Featured
Big Boat Projects for Big Dreams: Cheap Offshore Hulls
Big Boat Projects for Big Dreams: Cheap Offshore Hulls

When it comes to buying a boat, there is no way around how bad of a financial decision it is. The question becomes how much money am I going to lose and how much am I willing to lose?

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Airship RIBS Combine Utility and Performance as Single Outboards
Airship RIBS Combine Utility and Performance as Single Outboards

Airship RIBs of Vermillion Ohio is making some of the coolest performance single engine center consoles on the market.

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A Custom Grabber Blue Chaudron Pro S-25 Lands in Miami: The Ultimate Compact Offshore Sport Boat
A Custom Grabber Blue Chaudron Pro S-25 Lands in Miami: The Ultimate Compact Offshore Sport Boat

For the customer who custom ordered this custom painted Chaudron Pro-S25 it was a way to combine his passion for cars and boats, using the famed Grabber blue color scheme from popular Ford Mustang performance models.

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The Legacy of Roark Summerford and the Legendary SRV Hull
The Legacy of Roark Summerford and the Legendary SRV Hull

Roark Summerford, who I’ve written about before, was a fantastic designer who raced what he built and made quite a few game changing boats

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10 Questions with Larry Smith
10 Questions with Larry Smith

When it comes to early offshore powerboat racing the industry had its fair share of colorful characters but when you talk about design and innovation you have to mention Larry Smith from Team Scarab.

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Mercury Racing Launches the Innovative 200R and 150R V6 Outboards: Powerful Middleweights Loaded with Features
Mercury Racing Launches the Innovative 200R and 150R V6 Outboards: Powerful Middleweights Loaded with Features

Although it has been a long time coming, the new V6 based Mercury Racing 200R and 150R outboards offer great features and just enough choice for a large variety of performance boaters.

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Featured Videos

I travelled up North to Parry Sound Ontario to join the guys at Tuff Marine and take a close look at the 34 and 25. Here is the Tuff run.

Featured
Reduce Drag: Make Your Boat Faster and More Efficient
Reduce Drag: Make Your Boat Faster and More Efficient

In the constant quest for more performance, there are few simple principles to keep in mind. The most basic one is efficiency.

A Laser 422 LE With a 225 Four Stroke: Can the Mercury Marine 3.4L be a Performance Engine?
A Laser 422 LE With a 225 Four Stroke: Can the Mercury Marine 3.4L be a Performance Engine?

Sometimes it’s easy to forget with all the press the V8, V12 and now the V10 outboards from Mercury Marine get that it was in fact the V6 3.4L that really introduced the new architecture of Mercury’s four stroke engine roll out

Ultra Rare Sonic USA 31 SS: Twin Mercury Verado Outboards Push This Legendary Sport Boat
Ultra Rare Sonic USA 31 SS: Twin Mercury Verado Outboards Push This Legendary Sport Boat

When it comes to cool offshore brands from the good old days, Sonic USA is a boat company that comes to mind.

Mercury Racing Builds a Monster: The Incredible 500R and 50th Anniversary Launch Event
Mercury Racing Builds a Monster: The Incredible 500R and 50th Anniversary Launch Event

Mercury Racing likes to do big things and celebrate achievements and for their 50th anniversary party in Charleston South Carolina they went really big.

Featured
10 Questions with Larry Smith
Interviews
10 Questions with Larry Smith
Interviews

When it comes to early offshore powerboat racing the industry had its fair share of colorful characters but when you talk about design and innovation you have to mention Larry Smith from Team Scarab.

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Interviews
The Tuff Marine Story: Building a Legacy of Performance One Boat at a Time
Interviews
The Tuff Marine Story: Building a Legacy of Performance One Boat at a Time
Interviews

In September each year a group of Tuff Marine owners get together for a run starting in Parry Sound Ontario in Georgian Bay, which is just north of the Muskoka area

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Interviews
In the Lead: The High Powered Documentary Series from Speed On The Water
Interviews, News
In the Lead: The High Powered Documentary Series from Speed On The Water
Interviews, News

In the world of high performance boating there are a small number of people that help make that world go round

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Interviews, News
10 Questions With Darris Allison
Interviews
10 Questions With Darris Allison
Interviews

In the performance boat world there are many brands and builders that have come and gone but if you were to pick one boat company that has continuously pushed the envelope in design and performance, it is Allison Boats.

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Interviews
Material Innovation: Composites
Interviews, Technical Articles
Material Innovation: Composites
Interviews, Technical Articles

In this article, we are were fortunate enough to ask Jean Pierre Mouligne, from Gurit, a global leader in composite materials, some questions about some of their marine products. We talk about a new breakthrough technology that is very exciting for builders, some features and benefits of modern core materials as well as their application.

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Interviews, Technical Articles
10 Questions with John Tomlinson
Interviews
10 Questions with John Tomlinson
Interviews

As part of our 10 questions series, we are incredibly fortunate to be able to pick the brains of some of the leaders in the performance boat industry. This time around, we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to ask John Tomlinson some questions about how he got into boats, his passion for racing, the work he enjoys doing

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Interviews
10 Questions with Mark Weigl: Tuff Marine
Interviews
10 Questions with Mark Weigl: Tuff Marine
Interviews

In today’s world of performance boats and V-hull sport boats in particular, Tuff Marine has developed a reputation for building some of the fastest and well constructed custom boats you can find anywhere.

