• Skater's All New 478 Raised Deck Vee

    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.

    We will put up a few of the photos of the build, and add more as the boat continues on its road to completion. If allowed, we will put up some of the main steps in the build from start to finish after the new owners take delivery of this latest Skater masterpiece.



    Profile - April 2, 2015

    As the model number of 478 implies, this boat is over 47' long, with a 9' beam. The raised deck makes the boat extremely deep, but as you can see, the sleekness of the design says "speed" even when it is just sitting while being built.



    Fitting the Trailer - April 30, 2015


    Watching the mockups are always fun


    Cabin door fabrication



    Sleek from either side after prime, sand, prime - May 21, 2015




    Cabin coming together- June 11,2015

    Stay tuned as this raised deck 478 continues on its way to completion.

    One of the things many have attempted in boat building is the raised deck offshore performance cruiser. Flat decks don't have the cabin room the ladies like. Raised decks often lose their sleek performance lines. Designing and building one, without the look of a pregnant frog, has always been elusive. The Black Thunder 43, the Sunsation 43, the Outerlimits 41, and a few others have succeeded. This Skater 478 may be the sleekest to date.

    Now for the last important question, will the performance match the lines? The history of Skater says absolutely. This particular boat will be receiving Mercury Racing 1100's with #6 drives, so the all around combination of performance and reliability should be exactly what the doctor ordered. We can't wait to find out.
    Comments 8 Comments
    1. rschap1's Avatar
      rschap1 -
      Wow A Skater Condo now too...
    1. Hellbent's Avatar
      Hellbent -
      Great looking boat. Can't wait to see this one completed...
    1. jdoss's Avatar
      jdoss -
      Great looking boat, nice clean lines. any idea what the wetted surface length is? 40-41'?
    1. Serious News's Avatar
      Serious News -
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -
      Quote Originally Posted by jdoss View Post
      Great looking boat, nice clean lines. any idea what the wetted surface length is? 40-41'?
      Not sure, the transom to bow tip length is almost 44'.
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -
    1. endeavor1's Avatar
      endeavor1 -
      Good idea making nice comments about the BT 43 Rat.... Hahaha
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -