• Caution, Wide-Load - No Bull, No Hype

    Every so often something special comes along in the performance boating world. Everybody has their favorites; some are one of a kind in performance. Some are one of a kind in handling. Some are one of a kind in design. And some are one of a kind in paint.

    Some become the beginning of the next great thing, an overall breakthrough. We all have our favorites.

    On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are the boats that are a lot of hype and marketing. Words and dimensions are used to describe them that have nothing to do with the actual product. Somebody adds a swim platform or transom winglets, adds that extension to the overall length, rounds it up to the nearest longer foot, and calls it a larger boat than the base model. On occasion, the same thing happens with the words used to describe overall width.

    Well, none of those hype overstatements happened with the latest Skater to be released from the factory for the trip to Skaterfest this upcoming weekend.




    This particular boat, based off the world championship 388 race Skater's, is an incredible new piece.



    When trying to come up with a cheeky description for the boat, and a title for this article, many things came to mind; Fat-Boy, Wide-Load, Wide-Body, Size-Matters, etc. All of those would be accurate, and we may have made a better choice, but Wide-Load it is. (Size-Matters was highly liked!)



    Although Skater calls this a 388, some of the numbers are off the charts. The widest beam is 148", (12' 4"). Tunnel width comes in at an astounding 77", (6' 5"). The cockpit interior width, 104", (8' 8"). And the overall length, 40'. You would think a 388 would be 38' long. Skater continues to be the understatement king of the performance boating world.



    Another thing that continues to astound us, the factory paint design and paint work is once again a possible trend setter. We do not recall anything close to the artistic theme portrayed in this design.

    The silver and blue fades, pearlescent's throughout, plus fades from one blue to other blues to purples and back to blues stands out when walking past the boat. In addition, there are many 3D and little details not noticed on the first or second looks. (My wife said the prettiest one ever when she saw it. )

    How the paint artists at Skater stay under the radar is beyond us. Our guess is they must just be shy....




    Seating is for eight, all buckets, with plenty of room between the rear seats for steps to assist with ingress and egress. No walking on the upholstery required here, or any shoulder to shoulder impacts while cruising in rough conditions. The Alcantara interior, designed and created by Appearance Products, is really clean and almost seems minimalistic.



    The dash and side panels also seem to follow along a clean, simple, almost minimalistic design. Impressively understated.



    So, Wide-Load, Wide-Body, Fat-Boy, Size-Matters, or a nickname of your own. It's a damn good thing a trailer was designed to tilt this boat on its side, and drop it down into the trailer low enough to keep it at that magic 13'6" height, for towing with no permits required. Impressive once again.



    Congratulations to all involved in this creation. The owner was impressed when he saw the completed product, we understand why. With its 1100 Mercs and #6 drives, performance will also be impressive, not just a pretty piece. Plus, Mercury supplies a 2 year warranty with the new 1100's. Watch for this beauty during the coverage of Skaterfest this coming weekend. We are sure it will be a popular product.
    Comments 8 Comments
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -
    1. Serious News's Avatar
      Serious News -
    1. Serious News's Avatar
      Serious News -
    1. Serious News's Avatar
      Serious News -
    1. Ratickle's Avatar
      Ratickle -
    1. Serious News's Avatar
      Serious News -
    1. Serious News's Avatar
      Serious News -