New Boats / Engines

With one V42 center console delivered to a customer in Miami and three orders for the new model to fill, Marine Technology, Inc. of Wentzville, Mo., reportedly is booked through October with orders for the 42-footer. Once those boats are complete, the company will build it’s own “demo” model to take to events around the country in 2014.

“What people don’t realize is that the prototype 42 that was at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout last year was a finished hull with a plywood deck,” said Tim Gallagher, MTI’s sales and marketing director. “The first finished product, the boat now in Miami, is a world away from the prototype. It’s also a world away from all of the other center consoles out there.

Said Gallagher: "The first finished product is a world away from the prototype."

“There are so many cool things MTI did with the boat, “ One of them was the light bar we built into the top with LEDs from Rigid Industries. It’s not like the typical ‘spotlight.’ When you turn it on, you can see channel markers three miles ahead.”

Read more: Early Sales Strong for MTI V42 Center Console

Slated for introduction at the 2014 Miami International Boat in February, an all-new Outerlimits SL 40 is being designed to reach 120 mph on twin staggered Mercury Racing 700SCi engines. That’s the word from Mike Fiore, the owner and founder of the Bristol, R.I. custom V-bottom and catamaran company, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in July.

“We are taking all that we learned from the SV29—all of the research and development—and applying it to the design of the 40,” said Fiore during a telephone interview this afternoon. “The 40 will be an evolution of the SV29, but just like the 29 it will be a three-piece, carbon fiber and epoxy boat with monocoque construction and our proprietary hull-and-deck bonding system.”

Said Fiore (shown drivng the SV29): "It' going to be an all-new model. We're gluttons for punishment that way."

Fiore, who was in San Francisco today for the christening party of the Team Oracle America's Cup sailing boat—Fiore worked extensively on one of the team’s 42-foot support RIBs—said he wants the majority of SL 40s to be built with 700SCi engines.

“The boat will be targeted to be built with Mercury Racing 700 power,” he said. “We’re looking to create a turnkey, 120-mph boat with a one-year warranty.”

With its twin Ilmor Marine MV8 570 engines turning 6,000 rpm, a Formula 353 FASTech sportboat reached a top speed of 85.8 mph yesterday during testing, according to a report from the Decatur, Ind., boat builder. The 35-foot, stepped hull model is the first boat to be equipped and run with the 570-hp engines. (Read the story.)

Yesterday’s tests were conducted on Grand Lake St. Marys in Celina, Ohio. Weather conditions were 55 degrees with 85 percent humidity and 10- to 15-mph winds that produced 12- to 20-inch chop, according to the report.

“I wouldn’t say we’re at ‘final’ yet, but we’re pretty doggone happy,” said Scott Porter. Formula’s chief executive officer, in a telephone interview this morning. “We saw some great improvements from our early tests. We needed to make some adjustments.

Read more: Ilmor 570-Powered Formula 353 Tops 85 mph

During the Miami International Boat Show this year, I checked out dozens of products, from new engines to steering wheels. Truth be told, the sheer number of new products unveiled at that event can be overwhelming, so much so that even really good ones tend to get lost.

Read More: BBlades Prop Lock

The second M41 Widebody from Dave's Custom Boats is ready to be equipped with its twin Mercury Racing 1350s.

Less than a year after the first M41 Widebody from Dave's Custom Boats (DCB) was constructed and prepped for rigging, the El Cajon, Calif., company's second M41 is now ready for its finishing touches. Featuring the mirror-like Class-A surfacing technology combined with a bright red gelcoat, the 100-percent carbon-epoxy 41-foot catamaran will be receiving a pair of Mercury Racing 1350 turbocharged engines and a two-tone charcoal-and-black Alcantara interior with red stitching.

Rendering of the second DCB M41 Widebody catamaran."It's pretty awesome, isn't it?" asked DCB's Tony Chiaramonte when he answered a call after speedonthewater.com received the two images shown here from company founder Dave Hemmingson. "The boat, which is going to be our shop's demo boat for the rest of the season, is all ready to be rigged. It's getting the 1350s and a sweet Lugo tilt trailer. This thing is going to be over the top. We're expecting to have the boat on the water sometime in July." 

