[kytradersclassifieds]

In this speed range, buyers still have both V-bottom and catamaran options. On the V-bottom side, Cigarette Racing Team offers three models—the 39 Top Gun, the 42 Tiger and the 50 Marauder—that can fill the bill if powered by Mercury Racing 1550/1350 power-adjustable engines, or Mercury Racing 1350 engines. Though Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats also offers a host of sit-down and stand-up cockpit V-bottoms, the company’s SV 43 is a stunner that can walk the 120- to 140-MPH walk with a pair of Mercury Racing 1350 engines. Now, if you’re looking at a V-bottom that reach 150 MPH and beyond, you’re most viable option is an Outerlimits SV 50 with Mercury Racing 1550/1350 engines.

[jadedinformatio]

Mystic Powerboats C4400 catamaran. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix. here

[JohnVChampion]

Cigarette Racing Team 50 Marauder. Photo by Doug Voisin. more

[SiBorg]

DCB Performance Boats’ M35, M41 and M44 will answer that call if powered with Mercury Racing 1550/1350 engines. With Mercury Racing 1650 engines, 48- and 52-foot open-cockpit and pleasure catamarans from MTI also will approach the upper end of this speed range, as will a Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran with Mercury Racing 1550/1350 or (for those who don’t need the last few miles per hour) 1350s.

[Cedric]

Mystic Powerboats also offers a couple of outrageous catamarans, the C5000 and C4400, that easily meet the 150- to 170-MPH speed criteria with Mercury Racing 1550/1350 and 1350 power. But to be fair, they’ll be harder to come by as the company’s focus now is building its 42- and 38-foot luxury center consoles. Would-be Mystic catamaran buyers have to be willing to wait.

[Edogaa]

It’s generally rather easy to figure out the speed limit when you’re driving on a road. All you have to do is look for the posted speed limit sign. Knowing boat speed regulations laws is a bit trickier.

[WARlrus]

What horsepower can you realistically expect from the average boat purchase?

[cdiet123]

Closer to shore, on a river, in the bay or in other such areas, you have to be a bit more cautious.

[curmudgeon]

As for cruiser-style motorboats that are in the price range of many American families, let’s discuss a few options that give a good sense of average powerboat speed. here

[maddox1085]

Once you’re out on the open water of a sea, ocean or large lake, it’s safe to assume you can take your boat up to its top speed, provided you can see the way ahead of you is safe and clear.

[stevendowning]

Motorboats designed primarily for speed—known as rum-runners in decades past, often called cigarette boats (due to their slender shape) or simply go-fast boats today—can achieve speeds up to 90 MPH with relative ease over calm, flat waters.

[Strofcon]

Narrowing down the list of stunning go-fast offerings to just five boats was—I confess—a challenge because there were so many boats that could make this highly subjective and completely opinionated list. But as the saying goes, that’s what they, the good people at boats.com, pay me for. So here are my favorites, ranked in order. You may agree. You may disagree. Either way, here’s goes.

[d1337r]

The M35 catamaran ruled the roost for DCB in 2018. [links]

[Cheater]

From the Miami International Boat Show in February to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last month—and everything between—it was clear that 2018 would be a killer year for high-performance center consoles, catamarans and V-bottoms. That’s just what happens when the economy is strong, for nothing affects big-ticket discretionary purchases like economic uncertainty, much less downturns.

[nikitakit]

Finally, a special shout-out to the smallest of our performance-category winners. Every now and then a boat comes along that moves the world of sailing forward—think the Hobie 14 or the Laser. Could the Foiling UFO follow in these boats’ footsteps? Time will tell. In the meantime, it sure is fun to see this kind of innovation is still alive and well at the cutting edge of naval architecture.

[gtwickline]

Flying a hull on a 66ft, all-carbon-fiber catamaran may sound futuristic, if not impossible. But stand back, because the HH66 is already delivering precisely these kinds of thrills in the here and now. This past fall, HH Catamarans brought hull #4 of its current flagship to the East Coast, where it made a statement at the Annapolis boat show that went something like: “I’m bold and beautiful, and I’m likely to decimate the competition while providing the utmost luxury for my owners.” [links]

[BrBoy]

If there’s one word that sums up the Best Boats Class of 2018, it would have to be “performance.” This is most obvious in the simple fact that our panel of judges exercised its editorial prerogative to create an additional third performance category, to accommodate three great new speedsters. However, as any old salt can tell you, there’s a lot more to good performance afloat than pure boatspeed. Equally important is the way a boat treats its crew, whether it’s resting on the hook in a quiet anchorage or off soundings battling a gale.