MTI delivered the quad Mercury Racing 450R outboard engine-powered center console to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last Wednesday. The following morning, Wise and six friends joined the Florida Powerboat Club for its departure to Key West.
"It's an amazing boat," Wise said. "It's so well-thought-out, so well-designed."
More than a few former high-performance V-bottom and catamaran owners have gone down the outboard engine-powered center console path and found themselves missing their purpose-built go-fast boats. But Wise actually missed the versatility of his center console once it was gone. A test ride with MTI principal Randy Scism convinced him that a V 42 powered by quad Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines was the way to go.
Though the build took longer than expected, it was more than worth the wait for its high-energy owner. Some of the extra delivery time had to do with the elaborate in-house paintjob the owner ordered for the boat.
"MTI paintjobs usually take three weeks, I was told," Wise said. "Mine took 16 weeks-it's that detailed. Most boats have interiors that match their exteriors, but I wanted it to be different. So we used a lot of cream and cashmere colors inside the boat and black flooring. The upholstery is mostly Alcantara and it has a very rich feel to it. It really dresses up the boat. You could take it to a nice dinner-or just have fun with friends at party cove."
On Friday, Wise ran his new prize in the annual Speed On The Water Key West photo shoot. The following morning, he had 17 passengers on board for the trip to Woman Key for the Florida Powerboat Club raft-up.
"Everyone had space-we weren't on top of each other at all," he said. "It has seats for 14 people. We all had room to talk and walk around. We didn't feel crowded."
Concerned with Monday's weather forecast, Wise and his crew departed Key West on Sunday morning. While he had enjoyed piloting the 42-footer on the way down, he was even more thrilled with its performance on the return trip to Fort Lauderdale.
Rather than taking the Intracoastal route, he stayed offshore in the Atlantic Ocean the entire time.
"I took the outside route all the way and we ran 72 to 80 mph the whole time," Wise said. "The water was so great that I didn't want to stop, but we did take a fuel break in Key Largo. It drives like a dad-gum dream. It's extremely responsive. It doesn't have trim tabs and it doesn't need them. And the cockpit is very well laid out, which makes it easy to handle.
"It's a true high-end luxury speedboat," he added.