According to Chiaramonte, DCB will be taking the 41-footer on a handful of poker runs across the country, including the Lake Cumberland Poker Run in Kentucky in September and the Key West Poker Run in November—unless, of course, the boat is sold before then. The company is planning to give demo rides throughout the summer.

Read more: Second DCB M41 Widebody Ready for Rigging

Anticipating an early summer release, Mike Fiore of Outerlimits Offshore Performance Boats in Bristol, R.I., said the hull for the first 36-foot Super Leggera—the company’s name for its V-bottom offerings with deep cockpits with stand-up bolster seating and full cabins—is complete and the deck tooling is well underway. The first model will be outfitted with twin Mercury Racing 565 engines.

“We expect it to run 105, 106 mph with that power,” said Fiore.

Outerlimits Super Leggera 36—hull No. 1 is complete.

Both the first 36-footer and the second one on order, which will be powered by twin MerCruiser 8.2 Mag H.O. ECT engines, will go to Performance Boat Center, the company’s dealer in the Midwest. According to Fiore, Performance Boat Center will be the exclusive dealer for the 36-footer.

Read more: Outerlimits Super Leggera 36 Predicted to Top 105 mph on 565 Power

This year alone, Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) debuted two new catamarans, a 38-footer and a 52-footer. Yet those stellar models weren’t even the most anticipated ones from the Wentzville, Mo., builder. The company’s new 42-foot center console—MTI’s first V-bottom—has received plenty of attention since the innovative prototype was unveiled last summer.

It's definitely a V-bottom, but the lines on the new V42 resemble the catamarans that have made MTI legendary. All photos courtesy MTIWell the wait is over. MTI delivered its first production V42 last week in Miami, and the crew at Xtreme Powerboats—MTI’s Florida dealership—was excited to hand the custom boat over to its new owner, who plans to take it on a trip to the Florida Keys in the next couple of weeks.

“We’re extremely excited to have the boat finished and the owner is very happy with it,” said Tim Gallagher, MTI’s sales and marketing director. “Everyone in the factory is thrilled with how it turned out. They’ve been working real hard on the boat for a few years now so it’s exciting to see the finished product come together.

“We had a couple of loose ends to tie up last week, but the boat came out just like we wanted it to,” Gallagher added. “I feel like we missed an opportunity by not having the boat at the Miami International Boat Show, but the reality is that it wasn’t quite ready and we’re not going to put something out that isn’t up to MTI standards. This boat has a lot of cool features that make it different and we wanted to make sure everything was just right.”

Read more: MTI Delivers its Highly Anticipated V42 Center Console

When a company is releasing a new model, even a prototype, setbacks are a part of the process. But when said company is just starting, one can only imagine the enduring process of bringing a new boat to market. Throw on the pressure of being a Theodoli—the family owns the prominent Magnum Marine in Miami—and expectations have to be amplified.

Giovanni Theodoli runs his company's all-new 39' in some rough offshore conditions near Miami. All photos by Forest Johnson/courtesy GTMMWell the wait is over and Giovanni Theodoli, founder of Giovanni Theodoli Marine Manufacturing (GTMM), is 100 percent ready to showcase his masterpiece—a 39-foot V-bottom he calls a Bentley on the water.

“We are completely thrilled to have the boat finished and dialed in,” said Theodoli, speaking for himself and his business partner Scott Smith, formerly of Cigarette Racing and Magnum Marine. “She runs incredibly strong and incredibly smooth. People have been so impressed when they see her. It took a long time getting her there, but she’s so beautiful. I’m very happy with everything.”

Theodoli, who founded GTMM in 2010 and had a work-in-progress 39' on display at the Miami International Boat Show in 2012, admits he was a little nervous when they first test ran the boat, which is powered by a pair of staggered Mercury Racing 700SCi engines with NXT1 drives and Hering Propellers, in early February in Miami.

Read more: GTMM’s New 39' Hits the Water

The newly redesigned 270 Bowrider from Formula Boats is on display at this weekend's Spring Boating Expo in Michigan.

Formula Boats announced in a press release yesterday that its popular 270 Bowrider has been rede­signed and is making its debut at this weekend’s Spring Boating Expo in Novi, Mich. Along with the feature-packed 270, Formula will have its entire Bow­rider lineup on display, including the 240, 290, 310 and flagship 350 CBR.

