Powerboat Talk

Jeff Bennett is an Aerospace Engineer and the owner of Bennett Analytics, a firm that offers state-of-the-art engineering services like aerodynamics, wind tunnel testing, and systems engineering- All talents that have helped things like the Space Shuttle. Bennett can also help your boat go really, really fast! Stemming from a love of fast boats, Bennett has methodically blended his experience from a career in the Aerospace industry (where he worked for Aeronautics giants General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas, Rockwell, and Boeing) into a vast knowledge of bottom design and jet pump set-up that has led to many national championships and world records in drag boat racing. Bennett made the decision, early in his career, to focus on hull design. “While other people spent their time building more power in their engines,” Bennett told us, “I quickly discovered that the key to performance was through modifying the shape of the race boat bottom. I was able to make them much faster and, more importantly, a lot safer.” But Bennett is more than a “bottom guy”. His years of testing and analyzing data led him to pioneering the use of computers and data analysis in Jet Boat racing. Working with Racepak data systems, Bennett was instrumental in developing the systems that are found on most competitive drag boat teams. Bennett has become the “the computer guy” on a number of these teams, ready, at the race track or on the end of a phone line, to “plug in” between rounds to determine what went wrong, what went right, and what can be done to make it better. Thank you for joining us for a very special episode of Powerboat Talk.  

Tony Chiaramonte is the Vice President and part owner of DCB Performance Boats now located in Phoenix, Arizona. DCB was founded over 30 years ago, in 1990, by Dave Hemmingson, under the name Dave’s Custom Boats. DCB quickly became the “go-to” place for high end, custom rigged Eliminator Daytona’s and other high performance outboards. Chiaramonte joined Hemmingson in 1993 where he swept floors and washed boats as he learned the business of boat building. Fast forward to 2023, and Chiaramonte is leading the team, and we learn that DCB has introduced over 15 boat models since its inception, with the newest being their M37R and another new model in development, the M42R.  With a production schedule that produces less than 20 boats a year, DCB is committed to providing one-off, custom boats that are completely unique to each owner. To help create their “works of art on the water,” every DCB is built in-house, using the most advanced construction techniques available. As would be expected given the boats that he builds, Chiaramonte is an accomplished high performance driver with a lot of time behind the wheel of 170 + mph water rockets. Chiaramonte personally water tests every boat sold with its new owner. He will spend as much time on the water with them (oftentimes multiple days) Chiaramonte is completely confident with the owner’s competence and proficiency in the driver’s seat.  Chiaramonte’s driving excellence was recently recognized when he was inducted into the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout’s Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame. Follow Tony Chiaramonte on Instagram @tna_chiaramonte Follow DCB Performance Boats on Instagram @dcbracing and on Facebook @DCB Performance Boats Visit their website www.dcbperformanceboats.com Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk  Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk  Contact me: [email protected]    

Mark and Thomas Weigl are the owners of Tuff Boats located in Ontario, Canada. At the recent Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, Thomas Weigl drove their TUFF 34 ft. model to capture the title of fastest single engine V-bottom at 135 mph. Powered by a Mercury Racing 1100/1350 hp engine, the boat has run 148 mph in testing on their home lake in Canada.  Mark, the elder Weigl, founder and President of Tuff, gained a wealth of knowledge through his years of experience racing offshore boats with his wife Dana. The couple captured both national and world championship titles in their 32' triple engine Skater catamaran affectionately named "TUFF n' UFF". Running an offshore team on a budget, Mark kept their boat competitive with the more heavily funded teams through his hard work and meticulous testing and modifications. Mark’s keen sense of preparation and work ethic has been adopted by his son, Thomas, and applied to their company throughout their operations. The Weigl’s are “hands on” owners who personally build each boat that they sell. Every TUFF Boat is custom designed, hand-built and precision crafted at their facility in Ontario, Canada. Visit Tuff Boats' website at www.tuffboats.com Follow them on Instagram @tuff_marine and on Facebook @Tuff Marine Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk  Contact me: [email protected]     

