High performance boats really stand out among numerous other boat types. They can reach the speed in excess of 50 knots, providing a steady supply of adrenalin to need-for-speed junkies.
Drawing an analogy with land vehicles, of course also top-of-the-line high-speed models, one could compare these boats with sport cars. You'd make no mistake calling them sport boats. This type of cars and boats is popular among a particular sort of people - usually young guys under 40 willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of speed.
Naturally, everything in these boats is designed specifically to maximise speed, so don't expect to find a comfortable cabin with a king-size bed, a spacious salon with a galley or a VIP guest cabin. Anything which could get in the way of the main aim was brought down to the very minimum. However, most such boats still have the necessary essentials: a salon, a double cabin, a small galley zone with bare-bones equipment, a bar and a fridge. After all, the owners use the boat just for weekends amusing their guests with the bullet-speed runs along the coast.
By the way, these boats were designed on the basis of off-shore class racing speedboats. Not infrequently, sport vessels turn out to be a modification of such racing boats, with certain extras thrown in to make onboard time more nice and relaxing. The appearance is easily recognizable: a pronounced arrow-shaped streamlined silhouette. High performance boats are usually quite large and powerful. There are a lot of catamarans in this class, much more stable in the water.
Price range for these vessels is quite interesting. For the money speed junkies are willing to fork out for a decent power boat, one would buy a 60-foot sailing or motor yacht from a well-known shipyard. But getting back to our sport cars analogy, it's hardly a surprise that the demand for this product remains quite high.
Now about the makers. Historically, most of the companies which build high performance boats were based in the USA. The best-known names are quite familiar in Russia too: Cigarette, Baja, Formula, Hustler. Cigarette Boats' brand legend is based on true stories about American smugglers of the 1930’s, the dry law era. Cigarettes were so fast that the police launches simply couldn't catch them. Since then Cigarette remains a leading high performance boat brand.
Next we should note the British Sunseeker Yachts. The company's long line of models includes XS Sport and XS2000 which can make up to 65 knots with its twin 350 hp Yanmar engines. But the company's flagship model is a 37-metre three-deck motor yacht.
Names less known in Russia (or not known at all) include such powerboat makers as Checkmate Boats, Fountain, Donzi, Phantom Boats, Outer Limits, Skater, Sonic. A specific feature of this class of vessels is a large community having its own magazines (e.g. the Powerboat and the Hot Boat), carrying out the "poker run" races etc. Many boat-making companies also offer their own lines of brand-name clothes.
Checkmate Boats
A bright example of an American company is Checkmate Marine Inc. with three lines of boat models: Pulsare, Convincor and ZT. The first line is a "little sister" of the boat type we're talking about here: small 16- to 24-foot boats with outboard motors, but of course with decent speed. Convincors are 27- to 30-foot launches with Mercruiser engines and bravo XR drive (up to 525 hp). Index "ZT" provides sufficient information about the product: maximum length is 33.5 feet, a cabin in the bow section, a galley. Twin Mercruiser engines with bravo XR drive combined power up to 525 hp.
Fountain Boats
Sport Boats line by the company Fountain Powerboats from Washington has 8 models ranging between 33 and 47 feet. 47 Lightning is big enough to have a double cabin at the bow, a large salon with a galley and a bathroom with a shower stall. Recommended Staggered Mercury 700 SCI NXT #6 engines accelerate the boat up to 90 km/h. The full tank of fuel (1,287 l) is enough for a 320-mile journey. The hull comes with 6 years warrantee. In addition to sport boats the company makes fishing boats and express cruisers. The powerboat is designed to carry six people including the owner.
Donzi Marine
These vessels have been noted even in Hollywood: Donzi boats featured in nautical scenes in such movies as The Amazing Race – All Stars, CSI: Miami, Burn Notice. The company was established in 1964. Its boats participated in many championships and frequently won them, e.g. in 2006 Donzi 38 ZR won P1 Powerboat UIM Evolution Class World Championship. However, these speedboats are good not just for races but for private recreational use as well: there are two sleeping berths, 1.78 m high ceiling in the salon, a galley and six places for passengers. On May 3 in Los Angeles, at the Powerboat magazine's Product Excellence Award ceremony Donzi 38 ZR got a prize in the nomination the Boat of the Year.
Phantom Boats
34' Classic model has the improved hull design which allowed to achieve excellent speed. The speedboat equipped with twin 700 hp EFI BRAVO engines, costs in excess of $200,000. These boats are made in Florida. There are four more models in the company's line including fishing boats (good enough for ocean fishing) and two 30-foot Sportster and Speedster models. The latter is a hardtop cabin sport boat. In due time 30 Speedster set 4 world speed records and won numerous races and championships. The boat comes with powerful 525 hp Mercruiser engine.
Formula Boats
The first good thing about these boats is a huge variety of colours to choose for each and every model: the shipyard offers more than 40 different airbrushing options. But the price largely depends on your choice of the engine. Let's take Formula 382 FAS³TECH® as an example: with MerCruiser® Twin 496 MAG High Output Bravo One X it costs $361,410 while with Mercury® Racing Twin HP700 SCi NXT1 the price jumps up to $537,750. The improved hull shape allowed to increase the speed by 5 - 7 km/h compared with the previous model, though the weight and the power of the engine remained exactly the same. The hull comes with 10 years warranty. The basic version includes Kenwood stereo system with AM/FM and 10-disk CD changer, iPod station and 200 W subwoofer in the cockpit.
Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats
The American company Nor-Tech is known not just for its impressive line of sport boats but for the fact it provides five-seater Nor-Tech 3600 Supercat catamaran for WPPA Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. This vessel has twin Mercury 600 NXT-drive engines and advanced hidden exhaust system – a brand-name Nor-Tech knowhow. "We offer the widest range of custom hi-performance boats in the industry, and our partnership with Class 1 will give us a chance to demonstrate our products to the whole world," says Trond Schou, the president and the owner of Nor-Tech.
Konstantin Startsev
Photoreport
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