared and executed shows we have attended. For that the event should really be commended as there were over 100 volunteers that helped make the show such a success.

We wanted to show you just highlight a few of our favorites to give a a glimpse of how amazing the pioneering and design and assembly of these boats were for their time.

First and foremost a true friend of the Powerboat Nation family is a boat known as “FLASH”. This boat is owned by John Matzen out of California. The boat is a 1947 20′ Ventnor Sport runabout powered by a straight 8 Chrysler.

Next is a 1947 21′ Stan-Craft Torpedo Runabout known as “BIG SKY” Stan-Craft boats were built in the late 1940’s in Polson, Montana. This boat is hull #001, The BIG SKY is powered by a Gray Marine FireBall racing engine topped with three carburetors. This boat is a big trophy winner and often the people’s choice award winner.

Another boat that caught our eye was a 21′ Chris Craft Cobra known as “VENTUNO” this boat sports a straight 8 Cadillac power plant.

The final boat that caught our eye was the amazing Hornet II which is a 29.5 ft stepped-hull hydroplane built ca. 1930. Of the bat the first thing that catches your eye is the polished aluminum deck. A WWII vintage Rolls Royce Merlin/Meteor Engine powers this impressive machine.

A plethora of boats and antique engines were on display that really made the mind hearken back to the old days of powerboat racing. If your a boating enthusiast to the core and power boating runs through your veins then I say add this event to your “Bucket List” as you will bring home a lifetime of memories from it. Take a look below at all the photos from the event.

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For those of you that have ever tried or needed to buy a propeller but got so much conflicting advice that they felt discouraged and further away from the purchase than ever then you are in luck! BBlades Ultimate propeller test and purchase program really is like a god send to performance power boater or any power boater for that matter.

If you’ve been around boating long then you know how most off the shelf propellers are a sacrifice in features no matter which way you slice it either top end or hole shot, or planing speed to acceleration, you stand to lose somehow. Choosing a the right prop for every boat is likened to a science in some ways. Every application, altitude operated at, salt water or fresh water and other factors play into the equation. For most of us we take the dealers recommendation and presume that the way the boat performs is the way it was supposed to which is kind of a shot in the dark method.

Well when your business and life revolves around taking the standard propeller offering and making it the ultimate propeller offering then your company and passion is whats known as BBlades Propellers. Located in Princeton Wisconsin, Brett Anderson of BBlades is not a new comer to the performance propeller industry having spent a couple of decades cutting his teeth for Mercury Racing’s Propeller division before setting out to be one of the largest propeller distributors in the country.

What we wanted to know is how and why this ‘Test and Buy” program all came about. Brett says that if theres one thing this industry has taught him is that the propeller business is a really a customer service business and you need to be in with both feet if your going to play at this level. Brett says that propeller companies spent giant sums of money developing their products and they often aren’t represented to the customer the actual features and benefits of what or why one prop is better than another. What was missing next was inventory and BBlades saw this opportunity to really shine in this area. BBlades inventories over half a million dollars in propellers at most times. Most of their clients cannot believe that not only do they sell and service standard production propellers but they house over $250,000 in specialty race props for #6 and #8 applications from all the key brands like Hering and Mercury Racing.

BBlades exclaims that while they are loaded with inventory their focus has been to revolutionize the propeller buying experience by making it simple for their customers. “When people buy from us for one application they always come back to us for their future needs and that’s something we always have prided ourselves in.” says Brett. So we want to know how simple or easy is this prop buying experience? Brett exclaims:

“We only want whats best for our customer and we give them the opportunity to find that out. We offer a test program, not an exchange program like other dealers do. You DO NOT need to buy anything from us. There isn’t another propeller business in the country that will ship a new propeller anywhere in the country or Canada for a $45 test fee for a 15 day trial period without having to buy the propeller. Nobody does that. But we do. This program allows us to get the potential customer involved in the propeller buying decision process. The customer actually can feel the differences a certain propeller makes compared to what he had been using prior. Of course we only send products we feel will work. A product that will improve performance in the direction the customer has expressed. Also, when customizing or Lab Finishing is a strong option, the baseline information the customer supplies us from their testing is incredibly important in determining the custom recipe we will build for that customer. We even supply printable test sheets for collecting data on our web site. Just print the sheets and take them along while testing. Our inventory of test propellers including a full selection of Hering #6 propellers for testing. The #6 testing program is slightly different than the outboard and Bravo style test program. You can find explanations to each program and all the specifics on our website. So yeah, I’d say we have the best program in the business. Nobody is even close.”

