• No Late Night Jokes Here, Just All-American Performance Beauty



    James Kimmel, the original Jimmy Kimmel as he says, is proud of his new 30’ Skater SS and has every right to be. The color scheme, right down to the specially wrapped steering wheel, gauges, gauge bezels, and interior stitching set this beauty off as a performance boat with all of the looks, performance, and custom tweaks that have given Skater their outstanding reputation. I think he was more impatient than he let on while at the show in Miami. Their winter play spot in Florida had to be waiting for this beauty to see what it could do in his hands.




    During the build and rigging, as they work on the boat doing all of the special things that make a Skater a pinnacle that other top of the line builders try their best to emulate, one can’t help but wonder why perfection is their only goal.



    It is always interesting to watch a project being assembled piece by piece. Never any corner cutting, not a hint of “Good Enough”, and no pretense of anything but the pursuit of perfection will keep the Skater team happy.



    As the weeks and months go by, it is never boring to watch a project come together. But, that does not make it any easier to wait to see the finished product on the water. While chatting with the owners of this beauty at Skater, when they were checking up on their project one day this winter, it was very interesting to hear how a “Skater” was the boat they had dreamed of one day owning. As Jim put it, “We’ve owned several high performance boats. Our current Velocity, a Whipple Charged 30’r, is like a high performance race car handful. You have to stay on your toes to drive it, never time to relax while pushing it at top speeds on Lake Oneida where we do most of our performance boating and fun runs. This Skater is will be more like a Corvette. A perfect combination of performance and handling to make 100 mph runs a lot less stressful.”


    Getting Oh So Close!!!



    As we watch different performance boats being built and sent out from the Skater facility, we can’t help but be amazed at the different levels of “Custom” Peter and his team is willing to put out the door. This particular boat, a gorgeous red, white, and blue piece of All American performance with black highlights, has quite a few little tweaks to make it a one of a kind special. Steering on the left side of the boat, with throttles ready for Jim’s right hand, is one of those “Custom” modifications that just make you say “huh”.
    When I was chatting with Jim to find out why, he said he was right handed and was absolutely the most comfortable, and confident, throttling with his right hand. As a right hander also, makes sense to me!




    While watching the interior being installed, as they were getting the boat’s last few items completed to leave for the Miami show, it was obvious once again why Skater has the reputation they do among performance boat enthusiasts. There they were at the last minute and time to leave, but a minor issue with the two front-seat’s main cushions popped up when they went to install them. So, back to the upholsterer they go, fix them correctly, bring them back and install them. Then it was okay to button up and leave for the show, just a bit later than had been planned.


    In the snow outside the Skater facility waiting for the final wrap and tow to Miami.




    A bit warmer here in Miami, I wonder if that makes boats happier? Everyone says a boat has a personality like a woman, so I’m thinking it must be a lot happier. I know my wife was while there in Miami versus here in the snow!
    Watch for Jim in New York this summer on Lake Oneida. At 20 miles long, it should be fun topping this cat out. (He shouldn’t be too busy hosting a late night show to use the boat.) My only question, how long before his wife takes the throttles over? They are in the center of the boat and easily in her power to command. Maybe he’ll regret having left hand steering and right hand throttles? She may want total authority over that pair of 300XS Mercury Optimax Outboards!!! (I’ve heard rumours wives can be like that!)
    Comments 3 Comments
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -
    1. Riley's Avatar
      Riley -
      Quote Originally Posted by Ratickle View Post
      That boat is incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -
      It would be cool to have in Hawaii?