• Pure Platinum, Refined Perfection of An Earth Rarity - Part One, The Oversight

    Many times we hear about “The 1%” in today’s news stories. When it comes to scarcity however, Platinum is found in only .01 parts per million of the earth’s crust, making it one of the planets most elusive elements. In the 18th Century, platinum’s rarity made King Louis the XV of France declare it “the only metal fit for a king”. So, when Bill Pyburn collaborated with Peter Hledin to produce the latest “Pure Platinum” Skater, they had a lofty target to attain to make sure the finished product would live up to the rarity of its namesake.


    Photo Courtesy Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

    As rare as the platinum element is, Pure Platinum is very difficult to obtain. Some of the processes required include the use of magnets, dissolving, smelting, and floating in fluids. It also requires many difficult processes to obtain the Skater version of Pure Platinum.

    From the layup in the mold:



    To the perfection of the sheer:


    To the rigging:


    And installation of the engines:


    Plus building and finishing a custom tilt trailer.


    Creating a deserving namesake that starts with an empty mold and turns into a purified element requires the foresight, time, perseverance, planning, and skill of experts in all areas of boat building. The crew at Skater, (Douglas Marine), in Douglas, Michigan is as good as it gets.

    Dean Loucks of The Art of Design designed the interior, dash, seats and painted Pure Platinum. Some of the detailed items you may never notice in the boat are some of what helps to put it over the top and live up to the rarity of its namesake. Items like the fuel filters and driveshaft protection covers.




    Jamie Borg, of Cutting Edge Upholstery in Punta Gorda, Florida, made the interior. Some of you may have seen Jamie on the Gas Monkey doing interiors for Richard’s cars. The stitching and materials are all at the top of the upholstery world.



    Todd Goodwin, of Goodwin Competition in Omro, Wisconsin, built the engines to power Pure Platinum. His 1947 HP, 605 Cu In beasts are an integral part of what it takes to achieve the platinum namesake.



    This boat has as much detail, possibly more, than any boat we’ve ever watched be built. Stay tuned as we do a second article on the build, especially the final push, followed by another article on the completed item. There is just too much detail to cover in one article.