• The Inside

    Published on 03-20-2012 11:27 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Steve David


    All too often when someone dies in a boat racing accident, the various websites have several postings of condolences, with many saying “they died doing what they loved”. While there is no doubt that those of us who race do love racing, I don’t believe any of us want to die. Racing in fact, is more a celebration of life and living it fully by our self definition. To others it’s too risky, or simply a waste of time. Just look ...
    Published on 03-14-2012 11:29 PM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. On The Water News
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    by Tommy Snyder



    While attending the Miami Boat Show last month, I took a break from the crowds and spent a day hitting some spots around Miami. First on my list was the place that seems to be “ground zero” of the South Florida performance powerboating scene, Johnny Tomlinson’s TNT Custom Marine.
    Pulling onto the TNT lot, I immediately found myself in a traffic jam, with forklifts buzzing back and forth launching and racking boats. This is not your usual middle America-style boatyard. With the price of land on the water these days, there are ...
    Published on 03-06-2012 11:31 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
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    by Jeff Dieringer



    One of the most respected teams on and off the water is Team CRC, sponsored by Columbia Rim Corporation. Their current MTI 850 Supercat has been a mainstay on the offshore racing circuit and has carried the teammates Tim McDonald and Mike DeFrees to more than a few podium finishes.

    Driver Mike DeFrees owns Columbia Rim and throttleman Tim McDonald is the owner of Oregon Custom Marine.
    A special thanks to our field reporter Jeff Dieringer. He called upon his existing friendship with the CRC team to bring us this inside look into their operation. Thanks also go out to our friends at Shoot2Thrill and FreezeFrame Video for their contributions to the story. ...
    Published on 03-02-2012 11:33 PM
    Categories:
    1. Historical
    2. On The Water News
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    by Charlie McCarthy


    Win, or Die Trying

    When Don and I would talk, we often spoke about becoming the Open Class World Champion. Nothing else mattered. Win, break or die trying. If you didn’t have that attitude you had no business being on the racecourse. It was a man’s sport, where only the strong survived.

    Don told me I had everything it took to win a World Championship, except time. He explained that after a certain point, money is the same with every one. But the one’s that could afford to devote an unlimited amount of time to the sport were those that would go on to become world champions. ...
    Published on 03-01-2012 11:35 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
    3. Historical
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    by Charlie McCarthy



    Editor’s note: Banana Powerboats CEO and HORBA founder Charlie McCarthy had a long and unique friendship with Don Aronow. In this two-part series, Charlie revisits the story of that friendship.

    Meeting Don Aronow
    I fell in love for the first time in my life during my freshman year at Saint Leo University, just north of Tampa Florida. But this relationship was no ordinary one- the object of my passion was offshore powerboat racing.

    My roommate at Saint Leo’s, who came from a family of boat racers out of Chicago, introduced me to this great sport and I was invited to join the pit crew of Mike Gordon. Mike raced an 18 foot Rayson Craft endurance boat with ...
    Published on 02-28-2012 11:37 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
    3. Historical
    4. On The Water News
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    by Charlie McCarthy



    I am very excited to be working with the people here at Serious and look forward to sharing some great stories of the past with all the members.
    I know they had planned on reprinting an article I wrote about Don Aronow a few years ago and maybe that is a good place to start. Tomorrow, March 1st, would have been the 85th birthday of Don, had he lived. It has been 25 years since he was shot to death on the very street he made famous, NE 188th ST, ...
    Published on 02-27-2012 11:39 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
    3. Historical
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    by SeriousOffshore



    Reggie Fountain not only found his way onto our 11 from 2011 list, he missed a podium finish by just one spot, coming in at #4. Always the competitor, Reggie is off to a strong start in 2012 and it looks like he’s aiming to best his performance in 2012.

    Just a few days ago, the new Fountain venture, Fountain Performance Marine made a boat show splash with the introduction of their website.
    Reggie Fountain isn’t the kind of guy that makes any announcement that’s going to get lost in the ...
    Published on 02-23-2012 11:40 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
    3. Historical
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    by SeriousOffshore



    Charlie in the Top Banana 38

    We are exceptionally pleased to announce that boatbuilder, racer and HORBA founder Charlie McCarthy has joined us here in an official capacity at Serious Offshore. As the founder of the Historical Offshore Race Boat Association, Charlie has been at the forefront of keeping the history of this sport alive for many years.