Formula's exclusive designer John Adams redesigned the driver's station of the 270 Bowrider to make total command at the helm easier.John Adams, Formula’s exclusive designer, kept the 27-footer true to the company’s heritage with great detail in the cockpit and an appealing mix of colors, angles and detailed stitching across all seating areas. Adams put a lot of focus on updating the helm and dash designs, including creating a balanced mix of chrome-bezeled gauges and intuitively placed rocker switches. He also created a virtual entertainment center with a an integrated glove box in the portside dash that features a Clarion stereo, iPod/MP3 and USB ports and a 12V outlet.

Formula also put an emphasis on convertible seating as both the helm and pas­senger backrests easily flip forward and aft, making watersport lookouts and conversations in the cockpit a breeze. The aft sunpad is now expanded to a fuller width and cleverly converts to an extended layout with an angled backrest in one smooth motion—perfect to oversee on-water activities at anchor.

An unprecedented 14 stainless-steel cupholders are cleverly integrated throughout the boat for all to enjoy and the well-designed storage compartments are abundant, accessible and convenient.

The 270 Bowrider is powered by single-engine offerings ranging from 300 to 430 horsepower packages by MerCruiser or Volvo Penta. From the convertible bow seating to the extended in­tegrated swim platform, the 270 is expected to deliver another excellent Formula experience.

For the complete press release and more photos of the boat being constructed, click here.

When legendary offshore racing world champion Bobby Saccenti heard about the Venture Cup offshore endurance race, which is set to take place in June, he, of course, had to be a part of it.

Set to make its racing debut in the Venture Cup in June, the new Chief Powerboats 42 Warrior, Warpath, went for its first sea trial this week.The owner of Chief Powerboats in Daytona, Fla., was, in his own words, “weaned on true offshore racing.” So the challenging Venture Cup—featuring a four-day, 750-nautical-mile prologue designed as a shakedown event for next year’s official Venture Cup that will last 15 days, cover 2,400 miles and visit 11 cities in five countries—was definitely appealing.

Fortunately for Saccenti, a European businessman commissioned the build of the Chief 42 Warrior V-bottom with the goal of competing in the Venture Cup’s B Class as the Chief Factory Race Team. Nearly complete, Saccenti and John Pompi of Marine Performance in Port Orange, Fla., ran the boat earlier this week in Daytona and were extremely pleased with the boat’s performance right out of the box.

“I’ve never used Arneson surface drives on the stepped 42-footer—I’ve always went with stern drives,” said Saccenti, adding that the team agreed to call the boat Warpath after his classic 41-foot Apache that he said put him on the offshore racing map. “Between the drives, the engines and the propellers, the boat has exceeded my expectations. We were shooting for a 90-plus-mph top speed and we overshot that mark the first time out. I guess the boat loves Arnesons. Who knew?”

Read more: Chief Powerboats 42 Warrior Ready for Venture Cup Race

With the first set of Sterling Performance 1,700-hp turbocharged engines back at the Milford, Mich., company (Read the story), company principal Mike D’Anniballe is going over every inch of the 557-cubic-inch powerplants before he sends them to TNT Custom Marine in Miami for installation in Sterling’s 36-foot-long Skater project catamaran. At present, the turbochargers are D’Anniballe’s primary focus.

When Sterling finishes going through its 1700-hp turbo engines, they will be installed by TNT Custom Marine in this Skater cat.

“One of the complaints we got from David Wade Marine was that the turbochargers would ‘lock up’ after the boat sat for awhile,” said D’Anniballe during a telephone interview this morning. “You could just unstick them with your finger or a wrench, but we weren’t sure why that was happening. What we figured out was that the humidity in the New Orleans area was corroding the seals in the turbochargers. So we’re installing stainless-steel seals.”

D’Anniballe also said that he is experimenting with larger turbocharger housings to reduce back-pressure so they can run higher boost and higher engine speed (rpm). That change, he explained, also has the Sterling crew looking at different camshafts.

“Any time you make a change like, you have to go through the entire matrix again,” he said.

Current work on the Sterling 1700 engines focuses on their turbochargers.

Read more: D’Anniballe Tweaking Turbos on Sterling 1700s

Despite missing their move-in deadline for last month’s Miami International Boat Show (Read the story), Mike Fiore and his crew from Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats in Bristol, R.I., did manage to get the first SV 50 V-bottom to the show’s in-water display at Sea Isle Marina on Saturday, Feb. 16. The boat is powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 1350 engines.

