![]() ![]() “Our big boats are built with a 3G hull, but the smaller ones are designed to withstand 5G’s. “A 25,000 to 30,000-pound outboard boat can launch out of the water,” he says. ![]() However, this adds another consideration: hull strength. The Maverick 39 is expected to be a 45-knot-plus boat with triple 300s, while Vance feels the new Jim Smith also could see better than 45 knots with quad 350 outboards. Speed is one consideration that each builder mentioned as a benefit. #Inboard outboard boat fullThe new Maverick 39 will have a long list of custom features, notably a marlin tower, full helm enclosure with air conditioning, Burma teak cockpit and covering boards, an upgraded 7kW generator, Seakeeper 6 gyrostabilizer and more, along with Maverick’s cold-molded construction and beautiful mahogany brightwork for which the company’s conventionally powered inboard models are notably famous. Now, we see them much more often in every tournament.” “We are big supporters of the offshore tournament circuit in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and when I joined Saunders in 2011, an outboard-powered boat entering a high-stakes billfish tournament was virtually unheard of. “In recent years, we have seen the market on the Gulf Coast trending toward outboard boats as they continue to increase in popularity,” says Saunders marketing manager Ashley Rainer. Maverick Yachts is building a 39-foot walkaround in Costa Rica that will be shipped to the United States for rigging. “Inboards will make more horsepower with less fuel, but they have about 15 percent slippage by the time you consider the additional drag from the running gear. “Outboard engines have only about 5 percent slippage,” he says. Pricewise, the numbers are somewhat similar, although Vance notes that outboards also do not include the additional cost of shafts, rudders, struts and all the other gear required to rig an inboard boat. With outboards, it’s plug-and-play, especially with the new controls.” “We have a customer who tournament fishes extensively, and he puts about a thousand hours on his motors every two years-swapping them out for a new set so that he always has fresh power. If you score a piston on an inboard, you could be stuck in the boatyard for a month,” he points out. “It’s just six bolts holding the motor to the boat’s transom. Vance also touts the ease of maintenance as a key advantage. One key benefit of a walkaround design: The ability to fight a marlin with the angler in the bow, rather than backing down. He also sees clients who want outboard boats either as tenders to larger vessels or for owner-operators progressing up or down through the boat ownership ranks. They have most of the same features as the bigger boats: air conditioning above and below deck, chiller plates in the fish boxes, custom refrigeration, gyrostabilizers, you name it.” “That was in 2015 and since then we’ve done three 45s. He asked if we could build a 45 with outboards,” says company president John Vance. Jim Smith Tournament Boats is another Florida builder crafting high-end outboard-powered boats alongside its bread-and-butter custom convertible vessels in the 75- to 80-foot range.“Our first one was for a current client in a 60-footer with inboards. The 46 holds 600 gallons, and the 50 will have an 800-gallon capacity, so long-range cruising isn’t a problem.” Rigging time is reduced by 15 to 20 percent as well, because there are no shafts to align or struts and rudders to install. “The 46 can sleep four, with air conditioning, and the 50 we’re building now can be configured to sleep six, with a full queen, two staterooms, two heads and a shower that’s large enough to be functional,” Gerards says. ![]()
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