Skater’s Summer Flurry
The vaunted custom go-fast powerboat builder has three new models in the works.
July 28, 2015
In a really good year, Douglas Marine/Skater builds less than 20 boats. That means for well-heeled go-fast catamaran lovers there aren’t many opportunities to own one of the most coveted brands of performance boats on the planet. Each Skater is, in the words of founder and owner Peter Hledin, “like no other Skater.”
The 478 will be Skater’s first V-bottom with a full stand-up cabin.
While the company does have hull molds for its epoxy-and-carbon-fiber-constructed models, which are routinely widened and modified to suit the preferences and whims of its clientele, it has no deck tooling. Skater makes the decks for its catamarans, and even its occasional V-bottom, the old-fashion way—scoring and bending plywood by hand.
Did I mention they’re expensive? (OK, did I really have to?) Expect a Skater to set you back, depending on the model, from about $300,000 to more than $1 million and you won’t be disappointed.
As it happens, things are hopping at the facility in Douglas, Michigan. A hands-on builder like no other—at more than 60 years he still dons a pair of coveralls and hits the factory floor every day—Hledin currently has three “new” models in the works. (I highlight “new” because the one-of-a-kind nature of the brand makes each model relatively new, if not outright new.) That’s in addition to the existing builds, including two 38-foot-long offshore racing catamarans and a 46-foot cat being built for long-distance endurance runs. What follows is a quick review.
Skater 478 V-bottom
At Skater, new models have a tendency to “grow.” Such is the case with the 478 V, which began its life as a 43-foot, stepped-hull model dubbed the 439 V. Primed and heading for paint in the near future, the full-cabin V-bottom has a 43-foot-long running surface, and including its stern bustle measures 47 feet. According to Tony Cutsuries, the company’s national sales manager, the nine-foot- beam boat will head to North Carolina for its interior installation by noted designers Gary Bridges and Paul Gallup. (Bridges and Gallup consulted on interiors for Fountain Powerboats for years.) A pair of Mercury Racing 1100 engines will power the 47-footer, which is headed to an as yet undisclosed Skater client.
Though a buyer hasn’t stepped up for the Skater 438 catamaran, neither Cutsuries nor Hledin are worried about that happening.
Skater 438 Catamaran
Like the 478 V, Skater’s 438 cat grew from a previous original design, the 428. Unlike the 47-foot V-bottom, however, the almost 44-foot-long cat doesn’t as yet have an owner. So the laminated hull has been on hold as other boats with committed buyers have taken priority over the new-model project. “We’ve been busy getting other projects out the door,” said Cutsuries. “We haven’t popped the 438 hull out of the mold yet, but we will.” While the project has no hard deadline, Cutsuries said he expects work on the cat to resume in the near future.
The Skater 318 represents an “affordable” model for the brand.
Skater 318 Catamaran
A strong case could be made for the Skater 318 as the company’s most important release in recent years. That’s not to detract from any of the outfit’s other sensational builds, such as Bill Pyburn’s jaw-dropping Pure Platinum 388 cat, but the twin-outboard-powered 318 represents an “affordable”—a relative term to be sure—Skater model. The cat has been painted and clear-coated and—like more than a few new models in the go-fast world—is waiting on its Mercury Racing 400R outboard engines. The first 318 will be sent to the Fond du Lac, Wis., high-performance marine engine company for its final setup before being delivered to owner Steve Lane in New Jersey. According to Cutsuries, Mercury Racing is working on a new tie-bar system for the twin 400-hp outboards, and the 318 will be the first model outfitted with the system.