Fiore, the owner and founder of the custom high-performance V-bottom and catamaran company, took several images of the low-profile 50-footer—the first one completed—at the docks. According to Fiore, this is the first time his photos have been published.

On its first trial, the new Outerlimits SV 50 reportedly reached 140 mph. All photos courtesy Mike Fiore/Outerlimits.

“It was awesome,” Fiore said in a telephone interview this afternoon. “The boat came right off the trailer and ran perfectly. It was hard to get a good run on the Intracoastal, but it ran 140 mph pretty easily. Without thinking about it too hard, it’s a 145-mph boat.

“The owner took it on the Miami Boat Show poker run the following weekend and it ran flawlessly,” he added.

Read more: Exclusive First-Look Photos: Outerlimits SV50

The first pair of 35-foot-long, high-performance center consoles are under construction at Spectre Offshore Performance. That’s the word from Jay Pilini, the owner of the Clearwater, Fla., boat company. With a pair of 300-hp Mercury Verado engines, the 35-footer will top out in the low 60-mph range and will be priced at approximately $225,000.

“We have always been good at keeping down our manufacturing costs and building affordable boats,” said Pilini in a telephone interview this morning. “The manufacturers who sold boats at reasonable prices, like Fountain and Donzi, are gone. All you have left are the builders with center consoles that are $300,000 and up, and we can do everything they do. We know we have to offer our boats at a good price with the same good quality we have been known for over the years. We’re lucky because we still have a great team. A lot of the guys with me now, like our painter, have been with me for years.”

To check out the latest center console competition, Pilini attended the Miami International Boat Show last month. Particularly impressive, he said, was the new 34-footer from Sunsation Performance Boats. In fact, the Sunsation offering inspired him to rethink the cabin configuration of his own 35-footer.

“The Sunsation boat seems to have raised the bar on the whole mid-cabin concept,” said Pilini. “We changed the cabin height and length in our boat a little bit. And we’ve added some great options in the pedestal seat area such as refrigerator, a grill and pullout drawers.”

While Pilini said he will offer the center console with triple outboard engines to buyers who want them, he is focusing primarily on equipping the boat, which rides on a conventional V-hull with pad, with twins.

“In Florida, triple-outboard center consoles are expensive to insure because they are a favorite target of thieves,” he said. “By sticking primarily to twins, we can keep down cost while providing a good level of performance.”

Editor’s Note: The new Spectre Offshore Performance website currently is under construction. Speedonthewater.com will provide a live link to the site when it becomes available.

From the tone in John Lovell’s voice, Nordic Boats has hit a homerun with its latest 28 SS catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing OptiMax 300XS engines. The Lake Havasu City, Ariz., company’s production manager was overjoyed with how the boat performed during a quick break-in run on Lake Havasu last weekend.

Nordic Boats has its new 28 SS catamaran with twin Mercury 300XS OptiMax engines on display at the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach (March 6-10).“The boat was absolutely phenomenal,” said Lovell, who called speedonthewater.com this afternoon after setting up Nordic’s booth for the Fred Hall Show, which opened today in Long Beach, Calif. “We ran it up to about 90 mph real quick, but we were just breaking in the engines so we didn’t push it. I’ll tell you what, the boat turns even better with outboards than stern drives. And it’s so quiet—you can have a conversation at 80 mph. The hole shot was great, too.”

Lovell, who said Nordic brought a 25 Rage, 28 Heat, 29 Deck Boat and the new 24 SX powered by a single 300XS to Fred Hall, thinks the twin-outboard 28 SS could run up to 110 mph. “It’s a fun ride, that’s for sure,” he added.

Lovell also gave a shout out to the online forum River Dave’s Place (RDP) for initiating the discussion to put a couple of outboards on the back of the 28-footer. A few RDP members suggested that Nordic could sell some boats if they tried outboards. Of course, the idea of putting outboards on a catamaran isn’t innovative, but it did help Nordic realize there was a place in the market for the model after talking to the members and other potential customers.

Click photos to enlarge

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Strong L.A. Show Propels Nordic Boats Forward  

In development for some time, the new Whipple Industries supercharger kits for out-of-warranty, 430-hp MerCruiser 8.2L Mag HO ECT engines should be ready next week. That’s the word from Dustin Whipple of the Fresno, Calif., supercharger and supercharger kit outfit.