    Charlie’s efforts go well beyond being a historian. One of his greatest accomplishments has been
    ...
    Published on 02-21-2012 11:42 PM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. On The Water News
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    by SeriousOffshore



    The cat is out of the bag at Checkmate. The Ohio boat manufacturer, now owned by ex-Baja CEO Doug Smith has now constructed the largest boat they’ve ever produced. This boat, dubbed the Punisher 43, is the first hull out of the original Apache-derived Chief molds. As everyone remembers, Chief was intended to be the progression of the venerable Apache 41. That hull featured some groundbreaking innovations such as a reverse step and a negative chine design that ended up on many a boat soon after the Chief’s introduction.
    ...
    Published on 02-20-2012 11:43 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    Closing out our 11 from 2011, our number one story is the unprecedented number of mishaps and the tragic loss of three competitors occurring during the Key West World’s. Nothing hits any closer to home nor any harder than the tragic passing of friends. We wish this story wasn’t being written. For now we can only hope it doesn’t have to be written again sometime in the near future.



    We’re not qualified to speculate on the root cause or causes ...
    Published on 02-18-2012 11:46 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    Our choice for the number two story of 2011 finds us in the courtroom instead of on the water.
    It seems that there’s always some piece of litigation floating around the world of powerboating. Litigation is a fact of life in our present times. No industry or group of people is immune. We’ll leave the discussion of why this trend is curving upward for another time, but for now let’s take a look at some recent events.
    Over the last few years we’ve all read about various ...
    Published on 02-17-2012 11:49 PM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    If one were to be told the story of the last year of the life of Powerboat Magazine, not knowing the story, they would surely think they were being put on. It is hard to believe that a magazine with the history of Powerboat would be purchased, pumped for upgrades and pushed to get more subscriptions, then be terminated, then be reopened with bigger and better plans with fewer issues, pushed for more subscriptions, then after investing in content for the 2012 year be closed once again.

    Judging from the disappointment among the magazine’s fans ...
    Published on 02-16-2012 11:50 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
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    by Serious Offshore



    One word. Reggie.
    No single name in this industry so rapidly conjures up such a wide variety of mental images and recollections at its mere mention. And you’ll never hear someone ask “which Reggie”.



    The saga of Reggie Fountain and his endeavors, past, present and future, is our number four story for 2011. While Reggie cuts a wide swath each and every year, 2011 will go down as one of his most dramatic yet.

    No story about Reggie Fountain is complete without at least a small glance to the past. A champion powerboat racer, Reggie founded Fountain Powerboats over three decades ago and swiftly gained a worldwide ...
    Published on 02-15-2012 11:53 PM
    Categories:
    1. Racing and Poker Runs
    2. Manufacturers and Dealers
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    by Serious Offshore



    In March of 2011 Powerboat P1 announced that the Liberty Associates production facility in North Carolina was in full production on the new 28SS Panther. For those of you that may not immediately recognize the Liberty name, this was the group in possession of the ex-Fountain production facility. The race sites announced were being led by the Madison Indiana joint venture with the Unlimited Hydroplanes. The second race for the series would be at the Detroit Gold Cup races, with the winner hoisting the Gar Wood trophy. Then in August, there would be a race in Morehead City, followed by an event in Huston, and finally ...
    Published on 02-14-2012 11:55 PM
    Categories:
    1. Manufacturers and Dealers
    2. On The Water News
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    by Serious Offshore



    One of the bigger stories of 2011 was the dramatic market shift towards center consoles. What was a few years ago looked upon as a way to pick up a few extra sales by re-decking an existing sport boat, these boats have become significant profit centers for many builders. We believe there are several factors at play in driving this trend. There’s no doubting the utility of this type of boat. They’re not only capable of respectable speeds, they’re certainly more family and group-friendly.

    A strong factor in this shift is the change in how performance boaters view these utilitarian boats. We like to think of it ...

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