There is something remarkable about MTI, the custom boat builder in Missouri that has grown into one of the biggest premier performance boat builders in both race and pleasure cats, along with large V hull luxury center consoles. Randy Scism, the founder, has a storied history in boat racing and building, and his company really became the leader over time by focusing on the top of the market. Cutting edge design and construction, and sticking to his guns of being a race first builder really made the brand stand out. MTI has a signature “curvy” look, recognizable immediately, with the deck behind the windshield that has an accentuated curve that slopes to the transom. I love the old MTI’s and wondered how an older 44 MTI with big power compares to a new MTI outboard 440X pleasure cat? They are different but the same size, let’s take a look at cutting edge technology vs an older design with big power.

At first it seems odd to compare an OB sport cat with an offshore cat with sterndrives but back in the 2000’s we didn’t have 500 HP outboards and boats were a little heavier, as now materials and lamination make lighter hulls. And even though it’s not a perfect comparison, we can use old tests to see how the originals performed and see how the lighter outboard cats compare. Also remember, back then, power was harder to come by, certainly you could get 1000 HP or more, but it was often a very custom built engine until Mercury came out with the 1050 HP, and later the QV4C big turbo engines. And big power engines with 1,000+ HP are more expensive than a Mercury Racing 500R outboard.

In an old Powerboat Magazine test there is a great write up of a test of the latest 44 MTI. I believe the 39 MTI was the original Randy built, and it was a race boat that used a 10’6” beam and a really deep tunnel. The 39’ later was revised into the 40, and the others, the 44 for example, shared the 10’6” beam. Early ones had twin steps, and usually weighed around 10,500 to 11,500 Lbs. The latest 440X has a 11’ beam, but is lighter and has a shallower tunnel. Weight is approximately 7,000 lbs rigged dry weight.

The RP and Race MTI have a deeper tunnel than an OB pleasure version.

Although very similar in size, with the hull being lighter and the outboards hanging off the back, it changes the boat considerably. The 440X is still going to be great in rough water but it’s not going to be like a 44 that weighs over 3000 lbs more, and has heavier big blocks in the boat. Big cats like the older 39, 40 and 44 are going to be monsters in rough water, even if the tunnel width is similar it’s much deeper on the stern drive ones. In the performance reports it is shocking to see how expensive the old ones were too, around 1 million, which back then was big money for a boat. Obviously, 1 million is still a wild amount, but all things considered, that’s a lot more money considering the time.

MTI has always done a nice job on their interiors, the carbon seats here on this 440X are a nice touch.

There is a great story from Powerboat Magazine where Matt Trulio recalls running the big 44 MTI with John Tomlinson and Bob Teague, the best test team of all time, and they were heading into an area of the Florida Keys with shallow water unexpectedly, and John had to cut the wheel very hard to avoid the area. Once they composed themselves, Tomlinson remarked it was the “hardest he’d ever turned without a race helmet on.” I actually remember Matt telling me that story years ago, it obviously left an impression on him. And that’s the thing about the MTI boats then and now, they are race boats through and through.

Here are some numbers from that test from Powerboat Magazine:

The MTI 44PR measured a centerline at 44’5", with the beam at 10’6". The testing weight was 12,500 lbs. and the hull, teamed with twin 1050 Keith Eickert engines, BPM Shaft Drives, and Hering five-blade 16 1/2" X 31 1/3" props, accelerated the boat from zero to 60 miles per hour within 15 seconds. Top speed as gauged by the Stalker Radar was listed in the report at 131.6 miles per hour, running at 6,500 RPM -

Powerboat Magazine, 2003 (Outstanding Offshore Catamaran Craftsmanship Award)

That’s a fully done pleasure boat, pretty heavy, so it’s impressive. But, you do see newer pleasure boats running faster. And a 43 Race MTI supercat with 750 HP engines could run about 120 MPH, because it’s lighter.

How does a 440X compare with twin Mercury Racing 500Rs? Obviously, this is such a different setup, it’s not apples to apples obviously but fun to look at. Most customers are opting for outboard pleasure cats now. With 33” 15.25 Mercury Racing CNC cleavers, the big 440X will run 125 MPH. With some serious setup time, they can break 130 MPH. That is incredible for such a big boat. Featuring a slightly wider 11’ beam, the hull weighs around 7,000 lbs rigged dry. That’s approximately a 4 or 5,000 lb weight difference lighter than the 2003 44’ MTI. On the old ones, you’d see surface drives like the BPM, and later M6 and M8 drives for big Mercury Racing power.

Two 44 MTI’s but very different boats. The 500R outboards have a 1.60:1 gear ratio, and the R Drive Sport gearcase is quite similar to the M8 drive to handle offshore duty and these kinds of speeds, these are quite a bit bigger and more robust than the 5.44 Sport Master on the 400R.

A pleasure cat that seats 6 to 8 people and can cruise in the 80 to 100 MPH range and get 125+ MPH without breaking a sweat is remarkable. That doesn’t take anything away from the early MTI’s at all but it shows how the technology and design has kept moving forward. The old school part of me would want a new MTI 43 Pleasure with 1100 HPs, but the 440X with 500Rs is hard to beat. You do see some refurbished older MTI’s updated and I really like those as they are timeless classics now.