"When people think of offshore
powerboats, they usually think of Florida. What the general public is not aware
of is that Long Island, NY is in fact the most concentrated area of the country
that produces winning race boats. With teams like RC MARINE, OCEAN OUTBOARD,
EXTRACTOR, MEDIA MASTER, FEVER, TABU, ARMED AND DANGEROUS, BODY GUARD, and
OBSESSION, manufacturers like Progression, Outer Limits, Hustler, Activator, and
engine builders and riggers including Ocean Outboard, East Coast Marine, MRD,
Falcon Hi-Performance Marine, and Zul Marine Power, it is amazing that Long
Island is not known as the high performance capital of the world.
Coen's list of winning race
boats is impressive. MEDIA MASTER, a 30-footer and his newest addition to date,
just won the 1996 A-class World Championship in Key West last November. RC
MARINE, another 30-foot Superboat, was retired and entered into the US Offshore
Racing Association's Hall of Fame in 1993 as the winningest A-class race boat in
the history of offshore racing after seizing four national and two consecutive
world championship titles. Coen's other Hall of Fame title came when class rule
changes dictated the removal of the Factory class in 1995, and Mike Gagliano's
21-foot Superboat also racing under the name OCEAN OUTBOARD was entered into the
record books for obtaining the final and unbroken kilo record with a speed of 72
mph in 1993.
One of the oldest race teams
on the circuit, the EXTRACTOR, a 32-foot Superboat, plans a return to racing
this year after a one-year hiatus with his 10-year old cat. After placing second
at the world's eight times due to every possible scenario from sucking in a crab
trap float to never having had a sponsor, they finally had their day in 1993
when they also won the world championship title in the D class. Coen himself
stepped in to drive the boat to that success, while JAWS, another 32-foot cat,
again sped to victory this year in Pro-stock obtaining their third consecutive
national championship title.
Coen's other winning race
boats include the amazing George Peterson's 21-EAST COAST RIDER, three other 30
footers, STONEHAM BOAT CENTER, OCEAN OUTBOARD and FREEZE FRAME, two different
32-foot cats custom-built for EAST COAST MARINE, the 32-foot cat AMERICAN
EXPRESS, and several hulls racing under the name SUPERBOAT. Although racing is
what perfected the construction of these hulls, race boats only account for a
very small segment of Superboat's business. "The popular misconception is
that we only build high-performance speed boats," stated Coen, "But as
anyone who has ever been boating on a snotty day can tell you, the real measure
of any boat is its comfort and handling in rough water. Every single Superboat
was designed for the best handling capabilities with the least amount of horse
power and an efficient lightweight hull also translates into better fuel
economy. All of our boats accomplish this task thus making them suitable for any
application be it speed, cruising, fishing or pleasure.
A testament to the structural
integrity of the Superboat hull was again proved at the 1994 Key West World
Championships where Rick Robert's LAY IT OUT, the 24-foot Factory-class
Superboat placed second. To the untrained eye, this was no magical feat, but the
hull was unique in its class. That hull was built 10 years prior as a pleasure
boat. After finishing two races off Key West in seas of 6 to 8 feet without a
single modification to the hull, Coen simply stated, "My product speaks for
itself."
The desire to build boats has
been a part of John Coen's life since his earliest memories. "I designed
and built my first boat for $40 with my grandfather when I was 12-years old, an
8-foot flat-bottom pram made of plywood that we rigged with a 5 hp Sea King
motor," Coen recalled. But his real inspiration came when he got his first
taste of racing back in the mid 1960's with a boat that he built with his
stepfather. "The thrill of building a winning race boat was the challenge
that fueled my desire to turn my skill into a trade, and my ultimate goal was to
build a quality, affordable boat aimed at the offshore performance, fishing and
pleasure boat markets." By the fall of 1975, Coen was producing and racing
the boat which would make him a legend, the 24-foot Superboat.
Utilizing only hand-laid
fiberglass techniques, the strength and durability of a Superboat simply cannot
be compared to that of a mass-produced boat. The attention to detail starts in
the actual structure of the hull and deck. Critical yet minor details like
filling in the gaps between the stringer and hull are performed even before the
structure is completely encapsulated in fiberglass. This guarantees that there
can be no movement in this area since this is the first point of stringer to
hull failure. The bulkheads are then glassed into the hull. When the deck is
finally installed, all contact points with the hull and bulkheads are glassed
together. This ties the hull and deck as one unified structure unable to twist
under the severe stresses it was built to withstand. This time tested method of
engineering and installation is one of the most important factors of the
lightness and indestructibility of a Superboat hull.
According to Coen, "Most
people do not appreciate or understand the quality that goes into our hulls
because these are the things you cannot see unless you really look for them. We
spend more time assembling our hull than other companies spend building and
rigging their entire boat. Most of the mass-production boats are not glassed
together anywhere. The hull and deck are screwed or bolted together, and this is
why they twist and turn so much when you run them. They literally twist
themselves apart. There is just no comparison to the way we build boats, and
this is why we have some of the best overall resale values in this
industry."
The Superboat reputation for
durability started in 1970. Today, the construction methods are constantly
tested on the offshore racing circuit to guarantee the strongest hull available
at any price, and a Superboat will offer you the finest rough water handling
characteristics of any boat in its class.
Superboat Powerboats enjoys
the reputation of being one of the oldest and most successful high performance
boat builders in the world. A legend among offshore enthusiasts, John Coen has
been responsible for perfecting the design of some of the winningest boats in
the history of racing." - OFFSHORE
RACING MAGAZINE, Spring 1997.
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