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MTI At 25—Looking Back At Speed Racer
Of all the high-performance “theme boats” that were built in the 2000s, precious few stood the test of time, much less commanded top dollar at resale. That’s because no matter how well-executed—and no builder has been better at creating them than MTI in Wentzville, Mo.,—theme boats are hyper-personal expressions of a given owner’s tastes, sensibilities and imagination. As such, their appeal is inherently limited.
After purchasing Speed Racer in 2009, Bob Christie ran it in an array of poker runs and other go-fast boating events for several seasons. Photos by Tim Sharkey copyright Sharkey Images .
The greatest exception to this, though arguably so of course, is the 44-foot Speed Racer catamaran from Marine Technology Inc. Built for Missouri’s Randy Kent in 2005 (model-year 2006) and painted by Mark Morris at Visual Imagination , the MTI was themed to conjure the popular cartoon series, which was produced in Japan and originally aired in the late 1960s. For boys of the gearhead kind who grew up in that era, Speed Racer was “must-watch” television—to miss an episode was to be out of the adolescent-male loop.
Among those boys was Bob Christie of New Jersey, now a semi-retired businessman who worked on Wall Street and later in book publishing, as well as several other ventures during his long career. In 2009, Christie purchased the 44-footer without engines, though it did have surface drives, from Kent. Christie then tapped Ron Potter of Potter Performance Engines to build him a set of supercharged 1,100-plus-hp engines for the boat and also replaced the cat’s surface drives with Mercury Racing No. 6 units.
For go-fast boating fans of a certain vintage, the Speed Racer theme never got old.
Eventually, Christie stepped up the power to 1,300-plus-hp Potter engines. He also had the cat’s interior expanded from its original four-seat configuration to accommodate six people.
“Randy Scism of MTI flew in and tested the boat to 190 mph,” said Christie, who has owned multiple boats including an MTI 340X catamaran since selling the 44-footer. “He said if she had bigger props she would have topped 200 mph.
“ Speed Racer was my favorite boat,” he continued. “It handled rough water perfectly and cruised at 165 mph all day. My wife, Madelyn, and I have some great memories of that boat.”
Christie eventually upgraded the cat’s supercharged Potter engines from 1,100- to 1,300-plus-hp versions, and the boat became a rocket.
So, too, does this reporter, who Christie let drive in the Atlantic City and Miami Boat Show poker runs, though I’m not sure those count among his finer memories of Speed Racer . (What’s hosing down a boatload of pals behind you on New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay or cutting it a bit too close to a bridge in the Florida Keys among friends?) The catamaran was just one of those boats that made people smile—even those who had never seen the cartoon series that inspired it—when they saw it at the docks.
Though dash layouts have changed dramatically since Speed Racer was built, the boat’s command-center setup was state-of-the-art at the time.
“I’m not sure where she is now,” said Christie, who owned the boat for four years. “But I miss her like crazy.”
Editor’s note : “MTI At 25” is a new weekly series on speedonthewater.com celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary. A new installment will go live every Wednesday on speedonthewater.com through the end of the year.
Related stories MTI Celebrating Silver Anniversary All Year Michel Sells Cloud IX MTI Catamaran Image Of The Week: Happy Halloween From Mini Taylor Scism Scisms Set New Dam Challenge Record Scisms And Millers Plan Dam Challenge Record Attempt As Shootout Fundraiser New Video: In The Lead With Randy Scism Of Marine Technology Inc. Inside SOTW Mag: Women Of Substance—Cherell And Taylor Scism
Featured Boat: 2021 MTI 390X Catamaran
Featured boat: 2015 mti 48 catamaran.
Friday 11 April 2014
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It's Time You Get Your MTI — CALL 636.639.1166. Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) is the industry leader in manufacturing of High Performance Racing and Pleasure Catamaran style boats, Center Console Vee-Bottoms and Twin Outboard Catamarans. MTI Boats include a line-up of custom MTI-V, Offshore Pleasure Boats, Race Boats, Offshore Boats.
Find MTI boats for sale in your area & across the world on YachtWorld. Offering the best selection of MTI boats to choose from. ... This boat builder presents a variety of hull types: deep vee, catamaran and modified vee. These hull variations are commonly employed for cherished and time-honored boating pursuits like a variety of commercial and ...
Captured in a rare quiet moment during the 2024 Miami International Boat Show, Taylor Scism is delighted with the reception of the MTI 482 catamaran. The annual MTI Owners Winter Fun Run to Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys happens next week, and the first 482 will be in the 53-boat fleet from North Miami to the Duck Key venue. But as orders ...
MTI Announces New 440X Catamaran. Come early 2023, Marine Technology Inc. is going to have its third new-model outboard-powered catamaran on the water. According to Randy Scism, owner and founder of the Wentzville, Mo., company, MTI is currently producing its first 44-foot cat, which features all new tooling and molds for the hull and deck. MTI ...
MTI boats for sale on Boat Trader are available for a variety of prices, valued from $189,999 on the most reasonably-priced watercraft all the way up to $2,299,980 for the bigger-ticket boats. Higher performance models now listed come rigged with motors up to 3,100 horsepower, while the smallest more functional models may have as low as 450 ...