Wow! From our end as a boater its pretty obvious you just can’t lose with this deal. Brett Says “Because of our size and inventory level we can make the contributions to our customers and they have rewarded us with continued growth which I am very grateful and thankful to our customers.”

Powerboat Nation is gearing up for the Emerald Coast Poker Run! Boat Week on the Emerald Coast is already underway. Over 100 boats are currently registered for the event. On Wednesday Powerboat Nation in conjunction with and support of Brand X Hi-Performance Marine is loading up in Fort Lauderdale and headed for the run.

The Emerald Coast Poker Run, known as Boat Week is a week long boating celebration that rounds out with The Emerald Coast Poker Run with scheduled activities Aug. 14-17.

Boat week benefits the Emerald Coast Foundation, an organization that supports children’s charities and youth organizations in Okaloosa County, the Emerald Coast Poker Run and Boat Week events, have raised more than $1 million to date for its cause. Events include Lucky Ladies Casino Night at Helen Back (Aug. 14), Miss Boat Week Bikini Contest at The Swamp (Aug. 15), a Captain’s party at AJ’s (Aug. 16), and The Emerald Coast Poker Run followed by the Poker Run Party at the Emerald Coast Convention Center.

Powerboat Nation will arrive around noon on Thursday with plenty of time to check in and get ready for the Miss Boat Week Contest and Party at the SWAMP. On Friday be on the lookout for us shooting the T-Shirt Cannon during the Florida Powerboat Clubs Fun Run and Video shoot on the beach across for AJ’s and on Saturday at the Juana’s Pagodas Beach Bar.

The Emerald Girls will be onboard the Powerboat Nation Cigarette throughout the weekend joining in on all the fun! Live the lifestyle and join us this weekend in Destin, Florida.

There has always been great stuff at the Emerald Coast Poker Run. This picture from a few years ago when I was at the run with Larry Goldman of XtremePowerboats running the Ferrari MTI.

Big thanks to Stu and Jacky of the Florida Power Boat Club for their continued support and fantastic organization of this event. The Emerald Coast is a fantastic and unique location for a powerboating event, it’s beautiful beaches, wide open inside waterway, and centralized location attract boaters from across the nation to this ideal spot in Florida’s Northern Panhandle.

Regardless of your place in this Performance Powerboat World if you are an enthusiast you know one of the biggest events of the year for “Run What Ya Brung” bragging rights, is less than two weeks away. This is a time when pulleys are being changed, boost and tuning modified, and a hungry hunt for the right prop, right set up, and right amount of luck to propel the boat down the straightaway through the gate is taking place.

Now is the time and place for many speed hungry powerboats to load all their barrels and make their on water weapons as lethal as possible. All around the country there are a number powerboating extreme enthusiasts getting ready for a special kind of Big Dog Fight on the water. Some may be considered high profile and others are maybe less high profile and public about what they are doing but quietly determined and ferociously competitive.

One guy who is ahead of the curve and charging hard is Jeff Asbell of Carl Junction, MO. A quick discussion with him a while ago is where he leaked that Brad Smith of nearby Smith Power Performance out of Joplin, MO had just finished dyno tuning a pair of 1725 horsepower 4.0 Quad Rotor Whipple Charged engines for his 40SS Skater. Jeff has had the boat for a while now and been reworking it a little. These 1725 Smith Power Motors are what will be in the boat when it runs in the Shootout in a couple of weeks.

While the details were brief and specifics about the builds kept close and tight lipped. Jeff did disclose the new engines feature Dart Big M specially prepared engine blocks as well as a treasure trove of custom internals. They are 588CID boasting 1725hp and 1395 ft pounds at 6400 rpm. But wait there’s more: Smith Power stated that these are not the Largest Power Engines that they are working on, In development are even bigger more powerful engines for a soon to be released project. Stay tuned to Powerboat Nation to find out the info when it becomes available!

This previous weekend saw the 5th Annual Great Lakes Super Boat Grand Prix take place and record crowds to quite a show. JD Byrider took the checkered flag and won the Super Boat class. Sunny skies were out and winds kicked up some good bumps in Lake Michigan exciting the fans with high flying boats.

Dr. Mike Janssen and his Snowy Mountain Brewery Outerlimits Super Vee were very excited for the race, and in an interview with SBI exalted the venue.

