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The Inside
by Published on 06-21-2018 10:09 AM
West Michigan Offshore's only 2018 Poker Run certainly had its challenges, all weather related. Mother Nature decided to not be very motherly for some reason this June 16th. Thunderstorms started rolling through fairly early in the morning on Saturday, postponing many of the boats arriving by water and delaying the launch of many others. But, that was not the only thing happening over the course of the Muskegon Powerboat Weekend.
The beginning of the postponed Poker Run start.
The Friday evening street party by Muskegon's Hackley Park had perfect weather, all of the storms stayed to the north. The food and drink provided by the Taste of Muskegon, live bands in the park, along with the ...by Published on 08-30-2017 11:12 PM
It seems as if the summer boating season had just begun, but West Michigan Offshore's final run of the year just took place this previous Saturday. Hard to believe the first signal of the end of the boating year has already taken place.
Start of the run in the Grand Haven channel. Special escort by the County's fire patrol boat.
They must have known there was a group of "Hot" boats heading out.
The day started out a bit cool. The forecast was for a high of 71, and the Lake Michigan water temps were in the high 60's. There were major decisions to be made. Like, shorts or jeans??? Lake Michigan was supposed to be flat to 1', making the big offshore boats think the run would be a bit on the boring ...by Published on 06-05-2017 05:27 PMCategories:
Every winter there is a dilemma for West Michigan performance boaters. How soon can everyone count on getting boats in the water? How soon can they be tested to make sure they are ready to do a run? Followed by, how soon can those boats actually do an organized run followed by some fun conversations at a get together?
Some years it still seems there is snow on the ground late in May. Some years there are late winter and spring storms. And some years everything is so perfect all are wondering why there is no run scheduled the week before Memorial day, instead of waiting for June. What is a Michigan Performance Boating ...by Published on 10-12-2016 08:31 PMCategories:
They say that good things come to those who wait, and it seems to be that great Skaters are also included as part of that saying. Today, the Skater 478 Vee made its inaugural voyage shake-down cruise and the initial test results were certainly very positive.
We are under sworn secrecy to the performance numbers, but it was just an initial shakedown so top speed was not a consideration. Handling, time to plane with drives in versus drives at neutral. No tabs to plane, quartering seas handling, cornering capabilities, ...by Published on 10-03-2016 05:51 PMCategories:
Within the confines of Douglas Marine in Saugatuck, Michigan, there exists an office where a boat building legend draws up the creations thought of on a large drafting table. Then, once that legend decides the design has reached the potential required to bear his reputation of performance and handling, he finally releases that creation to be built.
Peter and Mike coming back in after the first test.
That is the way Peter Hledin creates a Skater for the world to utilize. And his latest completed creation once again upholds that reputation with the utmost capability.
Tyson and Peter heading out to Lake Michigan
The ...by Published on 10-02-2016 02:13 PMCategories:
This past week Skater Powerboats took one of their latest creations for testing and review by the experts at Mercury Racing. As unlikely as it may seem, for the first time in his 42 years of building performance boats, Peter Hledin went on this particular trip and actually visited Mercury Racing in Wisconsin.
Mike Griffith and Peter Hledin Testing
It was hard for any of us to believe, Peter had been to Lake X, but never to the Fond du Lac facilities. So, with his latest creation ...by Published on 05-30-2016 09:14 PM
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence”. Vince Lombardi
Boyne Thunder 2014
When Skater Powerboats started the build of the 46’ Race/Pleasure “GOTCHA NOW” back in 2013 they knew they had an owner who was always in search of perfection. He wouldn’t even consider ever letting the boat be used in salt water. The boat was built with Mercury Racing 1350’s, M8 drives, and had every aspect of the build sweated to the smallest detail. When the pursuit of perfection was completed, Lombardi would certainly agree excellence had certainly been caught. But, when a person driven towards perfection gets ...Published on 04-19-2016 05:44 PMCategories:
By Paul "Ratickle" Rose and Jason Johnson of Speed on the Water
In folklore, a bullet made of silver is the only way to stop a werewolf and various other creatures of evil. The Lone Ranger also used silver bullets to uphold justice and remind himself that life, just like silver, is precious and not to be wasted or thrown away. And now Douglas Marine/Skater Powerboats has its own version of the silver bullet, which we’re pretty sure could outrun werewolves or any other monsters it may come across on the water.