With a 3.3-liter Whipple supercharger and other kit-supplied accessories including a new intake manifold, the 8.2L engine should produce approximately 600 hp, according to Whipple. Buyers of the kit will need to ship their stock electronic control units to Whipple for reprogramming.

The Whipple kit reportedly will boost the power of the stock 8.2 Mag HO ECT (shown here) from 430 hp to 600 hp.

“This kit has been a work in progress,” Whipple said. “But we’re almost finished with it.”

After Whipple’s work on the 8.2L upgrade package is complete, the company will focus on completing its kit for the popular MerCruiser 350 Magnum ECT small-block engine.

“We wanted to finish the 8.2 kit first because that’s more of our core customer,” Whipple said.

With a 2.3-liter blower and the other Whipple-supplied accessories, the kit will boost the 5.7-liter engine’s output from 300 hp to approximately 465 hp. As with the kit for the larger-displacement engine, buyers for the 350 Mag ECT package will have to send their ECUs to Whipple for recalibration.

Retail cost for the 8.2L kit will be $7,000 to $8,000. The kit for the 350 Magnum kit will retail for $6,000 to $7,000. (Final pricing has yet to be determined.)

It’s safe to say Mark Godsey’s first South Florida poker run was a memorable one. The Chattanooga, Tenn., resident took delivery of his all-new 38-foot catamaran from Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) after his boat, dubbed Project Mayhem, caught the attention of thousands of boaters throughout the five-day Miami International Boat Show earlier this month.

Chatanooga's Mark Godsey was ecstatic to see his new 38-foot MTI for the first time at the Miami International Boat Show.After spending a couple of hours on Miami’s Biscayne Bay with MTI owner Randy Scism providing insight, pointers and driving advice regarding the 38-footer, Godsey set out on the Florida Powerboat Club’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run the next day with Pier 57’s Scott Sjogren, his longtime dealer who sold him the MTI.

“The poker run was great, especially with Scott working the throttles for me,” said Godsey, who owned a 2006 Fountain 42 Poker Run Edition before purchasing the first 38 MTI to come out of the company’s Wentzville, Mo., headquarters. “I met some very cool people from Maryland and other places. The boat ran flawlessly and we had such a fun time.

“When people ask me how the boat rides, all I can say is that it’s so nimble and quick,” he added. “It turns so effortlessly and the acceleration with the (Mercury Racing) 1100s is insane. From 60 to 120 mph, the feeling is incredible. The boat is propped for acceleration because that’s what I wanted. Top speed with my setup is about 150 mph—that’s plenty fast for me. We planned to run the boat around 100 mph during the run, but it really wanted to be at 120 to 125 mph, so that’s where we ran it.”

Sjogren had a feeling the six-seat catamaran would be a hit at the show and on the poker run, but even he was blown away by the boat’s performance and versatility.

Read more: New 38 MTI Exceeds Expectations All Around

After his pride and joy—a 2006 Donzi 35 ZR that ran 120-plus mph—was damaged in a garage fire at his home in Coal City, Ill., on July 24, 2011, 41-year-old carpenter Louie Marchese never in a million years would have believed it if someone told him his next boat would be the center of attention at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show. The Skater Powerboats 338 “Fat Boy” model from Douglas Marine on display in the company’s booth at the show proves that dreams do come true.

Marchese’s stunning six-seater, which features a beautiful in-house paint design, is powered by twin 565-cubic-inch, Whipple-supercharged, 1,200-hp engines from Young Performance Marine that are connected to BAM Marine 1350 Cyborg transmissions and Arneson ASD7M surface drives (click here to see the pre-show OffshoreOnly.com thread). And there it was, front and center in the Skater booth with the mind-blowing Colledgewood hardtop cat, a beautiful 52-footer and the new Dirty Duck 38-footer.

Read more: Skater 338 'Fat Boy' Steals the Show

Among the many stunners at the recent Miami International Boat Show that didn’t capture a lot of media attention was a flat-black 39-foot center console from Midnight Express with three colored-matched 557-hp V-8 outboard engines from Seven Marine. The 39-footer reportedly is the first high-performance center console to be equipped with triple Seven Marine outboards.

