Skater 32B Pleasure: Flying First Class

Common for Skaters but not so common for cats, the 32B leaned into slalom turns and circle turns at cruising and full speeds. (Photo by Tom Newby)

Take a novice for a 100-mph boat ride, then—as you're idling through the no-wake zone—ask him or her to describe it. Most likely you won't hear much beyond "Well, it was fun, and really loud." That's because the novice suffers from what skydivers call "sensory overload," so much input (speed, wind resistance, wind noise, engine noise, etc.) bombarding the senses that they essentially shut down.

True appreciation for powerboat speed only begins when sensory overload ends. It takes time, although it takes a lot less time if the powerboat in question is profoundly comfortable at speed. And that's a perfect description of the Skater 32B Pleasure catamaran. The faster the 32'-long, 9'4"-wide cat runs, the better it feels.

Such sweet sensations don't come cheap. Base price for the boat, without engines, is $140,567. The model we tested in Placida, Fla., came with twin Mercury Racing 550-horsepower HP575SCi motors and other options that pushed the price to $373,020.

Performance

So how fast did the 32'cat with a 20-degree transom deadrise, five steps in each of its two sponsons and no center pod run? The answer is, unfortunately, not as fast as it could have.

Slated for testing on a Thursday morning, the 32B arrived the day before with Stellings stand-off boxes and Bravo One XR drives with 1.26:1 ratios and lab-finished Mercury 15 1/4" x 39" four-blade stainless-steel propellers. During a shakedown run that afternoon, a drive broke. Another drive was sent, but wouldn't arrive until midmorning on Thursday. That meant all testing would have to be done in the afternoon.

The wind came up early that day, and by the time the 32B was ready to go, it was blowing 30 mph, gusting beyond that and swirling. Our lead test driver and co-pilot only were able to safely run the boat to 4,500 rpm, which left 700 rpm still in the motors, yet translated to 115.4 mph. The dealer who brought the 32 told us the boat had run 128 mph, and the tattletale feature on the Gaffrig GPS speedometer backed that claim. We hoped to get a better number the next day, but conditions were worse and time ran out.

Still, on the day we ran it, the 32B pretty well dazzled our test team. With its specially configured and mounted 30S K-planes, it came on plane in a reasonable 4.4 seconds—and then got busy, reaching 76 mph in 20 seconds. But the cat did it's most impressive business in midrange acceleration drills, running from 30 to 50 mph in 4.2 seconds, 40 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and 40 to 70 mph in 7.5.

The same deep-tunnel hull and propulsion package combo that produced such efficiency also delivered great handling manners and a soft rough-water ride. Common for Skaters but not so common for cats, the 32B leaned into slalom turns and circle turns at cruising and full speeds. The boat sliced its way through 2' to 4' seas head-on, following and quartering. When launched off swells, it flew level and touched down as if the water were a pile of feathers.

Workmanship

Some of the most imaginative and impeccable paint jobs we've seen have been on Skaters. Not yet sold, however, our 32B test boat had a simple white hull with vinyl graphics—a blank canvas awaiting the graphic tastes (and bank account) of a willing buyer. Still, mold work was flawless, as was the installation of the cat's through-bolted aluminum rubrail.

Like all Skater models, the 32B was completely handlaid and vacuum-bagged. The boat's composite lamination recipe included S-glass, epoxy resins and balsa coring.

The top of each sponson featured an elliptical handrail, which made it easier to reach the forward-most pair of the boat's six Accon Pop-Up cleats. Other notable hardware items included acrylic wind deflectors on the fairings, a power-telescoping nav light and a swim platform on the transom.

The two lightweight engine hatches for the 32B were held down by race-style hood pins and connected to the gunwales with heavy-duty hinges. Opening manually outward to a vertical position, each was supported by a gas strut.

Inside the sanitary, spacious engine compartment, the fuel-injected motors were installed on Skater's brawny rail mounting system. All hoses were secured with stainless-steel cushion clamps, and all wires were neatly gathered in looms not far from the terminal strips.

Interior

The 32B had no cabin, but it did have a cockpit that was well-dressed for offshore action. High-back bucket seats were supplied for the co-pilot and driver—the throttles, shifters and dual trim switches were mounted on a console between them.

Rather than installing a flat rear bench—far from reassuring at 100-plus-mph—the builder outfitted the boat with a three-person bolster-style bench. Body-wrapping padding in each position gave passengers a snug and confidence-enhancing embrace.

The dash included a 180-mph Gaffrig GPS speedo, the helm station to starboard had a Garmin GPS Map 128 unit and an assortment of AutoMeter Pro Comp gauges with warning lights. All the instruments, some of which spread across the dash to the co-pilot's station, were in clear view.

Overall

Crummy conditions and a drive failure conspired to keep us from getting "the big number" in the Skater. But based on the speeds we were able to reach and how much was left in the supercharged motors, we're content that the 32B with this propulsion package is an honest 125- to 130-mph boat. No matter—this superb running cat was still a ride to remember.

Hull and Propulsion Information

Deadrise at transom	20 degrees
Centerline	32'
Beam	9'4"
Hull weight	6,450 pounds
Engines	(2) Mercury Racing HP575SCi
Cylinder type	V-8
Cubic-inch displacement/horsepower	502/550
Lower-unit gear ratio	1.26:1
Propellers	Mercury Bravo One lab-finished 15 1/4" x 39"

Pricing

Base retail	$140,567
Price as tested	$373,020

Options on Test Boat

Skater 32 Pleasure basic boat ($140,567), Mercury Racing HP575SCi engines ($108,955), rigging charge ($26,511), Marine Machine steering ($16,458), 32' trailer ($14,006), vinyl graphics ($10,000), Stellings stand-off boxes ($9,024), trim tabs ($5,325), intercom station ($3,941), DMC throttle and shift quadrants ($3,536), Mercury propellers ($3,128), AutoMeter gauges ($2,698), exhaust tips with mufflers ($2,508), motor mounts ($2,304), ignition switch panels ($2,302), scatter shields ($2,158), Tonneau cover ($1,935), trim indicators ($1,878), fuel system plumbing ($1,813), steering plumbing ($1,801), powder-coated bezels ($1,215), VHF radio ($1,186), automatic fire extinguisher ($1,122), drive lines ($1,102), rocker switch assemblies ($1,060), sea strainers ($972), IMCO drive showers ($901), Gaffrig compass ($680), HD bilge pumps ($566), Garmin GPS ($564), battery boxes ($522), batteries ($500), Clarion CD stereo ($442), manual fire extinguisher ($352), fuel filters ($312), four Clarion speakers ($266), kill switch ($238) and battery switches ($172).

Test Results

Acceleration