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Interviews

Norwester Marine Group

Custom boats from Chaudron, Rage and more

Featured
27 Activator Shines Again: Mercury Racing Power Pushes the Classic Offshore Sport Boat
Restorations
27 Activator Shines Again: Mercury Racing Power Pushes the Classic Offshore Sport Boat
Restorations

There are some boats that earn their way into “classic” territory; usually a game changing design, incredible performance or race winning hull. In the case of the Activator 27, it really defined the company in the early days, being a winning APBA Factory One race winner multiple times.

Restorations
A Complete Restoration, Custom Fabrication, and Carbon Fiber Make This 21 Scorpion One Bad SOB
Restorations
A Complete Restoration, Custom Fabrication, and Carbon Fiber Make This 21 Scorpion One Bad SOB
Restorations

I got to see Justin Kelly’s 21 Scorpion up close in Ontario Canada during the Tuff Marine run in the fall and after talking to Justin about it, there was no question, beyond the triple digit speeds, this was a passion project and incredibly done restoration

Restorations
A Classic Hewes Bonefisher Boat Gets a Full Restoration and a Pad Bottom For a Big Performance Gain
Restorations
A Classic Hewes Bonefisher Boat Gets a Full Restoration and a Pad Bottom For a Big Performance Gain
Restorations

Shortly after hurricane Irma struck, Joey Clawges was in the Keys helping his in-laws clean up the mess. They noticed a boat for sale, a Hewes Red Fisher 16 with an old early nineties Merc 150. The sign said it ran but it didn’t, so Joey got it for the price he wanted

Restorations
Featured
Project Activator is Back in Business: Mercury Pro XS Repower
Project Activator is Back in Business: Mercury Pro XS Repower

Several months ago I sold the Evinrude G2 250 in order to repower the Activator.

Project Activator Running in Miami
Project Activator Running in Miami

After some preliminary testing I ended up getting some great drone footage in Miami. We lucked out and had an absolutely perfect day to run the 22 Activator

Project Activator Episode 17: Running the Evinrude G2 250 HO, Propellers, and Finishing Touches
Project Activator Episode 17: Running the Evinrude G2 250 HO, Propellers, and Finishing Touches

In Episode 17 of Project Activator, we look at installing the interior, running the Evinrude G2 for the first time

Project Activator Episode 16: Rigging, Hardware and the Evinrude G2 250 HO
Project Activator Episode 16: Rigging, Hardware and the Evinrude G2 250 HO

After some delay, Project Activator has made some progress. Now we are getting into the fun part. The final clear coat was done last week, and now we can start rigging. Plus, we have the interior getting ready for upholstery.

Project Activator Episode 15: Paint, Jack Plate, Gauges
Project Activator Episode 15: Paint, Jack Plate, Gauges

In this episode we talk about the paint, the jack plate, and some other hardware and rigging. The color is Porsche GT Silver Metallic, which is a really dark silver with a lot of depth.

Project Activator Episode 14: Primer, Rub Rail, and Paint Change
Project Activator Episode 14: Primer, Rub Rail, and Paint Change

In episode 14 of Project Activator, we look at the boat in tinted primer, and walk around talking about some of the details.

Project Activator Episode 13: Hull, Deck, Paint
Project Activator Episode 13: Hull, Deck, Paint

In this episode, we talk about the deck being put back on the hull, and some of the details preparing for paint. The bulkheads were trimmed, and the deck was reinforced at the edges to be stronger and fit better.

Project Activator Episode 12: Final Paint Choice, Deck Repair, Jackplates
Project Activator Episode 12: Final Paint Choice, Deck Repair, Jackplates

In Episode 12, we talk about grinding out the rotten core in the deck, final paint scheme, and some jackplate options.

Project Activator Episode 11: Blueprinting and Update
Project Activator Episode 11: Blueprinting and Update

The good news is Project Activator is slowly moving forward, the bad news it has been delayed quite a bit in the last while. I apologize for that and hopefully I can get a video edited and up soon for Episode 11.

Project Activator Episode 10: Floor, Engine, Paint, and Hull Blueprinting
Project Activator Episode 10: Floor, Engine, Paint, and Hull Blueprinting

In this episode of Project Activator we look at the floor that is fiberglassed in with layers of 2408 and 1708 fiberglass. Since the boat structure is finished, and it has integrity, we can turn the boat over and begin blueprinting the hull.

Project Activator Episode 9: Fuel Tank and Floor Installation
Project Activator Episode 9: Fuel Tank and Floor Installation

In episode 9 of project activator, we look at the installation of the fuel tank, and the Coosa floor. Plus, we talk about the hardware we ordered and how we changed our mind on the gauges.

Project Activator Episode 8: Hardware, Parts and Colors
Project Activator Episode 8: Hardware, Parts and Colors

After a bit of a delay with Project Activator, we are back.

Project Activator Episode 7: Bulkheads and Reinforcement
Project Activator Episode 7: Bulkheads and Reinforcement
Project Activator Episode 6: Bulkheads and New Engine Choices
Project Activator Episode 6: Bulkheads and New Engine Choices

This week on Project Activator we talk about the bulkheads being installed, the notch in the transom and if we will fill it or not. We also talk about some of the new Mercury Marine engines.

Project Activator Episode 5: Transom and Stringers
Project Activator Episode 5: Transom and Stringers
Project Activator Episode 4: Paint
Project Activator Episode 4: Paint

In this episode of Project Activator, we look at different ideas for paint colors and design.

Project Activator Episode 3: Material
Project Activator Episode 3: Material

In this episode we go over Coosa Composites high density polyurethane closed cell foam structural panels