According to Eric Glaser, the owner of the Hollywood, Fla., custom center-console company, the 39-footer could be among the fastest center consoles on the market with that power setup.

Designer John Cosker and Midnight Express company owner Eric Glaser stand in front of the triple-outboard 39-footer during recent 2013 Miami Boat Show.

“We think it will run between 85 and 90 mph,” said Glaser during the show.

Glaser estimated that with the same power the company’s 37-footer could top 100 mph.

Both the Midnight Express 39- and 37-foot models, as well as its upcoming 43-footer, were designed by John Cosker of Mystic Powerboats.

Sunsation Performance Boats showed off its new 34 CCX at the Miami International Boat Show and is currently working on the second 34-footer. All photos courtesy of Sunsation

After unveiling its brand new 34-foot center console to rave reviews at the Miami International Boat Show, Sunsation Performance Boats is racing to get the second 34-footer finished for its new dealer, Lake Ozarks Marine, which joined the Sunsation family in Miami after representatives took a ride and sat in the monstrous cabin.

“We were very pleased with the overwhelming response to the new model in Miami,” said Wayne Schaldenbrand, who owns the Algonac, Mich., company with his brother, Joe, and spent the last 15 months building the boat. “We got a few deals out of being down there and we picked up a new dealer, which will help with sales. The guys at Lake Ozarks Marine seem like stand-up, down-to-earth people. They were all over the center cabin. It’s just so nice when you walk down there.

Read more: Sunsation Building Second 34 CCX for Lake Ozarks Marine

Lost in all the excitement surrounding Mercury Racing’s new 1650 Race engine and the Miss GEICO offshore racing team’s commitment to run the first production pair of the quad overhead cam, turbocharged mills (Read the story) was the company’s announcement that the company’s 1100 and 565 engine have received certification for sale in the European Union Certification. Both engines run on 89-octane fuel.

Mercury Racing's 1100 and 565 engine (the domestic version of which is shown here) are been certified for sale to boat builders in the European Union.

According to a press release from the Fond Du Lac, Wis., high-performance marine engine builder, the engines join the 600 SCi and 662 SCi for a total of four Mercury Racing stern-drive packages that meet the stringent European Union Emissions regulations established in the EU Recreational Craft Directive.

The certification expands the availability of the 565 and 1100 stern-drive engine packages to all 27 countries that fall under the EU directive. European Union-certified 565 and 1100 engine models are identified with the CE mark, according to the release. Compliance with the directive's noise requirements, however, is the responsibility of the individual EU boat builder

Cigarette Racing’s unveiling yesterday of its AMG Electric Drive 38’ Top Gun raised a lot of questions. After all, it’s not every day you see a battery-powered go-fast boat that would cost—if it were for sale right now—more than $5 million. So to answer all of those questions, I sat down with Peter Kagi from AMG in Germany. Kagi was one of the primary engineers on the project.

So how did this project come about?

Well, as you know, there is a relationship between Cigarette and AMG, and we are a corporation that always tries to showcase new technologies. Last spring, there was an idea to create an electric powerboat and because of the link AMG has with E-Drive (the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive) cars there was a link.

AMG engineer Peter Kagi stands next to the engines in the 38-foot Cigarette.How does the E-Drive system work?

The easiest way to explain it is to start with the car. On the car, we have one electric engine connected to each wheel. The development of this drive was very difficult, because at Mercedes everything has to be very good, very safe, and every system has to have redundancy. Every system is done more than two times.

Why not one larger electric engine instead of four smaller ones?

There is no space for a drive train. All the space is occupied by batteries.

Are those the same electric engines you used in the boat?

Yes, but there are 12 engines because for the boat four is not enough. They are set up in a double-star arrangement. Each engine propeller is fed by six engines. Each engine weighs 50 kilos and there are two gear boxes (before the Mercury Racing M8 drives). So it’s a very light drive system.

But there are more than two tons of Lithium batteries, from HPP, the best batteries on the market and the same batteries that are used in the car. The are 3,400 cells with inverters, and it all is controlled by a CPU fed through a BUS system.

Is it AC or DC electric power?

(Laughs) It is actually a hybrid of both.

Read more: Inside the Cigarette AMG Electric Drive: How It Works

Two words—Black Diamond. That’s what everyone is going to be talking about over the next several days at the Miami International Boat Show. The new all-black 52-foot catamaran from Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) is a showstopper to say the least.