“I really love coming here… everyone is so nice and thoughtful; it is just a wonderful place to race. Our team had a great race today. I really like this two-race format that Super Boat is doing as it allows everyone to race the first race and then come in and make changes as necessary. It’s like a 45-minute pit stop and, then, we are back on the course for the second race. We are really happy to come away with a win [In their group] and my team did a great job to get us there,” comments Janssen. “The beach was phenomenal with people all down the entire race course.”

President of Super Boat, John Carbonell said that even though there were less boats than last year that this year’s race provided some very exciting action.“Everyone in every class put on a great show and those teams really excited the fans. Even with the fewer boats, I heard comments from fans that it made it easier for them to keep the classes straight and know who is leading.” commented Carbonell.

Owner / driver, JR Noble of Team STIHL did his best to keep in range of finishing first but eventually ended up crossing the line in 3rd behind WHM Motorsports and winner JD Byrider.

“On the last turn of the last lap, we were getting hosed down and couldn’t see a thing. At the last minute when the windshield cleared, the turn buoy was instantly there and it went down the left side of the boat …that would be the wrong side. We chose not to turn around and pick it up and just headed to the finish line. It was a real bummer,” commented Noble.

WHM Motorsports owner / driver Billy Mauff took value in the pit stop between the races.

“Today was rougher than yesterday (Saturday) and I’m glad we had a chance to come in and change props. The second race was rougher than the first and when we went to a smaller prop, it made all the difference. I’m really happy for Tony (JD Byrider) on his win today. He had said if he didn’t win, he wasn’t coming to the next race. Thankfully, he won and now we are all off to New York. These people are great here and, hopefully, we can get more boats to come next year and put on an even bigger show.”

Other class winners included GB Racing in the Super Stock class, Lucas Oil in the Extreme class and Dare Devil in Manufacturer P3.

The next Super Boat International race will be at New York, NY, the weekend of September 6th – 8th with the 23rd Annual New York Super Boat Grand Prix. This race shows off one of the most unique backdrops in offshore racing, the Manhattan skyline. Launching the race boats by the Statue of Liberty, fans can watch the race from both sides of the Hudson River.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its latest report compiled from the data in the National Crime Information Center database for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report examines vessels reported stolen in 2012. There were 5,870 watercraft reported stolen during this period, a 3 percent decrease from 6,070 reported thefts in 2011. PWC were the most common type of vessel stolen. 6 out of 10 boats stolen have not been reported recovered to date. Of the thefts from 2012, 2,279, or approximately 39% were recovered by April 30 of 2013 while 3,591 watercrafts, or approximately 61%, remain unrecovered. Many stolen boats, especially those from Florida and the gulf coast end up being smuggled out of the country as these pictured boats end up at a government dock in Mexico after they are abandoned by the smugglers who stole them.

The top five states for thefts in 2012:

• Florida: 1,408 thefts
• California: 605
• Texas: 403
• Washington: 214
• North Carolina: 184

Top five types of boat stolen:

• Jet Ski: 1,373 thefts
• Runabouts: 937
• Utility: 360
• Cruisers: 251 (Large Powerboats are in this category)
• Sailboats: 42

The top five manufacturers for watercraft thefts:

• Yamaha: 659
• Bombardier Corp.: 355
• Kawasaki: 226
• Tracker Marine: 211
• Alumacraft: 133

Watch the NICB’s video here:

In Miami cigarette style boats are seen gliding across the water at high speeds and moored to waterfront establishments being admired by the public at every turn. There is one King of Boat Art in Miami, Richy “Rich”Lucente. Rich has been applying art to boats, cars and bikes for years. Some of the best pieces he has created have been done when he hasn’t been working at a JOB but while he is on “Free Time”. While employed as the house painter at Cigarette Racing for 3 ½ years and at Fountain for 3 years he had to stay on script, but when he was free to be fully creative and apply art is when things really came alive.

Leave it to Richy to add a new dynamic to the world of cigarette boats! Rich helps boat owners differentiate themselves by painting customized designs that are sure to catch everyone’s attention. The arduous process of painting these boats can sometimes take weeks to months, but the results are nothing short of astounding. This is because Richy is meticulous in his work and second to none in quality.

For over 20 years Richy has been doing customized art for his clients. From boats to oil paintings, his artwork is both visually stunning and thought provoking. Ranked in the top ten up and coming artists by Powerboat magazine in 2005, Rich has broken all artistic boundaries by transcending traditional artistic genres, all while amassing a portfolio of artwork that spans across a variety of mediums.

Rich is different than regular boat painters in his approach, customer service, and artistic quality. Using a consultative style, Rich assesses the needs and desires of his clients, gathers all of the information and styling cues needed to design the piece. Then he works with the customer through the entire artistic process, providing updates and receiving feedback. Finally, Rich applies his artistic talent to create innovative and customized pieces of art that delights his clients. The style Quality and customer enthusiasm can be found nowhere else. Currently Richy is doing the art on a 47 Apache in Pompano Beach, Florida. Anyone can paint your boat. Only one guy can make your boat art.

See the work here:

47 Apache currently in canvas and being readied for this scheme:

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Velocity Powerboats, founded by industry-veteran and former offshore world champion Steve Stepp has been sold to a private Florida-based company, and the sale was finalized on Wednesday the 31st. Under the new owners, Stepp will stay at Velocity as a Design Consultant, using his veteran skills to continue to push Velocity concepts to new levels. The new owners, Brad Resch and Scott Tubbs are putting forward an expanded vision for Velocity, intending to broaden the companies horizon.
“Our direction and game plan right now is to diversify with a new model line for 2014 with some traditional models Velocity is known for plus some new models to expand into other segments of the industry,” said Resch. “Velocity has a great history and we don’t want to change that. The reality is that if we offer a broader line of boats, it will be better for our customers and better for us to grow as a company.”

Velocity’s 2014 product line will remain under the 40 foot mark, however expanding to the increasingly popular center console market will become one of the companies main directions. Plans are to utilize and modify current designs to bring this new line into fruition.

“The center console market is going to be a big part of our plan for 2014,” said Resch. “We want to combine some of these proven race hulls with the modern demands of center consoles, formulate the two and come up with new offerings. That’s really going to be the resurgence and growth of the company going forward.”

As part of the deal velocity will be relocating to a much larger 20,000 square foot facility in Sanford, FL, which will allow much more space for manufacturing, inventory and room to grow. Nearby Lake Monroe is just minutes away for ample testing grounds. The move is expected to begin at the end of August.

New owners Resch and Tubbs are passionate Boaters as well as capable businessmen. Resch has owned a number of boats including a Formula, Cobalt and a Baja. Resch has 25 years experience in his family’s Roofing supply business of which he is currently President. Tubbs has run a Cigarette 38′ Top Gun and has extensive Sales experience working for a number of fortune 500 companies.

“As both of us are avid boaters and also clearly understand what the market is demanding, we can take our concepts to Steve as he is the mastermind that can make it happen. He is the engineer that will take the design on paper and make it into a product,” said Resch.

Velocity Powerboats was founded by Stepp in the 1970’s. Stepp developed a number of innovations such as the Stepp Transom and Pad Bottom. According to the Velocity, the bottom was responsible for 10 to 15 mph gains over its competitors and in the early 1980s, Stepp partnered with Gene Whipp and officially broke the 100 mph mark in the APBA-sanctioned Kilo Races. After these impressive accomplishments the company made recent headlines with several race-bred entries including the new 390 SS that’s capable of speeds in excess of 100 mph.

It’s finished! Tony Chiaramonte of Dave’s Custom Boats is on the road delivering the second M41 to its owner in British Columbia. Rigged with Mercury Racing 1350’s and M8 drives this boat is another masterpiece coming from the prestigious Southern California custom builder. Quite a difference from the first and equally stunning Silver M41, the stunning red paint with black stripes makes it akin to a sports car. She sits on another fine tilt trailer from Lugo Manufacturing. using the new Mercury 1650’s on this boat was discussed, but in the end DCB opted to go with twin 1350’s since the boat will be on tour over the summer, plus the added benifits that the 1350’s can be run on 91-octane and have a one year warranty while the 1650’s require 112-octane and have no warranty.

The boat has a new and upgraded interior with some innovate options that are now available and a unique one off custom carbon tie bar.

The boat ran in the Hotdog run over the weekend in BC and will be on it’s way back down to California for the Big Cat Poker Run in the Delta August 16th-17th. There will be no rest for the weary its off to Missouri where Team DCB has three covered docks reserved at Lake of the Ozarks and has at least three boats ready to run in this years shootout August 24th to 25th. Finally the boat will be off to Kentucky for the Lake Cumberland run September 6th to 8th.

This new M41 is expected to run very well. Process improvement with minor tweaks, upgrades, attention to detail, and uncompromising quality keeps DCB at the top of custom boat builders. With the Single 1350 M29 coming and more M35’s and M31’s ordered it remains a busy time at Dave’s Custom Boats.