Jake Fraleigh is the owner of Eliminator Boats in Mira Loma, California. In 2018, Fraleigh and a group of investors acquired the company in a bankruptcy auction. Fraleigh had the good fortune of growing up near Bob Leach, who founded Eliminator boats in 1969, and spent many summers working at the boat company. Fraleigh now finds himself at the helm of the company that builds some of the most storied performance boats in the world. Fraleigh talks about his experiences growing up with the company and the west coast marine industry. He informs us about some of the challenges he endured in acquiring the boat company and implementing new practices to run the business more efficiently.  Fraleigh discusses Eliminator’s rich history and explains the importance of continuing to build their classic models like the 19 ft. Daytona and Alan Stoker’s iconic Stoker boats. You can find Eliminator Boats on Instagram @EliminatorBoats and on Facebook @Eliminator Boats Visit Eliminator online at www.eliminatorboat.com Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk https://www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk  Contact me: [email protected]      

Erick Bryner is an motorsports photographer and owner of Firedrill Productions, a boutique graphic design and digital production studio specializing in creative services support for corporate marketing departments for several large companies and ad agencies. But, what drew us to Bryner was his professional photography business, Fast Loud Photography where he spends a lot of his time shooting fast boats. Bryner got the motorsports bug from his dad who had hot rods and was a drag racer. His first paid photo shoot was of a hot rod for an advertisement. Bryner grew up racing motocross and jet skis so his passion for speed is well nurtured. Bryner’s social media pages and website are filled to the brim with images of every kind of performance boat imaginable.  While staying busy photographing boat races and poker runs, Bryner is also partners in the very successful Catalina Fun Run. In the podcast, he tells us about how the Fun Run came to be and what the plans are for this year’s event. Bryner also talks about his road to becoming a professional motorsports photographer and about the many challenges that the occupation faces today. Bryner also lets us know about the progress on his new jet boat. You can visit Erick Bryner online www.firedrillproductions.com or www.fastloudphotography.com Find Erick on Instagram @fastloudphotography or on Facebook @Fast Loud Photography or on youtube @FastLoudPhotography Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk  Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk  and Facebook @Powerboat Talk  Contact me: [email protected]  

Don Onken is 83 years young and has accomplished a lot in his powerboat racing career. But he’s not done yet. “Our goal with American Ethanol is to go as fast at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in 3/4 mile as we previously did in one mile” Onken said. “People didn’t think we’d ever get to 200 mph on the short course, but here we are.”  In 2022, driven by Tony Battiato and throttled by John Cosker, the owner of Mystic Powerboats, Onken’s 51 ft. Mystic Catamaran produced a run of 207 mph to capture the LOTO Shootout Top Gun award for the eighth time. The boat was powered by four Vortech Supercharged, 600 cu. in. Big Block Chevys that were built by Earl Moorman at Onken’s performance engine shop, Onken Racing. The engines use Big Chief cylinder heads, Holley Dominator engine management systems, Custom Marine headers, and run on E85 ethanol fuel from Renegade Race Fuel. The engines are mounted crank-to-crank, tractor pull style, producing 2250 hp each to spin the number 10 Arneson drives through SCS crash boxes.  In preparation for this year’s LOTO assault, Onken planned to outfit the Mystic with four new engines. Built using Mercury Racing Engine blocks and double overhead cam cylinder heads, the 557 cu.in. short stroke engines will use Procharger superchargers to make 2550 hp each. Don felt confident that the extra 1000 hp combined would get them the additional 10 mph they needed to get the boat to 217 mph which would have equaled their one mile best speed. In the episode, Don talks about this very ambitious undertaking. You can find Don Onken and American Ethonal Racing on Facebook @American Ethonal Mystic Race Team To learn more about the Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO) Shootout visit them online https://lakeoftheozarksshootout.com/ Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk  Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk  and Facebook @Powerboat Talk  Contact me: [email protected]  