Powered by twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines, the extremely custom boat is the first of three on order, according to MTI owner Randy Scism. Painted by Visual Imagination, the canopy pleasure boat features six seats in a unique configuration—two seats up front, two behind and two offset to the outside of the first two seats. All of the seats have built-in air-conditioning.

Everything inside the 52-footer is diamond-themed, too. From the steps going down into the cockpit and the diamond cutouts in the engine hatch vents, the attention to detail on the boat, which was actually finished at the show, is amazing. (Check out the photos below.)

Read more: MTI Unveils New 38- and 52-Foot Catamarans in Miami

In a true technological collaboration with branding partner Mercedes-AMG, Cigarette Racing Team unveiled an electric 38’ Top Gun at the Miami International Boat Show this morning. According to a press release from the company, a number of components from the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive were integrated in the design of what is being called the "Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept."

Cigarette’s 38-footer is fitted with the 12 compact, liquid-cooled permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors, which are the signature piece of the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive. Each electric motor delivers 138 kW and 250 Newton metres.With an output of 1,656 kilowatts—2,220 hp—and a maximum torque of 3,000 Newton metres—2,213 foot-pounds—the 38-footer reportedly is the fastest and most powerful electrically driven offshore performance powerboat in the world. According to the release, the technology and performance and design of the Cigarette powerboat is closely based on the electric super sports vehicle made in Affalterbach, Germany. The one-of-a-kind creation was inspired by the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive, the world's most powerful and fastest electrically driven series production.

On hand for the unveiling this morning were top executives, engineers and designers from Mercedes-AMG, as well as Cigarette owner and chief executive officer Skip Braver, Cigarette dealers Scott Sjogen of Pier 57 Marine and Phil Lipschuz of Lip-Ship Performance and the rest of the design team from Cigarette. Also on hand were several longtime Cigarette customers, including Luca Formilli Fendi.

Read more: Cigarette Racing Releases Electric 38’ Top Gun

Moments ago, Mercury Racing general Erik Christiansen and his team pulled the sheet off the new 1650 Race engine in the company’s booth at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show. Based on the same quad overhead cam, 32-valve twin turbocharged 1350- and 1100-hp offerings, the 1,650-hp powerplant is most powerful production offering in the history of the Fond Du Lac, Wis., company.

It is not, however, simply a 1350 that runs on 112-octane race fuel. Notable changes to the QC4v platform include larger turbochargers, complete computer remapping and recalibration and upgraded oiling systems.

The 1650 Race is the most powerful prodution engine Mercury Racing has ever offered.

“In any engine project, reliability of the whole system is your greatest concern, and achieving it is a balancing act,” said Christiansen, who headed Mercury Racing’s engineering department before taking on the role of general manager last month. “So we’ve changed some of the base internal components, upgrade the crank train, added larger turbos, remapped the computer control system and so forth.”

In addition to upgrades to the engine, Mercury Racing upgraded the M8 drive, which has a hydraulic transmission, that puts the power to the water. Specifically, and means the company added rear bearing support near the output flange to support the drive flange, according to Christiansen.

Read more: Mercury Unveils 1650 Race Engine—Miss GEICO to Run First Set

Less than an hour ago, speedonthewater.com co-publisher and executive editor Jason Johnson and I hopped off the Formula Boats 353 FAS3Tech with the first production pair of Ilmor Marine MV8 570 engines. On board with us for our first impression of the 35-footer in the Government Cut section of Miami’s Biscayne Bay was Brian Smith of the Decatur, Ind., boat company and Bob Teague of Teague Custom Marine, Ilmor’s primary West Coast dealer and one of two suppliers—the other is IMCO Marine—of stern drives for the new engine.

Before we headed out, I had a chance to chat with Alan Thomason, the technical director of Ilmor Marine who has worked on the 570-hp, LS-based small-block engine project since its inception a little more than two year ago. (Read the story.) Thomason shepherded the 7.4-litre, 454-cubic-inch platform through its first phase of development as a catalyzed 522-hp MasterCraft towboat engine, so it’s safe to say he’s familiar with every aspect of it.

Read more: First On-Water Impression: Ilmor MV8 570-Powered Formula 353 FAS3Tech