Almost ready for the initial on water outing
It’s also possible—after witnessing the ...by Published on 04-18-2016 08:45 AMCategories:
As West Michigan Offshore has their one year anniversary, the importance of the giving spirit of the performance boating world once again jumps out into the spotlight. Those outside people who tend to believe that performance boaters are nothing but a bunch of belligerent egotists have never taken the time to see the many ways performance boaters try to help those less fortunate than themselves. And we are proud to say that the West Michigan Offshore members are continuing that proud tradition.
The Weather at the Boatwerks could not have been any better!
As people arrived at the Boatwerks Restaurant in Holland, Michigan to ...by Published on 02-09-2016 01:20 AMCategories:
In the performance boating world, the one thing that has remained constant every since the first Roman added extra rowers to his Galley, there is never enough horsepower. In today's world, there are several options to try for more horsepower, and several players who want to provide the ultimate horsepower option. There are also several questions begging to be answered. Like: What is more important, horsepower or torque? Many don't realize that the horsepower at the crankshaft of the engine is multiplied by the gear ratios of the drives or transmissions. So, an engine with 500 foot pounds of torque, passing the power through a 1.5 drive, has 750 foot pounds of torque at ...by Published on 10-28-2015 10:36 PM
Back in Key West a year ago the key players from Performance Boat Center at Lake of the Ozarks approached the key players from Douglas Marine in Douglas Michigan about a possible race boat project. After some discussion, the project was a go.
Since that time, we here at Serious Offshore Sports have once again had the opportunity to watch the creation of a one of a kind Skater come from a waxed mold, to a finished project. Well, that finished project hit the water today, so now we can finally chat about the build and show some of the photos as we have followed it.
It floats!!
...by Published on 09-24-2015 09:02 PMCategories:
After the boat was finished with all of the base paint prep work, it went into the paint booth for the final application of the paint to make the final design come to life. Take a peek as we have watched this transformation to the current status. What an amazing piece of eye-candy. In the water, this beauty is going to stun!!
First View.
Finished Base
The Vision!
Sleek!!!
This boat ...by Published on 06-23-2015 08:26 PMCategories:
As we spend time at Skater watching custom boat after custom boat being built, every once in awhile a completely new design floors us. This has happened recently, as you are aware, with the Pure Platinum 388, the 50' Shades of Grey, and the all new 318 wide-body outboard currently beginning its rigging process.
Now, Skater has done it again. The new 478 we have watched for the past 8 months is getting to a point where they have decided to allow the secret new build out. The lines on this boat are something that we cannot wait to see on the water. In our humble opinion, they are superb. ...by Published on 06-02-2015 11:35 PMCategories:
As we've been following the build of this Skater 318, we are certainly impressed with the thought, build, and the overall impressions this "First" projects.
Now that it has the final clear shot in the paint booth, it is time to show you what has been transpiring, and tell a little bit of the why.
After the last clear topcoat in the spray booth. Still drying!
Sanding out the boat for prime.
Prime in the booth.
Sand Again!
Painting the final design.
...by Published on 05-13-2015 09:19 PM
A couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to chat with Bob "JR" Noble, Mark Kowalski, and Dave Hutchinson while they were visiting Skater to check up on both of their team's boats. It was a slight bit colder up here than in Florida when they left. (Mark just had to drive over from Ohio).
The current boat, damaged in Key West as most will remember, was almost ready to take home for final rigging to be ready for the Cocoa Beach race. Dave was able to take it back south to TNT the next day for final assembly, rigging, and testing.
"Past"
"Bumping" with Broadco in Key West
Oops, Drive ...
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The Inside Articles -
Pix from 2018
Pete B Today, 09:40 AM