Phil and Jeremy Gerber are the owners of the Roadster Shop which is known for its high-end, custom built Muscle Cars and Trucks. Their company also manufactures new, state of the art, high-performance chassis that they use in all of their builds and sell to the best custom builders in the world. The Gerbers, along with their Director of Operations, Josh Henning, are also hosts of the Oil and Whiskey podcast where they talk about whiskey and the automotive aftermarket.  The Gerbers grew up boating with their father Neal, a successful entrepreneur who helped them start the Roadster Shop over 25 years ago. Neal passed away in 2019 after a heroic six year battle with cancer, but not before his sons surprised him with a gift of a completely restored and customized 1971 27 ft. Magnum Sport. The boys grew up listening to their father’s many stories about his revered Magnum Maltese that he had owned when he was younger. In our episode, the Gerbers talk extensively about their journey to build the boat for their father. We also discuss their hot rod business, their new Four-wheel drive, turn-key Chevy truck rollers, and their exclusive automotive distribution deal with Mercury Racing. You can find the Roadster Shop on Instagram @roadstershop On Facebook @Roadster Shop Visit the Roadster Shop online at https://roadstershop.com/ Listen to the Oil and Whiskey podcast at https://roadstershop.com/podcasts/ on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@OilandWhiskey or most popular podcast hosts like Apple Podcasts or Spotify Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk  Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk  and Facebook @Powerboat Talk  Contact me: [email protected]                    

Stan Murakami boasts over 40 years of experience at Schiada Boats, having started his career right after graduating high school in the late 70s. As the current Vice President, he oversees the company’s custom rigging and boat production. On the podcast, Murakami shares insights into the remarkable evolution of Schiada boats' performance and his past work at Teague Custom Marine and Howard Boats. Schiada is renowned for crafting high-performance, ultra-custom V-drive day cruisers, with their popular 21 ft. River Cruiser being the preferred choice for water ski racing on the west coast. Most often, the boats are delivered with 1000 hp. + supercharged engines from Teague Custom Marine or Brummett Marine which easily push the cruisers to over 100 mph.  The company's roots go back to 1956 when it was founded by brothers Leonard and Chuck Schiada. Located in Long Beach, California, Schiada offers a range of models, including a 21 ft. tunnel hull and V-bottom boats ranging from 20 ft. to 43 ft. You can contact Stan Murakami through email at [email protected] Visit Schiada Boats online at www.schiadaboats.com Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com  View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk Contact me: [email protected]  

Todd Haig is arguably the best water ski racer in US history having won the prestigious Catalina Water Ski Race an unprecedented 16 times. 12 of those wins and a World Championship in 2005, were achieved with the help of his Team Nordic Racing teammates; driver and owner of Nordic and Hallett boats, Randy Davis, and observer, Dennis Hall. In 2014, with Catalina win number 12, Haig surpassed the Catalina record of 11 wins which was previously held by Water Skiing legend Chuck Stearns. For this episode, I am joined by all three members of Team Nordic Racing. We talk about the formula for the team's success as well as some of the nuances of water ski racing. We caught the boys only days before they headed off to race in Belgium in the infamous Diamond Race (which they won) and in Austria where they finished 3rd. They will compete in the 2023 Catalina Water Ski Race in Long Beach, California on July 22. View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk You can find Todd Haig on Instagram @thaig13 You can find Team Nordic on Instagram @team_nordic_racing  Visit Nordic Boats online at www.nordicboatsusa.com Learn more about the Catalina Water Ski Race at www.catalinaskirace.net/ Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com  Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk Contact me: [email protected]  

Taylor Scism is the Director of Client Relations at Marine Technology, Inc./MTI Boats, a company owned and founded by her father Randy. Scism is also a World Champion Offshore Powerboat racer as she competes in the 450 Factory Stock class in one of the company’s 39 ft. MTI Catamarans. Scism began racing in 2021 in an effort to learn more about the mechanics of making a boat go fast. She currently competes in the Offshore Powerboat Association, P1 Offshore, and Race World Offshore racing series. Scism has grown up with MTI boats, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and aspires to someday succeed her father as the leader of the high performance boating monster. You can find Taylor Scism on Instagram @taylor.scism and @mtiboats and Facebook @Taylor Scism and @MTI - Marine Technology Inc  Visit MTI Boats at www.marinetechnologyinc.com Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com  View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk Contact me: [email protected]