The first production MTI 440X catamaran was recently delivered to Howe 2 Live's Mike and Sarah Howe. Photo courtesy ZipZapPower.. In case you missed it, MTI debuted its prototype demo boat ahead of schedule during the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run in November, and has production hull No. 2, which just so happens to be powered by the newly announced Mercury Racing 400R V-10 400-hp ...
With 800 HP worth of outboard power on its transom, the approximately 6,000 lbs. catamaran hopped on plane and kept right on pulling to a top speed of 116 MPH. Cruising at 100-plus MPH presented zero trouble for the 340X, and it ate up steep boat wakes and chop. In sweeping turns from 40 to 60 MPH, the cat carved with a comfortable inward lean ...
The MTI catamaran ran 149 mph at 5,800 rpm but the engines still had more left in them. (Photo by Tom Newby) Somewhere around 140 mph on Sarasota Bay, a passenger in MTI's 42SC looked out the window and saw a streak of boats and personal watercraft watching as the boat scorched across the water. ... MTI president Randy Scism said the boat can ...
165 Enterprise Drive. Wentzville, MO 63385. Business Hours: Monday - Friday 9 AM - 5 PM. The MTI 340X is a 34' Outboard Catamaran, kindly known as the 340X that was modeled after our popular 48-foot Cat. The 340X was developed to be a fun and competitive model that allows for easier transport, ease of use and is available at a lower price ...
Find more information and images about the boat and contact the seller or search more boats for sale on YachtWorld. ... Power Catamaran ⁄ / MTI ... Engine Hours-Class. Power Catamaran. Length. 44ft. Year. 2024. Model. 440X. Capacity-Description. 2024 MTI 440X. Custom Order your new MTI with TNT Marine Sales. The MTI Outboard X-Series shares ...
The catamaran was every bit as exhilarating offshore, where it made short, soft work of 2- to 4-footers from all directions. MTI used advanced techniques and materials, including vacuum-bagging and epoxy resin, to build the 39' Race/Pleasure, and the result—finished with sanitary paint-applied graphics—was sweet eye-candy.
MTI 390x. A powerboat built by MTI, the 390x is a high performance vessel. MTI 390x boats are typically used for day-cruising, watersports and overnight-cruising. Got a specific MTI 390x in mind? There are currently 4 listings available on Boat Trader by both private sellers and professional boat dealers.
Scism said the 390X runs 120-plus mph with the 450-hp supercharged 4.6-liter V8 outboard engines, and will run remarkably well with Mercury Racing's Verado 400R engines if a customer doesn't want to step up to the 450R package. Check out the slideshow above for more of the new 39-foot MTI that was unveiled tonight at Haulover Marine Center.
1,395 likes, 13 comments - mtiboats on May 8, 2023: "The MTI 440X pushes the boundaries of the outboard catamaran market through superior rough water handling and top speed efficiency. #mti..." The MTI 440X pushes the boundaries of the outboard catamaran market through superior rough water handling and top speed efficiency.
Our MTI Pleasure Series Catamarans, of various sizes, have been designed to provide the customer with the safest experience and the best high performance boat available. With boats available from 38' to 52', rest assured, MTI can customize an offshore boat to meet your needs.
The VIVA yacht is a stunning 94-meter-long luxury yacht with an incredible 13.6m beam and a volume of 2999 gross tonnage, making it one of the largest yachts in its class. Her water tanks can store around 71,000 liters of fresh water that the guests can use. The yacht is powered by twin MTU engines with a maximum speed of 20 knots, a cruising ...
Built by the famous Dynamique Yachts shipyard and having undergone a refit in 2018, sailing Yacht Amadeus was designed to please the most demanding of yachtsmen. Built for smooth sailing, this elegant cutter rigged sloop has a sleek hull design, comfortably reaching top speeds of 12 knots and ensuring excellent sailing performance. ..... The 33.5m/109'11" 'Amadeus' sail yacht built by the ...
Editor's note: "MTI At 25" is a new weekly series on speedonthewater.com celebrating the company's 25th anniversary. A new installment will go live every Wednesday on speedonthewater.com through the end of the year. Few if any high-performance theme-boats have stood the test of time better than Speed Racer, a 44-foot MTI catamaran built ...
test. The Sunreef 88 DD hasn't forgotten any of the rules of super-yachting. Attention to detail and refinement is everywhere on board, making life enjoyable. The cockpit interior offers a good view forward across the water. From here, you can handle the boat while staying warm during night watches.... At the water, the Portless Catamaran inflates into an impressive 14.8-foot (4.5-m) cat with ...
It has been over a year since first being introduced to Limerick based 4-piece Moscow Metro* through their wonderful debut double-A side containing the tracks "Spirit of a City" and "Cosmos" for free, which sounded near perfect in spite of the band only being together for a few months at the time of recording. Now fast-forward 12 months, and as a result of the initial love for the band, they ...
Black Diamond 52′ Cat Virtual Tour. The "Black Diamond" is the first MTI 52. Black Diamond is the third new MTI built for it's owner, who plans to use the boat at several poker run events in between his family trips with the boat. The family will certainly be comfortable in this 52…. The air conditioned enclosed canopy has seating for ...