The great thing about restorations is it saves a cool boat from ending up in a garbage heap somewhere and allows it have a new lease on life. Another benefit is you end up with a project that often is a family venture and one where you make some friends along the way.
As part of our 10 questions series, we are incredibly fortunate to be able to pick the brains of some of the leaders in the performance boat industry. This time around, we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to ask John Tomlinson some questions about how he got into boats, his passion for racing, the work he enjoys doing
Drag racing cars has always been a staple of motorsports, from street to strip and stock cars to top fuel, there is something about that short sprint that is incredibly captivating for drivers and audiences. For boats, drag racing is equally, if not more exciting, the incredible acceleration and driver skill to keep the boat on track make it fun to watch and more fun to drive.
In all boats, weight, weight distribution and balance are key to how the boat floats and performs. With performance boats, it can be more complicated because typically performance boats are already light and when a hull travels faster through the water, weight dynamics change.
I remember as a kid going to the boat show was a chance to see the latest and greatest boats on the market. There was always something interesting to see, from the new engines to the performance boats. It seemed like in the 80s and 90s there was always several performance boat manufacturers that had at least a few boats on display. But in the 2000s, the boat shows kind of changed.
With the popularity of our restoration features, we thought we would share a few suggestions and tips on what to look for and a few ideas for a good budget restoration on small performance boats.
In the last 30 years of boat design, I am not sure there is one model that is as eye catching and awe inspiring as the Glastron Carlson Scimitar
For performance boaters, there are really only 4 consumer level outboards available under 450 Lbs. Not long ago, every engine in the 150 to 225 range was less than 450 Lbs, closer to 400 Lbs actually.
This is just a quick note about a well known boat surveyor, David Pascoe, who has written some great articles over the years about boat design, construction materials and tips on buying boats.
In our recent article about the “fastest outboards” we had the Sutphen 21 featured and talked about what a great setup it is with a 200 or 250 outboard. Among the other boats on the list, it was one of the few that can be had in a sterndrive or an outboard.
This is a stellar category. Single engine sport boats in the 25’ to 27’ range. I love a single engine sport boat as they have enough size for pretty serious open water, can hold a bunch of people effortlessly and yet they go really fast with a stock engine. This makes them some of the most cost effective boats around.
There is something about driving a small lightweight hull that allows you to feel the water and experience the speed better than anything else. Riding a motorcycle is the closest comparison I can make.
To start, I will say that this article is aimed at documenting the abandonment of a specific market that Mercury Racing was instrumental in creating. The high performance outboard market is almost non existent, yet outboard sales are at all time highs.
In today’s world of performance boats and V-hull sport boats in particular, Tuff Marine has developed a reputation for building some of the fastest and well constructed custom boats you can find anywhere.
Phil Vargas saw an opportunity. The original Apache Scout mold was available and with Phil being in Miami, he had some guidance from Bob Saccenti on continuing to build the bullet proof design.
This is a short overview of some of the options you have when it is time to re-power or find an engine for a restoration project.
Buying a used boat today is like buying large quantities of cocaine online, it’s dangerous and full of unknowns.
At Wave to Wave, our favorite boats are smaller, single engine sport boats. This covers a large spectrum because some boats are semi offshore, some are lightweight lake hot rods and some are somewhere in the middle.
The Wave to Wave Outboard buyers guide is focused on performance orientated outboards from the midsize horsepower range to the high horsepower range.
