American Ethanol Shooting For 'Two-Teens' In Lake of the Ozarks Shootout

Heading to the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri next week, American Ethanol teammates John Cosker and Slug Hefner are hoping not just to defend the team’s 2015 Top Gun title, but eclipse the mark of 208 mph set by Cosker and Myrick Coil last year in Don Onken’s 52-foot Mystic Powerboats catamaran. Cosker will throttle the boat while Hefner, who is taking delivery of his own new 50-foot Mystic cat (read the story) during the event but won’t run it in the top-speed contest, will do the driving.

Cosker and Hefner are hoping to follow up their victory in American Ethanol at the GLOC Performance Boat Challenge (above) with a Top Gun title during the upcoming Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. Photo courtesy/copyright Jeff Helmkamp.

“I think the boat has the potential to get into the 220s,” said Cosker, the owner and founder of Mystic in DeLand, Fla. “But from what we’re seeing, I think we’ll get in the ‘two-teens.’ ”

Cosker said that his seat time in the 52-footer, which is powered by four 1,800-hp piston engines, during last month’s GLOC Performance Boat Challenge Shootout proved invaluable in preparation for the upcoming Lake of the Ozarks event.

“Now that the engines are running well, we’ve been able to learn a lot about the bottom,” he said. “It was a little sluggish coming off the line—I think it may have had the same suction problem we experienced with another Mystic. So we made a few changes to the hull, and I’m hoping they’ll make a difference. If we come off the line quicker hopefully that will lead to a bigger top-end number.”

Cosker described American Ethanol, one of two Mystic cats built with a 52-foot running surface (it’s actually 15 inches longer than that of a “standard” C5000 cat) as “spooky stable” at 200 mph and beyond. “It’s the best one I’ve ever run over 200 mph,” he said. “I think having four engines way down in the hull really helps stabilize the boat. It’s just settled.”

As noted in two prior speedonthewater.com news stories, American Ethanol won’t be the only Mystic catamaran competing in the Shootout. Low Altitude, Win Farnsworth’s twin 1,800-hp turbine engine-powered 50-foot Mystic cat, will compete on Saturday and Sunday.

Major Mystic Presence Also Planned Throughout The Event
Thanks in no small part to Shogren Performance Marine, Mystic will have its largest turnout ever during next week’s festivities, starting with Wednesday night’s Shootout on the Strip street party presented by Waves and Wheels. That event will feature three Mystic C5000 cats (American Ethanol, though technically a 52-footer as noted above, Low Altitude and Hefner’s new Mercury Racing 1550/1350-powered model), a C4400 catamaran and three M4200 luxury center consoles.

Two of the seven Mystic models fans will find at the Shootout on the Strip street party during the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. Photos courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix and Shogren Performance Marine.

All three center consoles, the 44-foot cat and Hefner’s 50-footer are likely to participant in Friday’s Poly Lift Poker Run. The cats also will be on display during much of Super Cat Fest—Mystic is a sponsor—at the docks behind the Camden On The Lake Resort, the host venue for the exotic catamaran showcase event.

“This will be the biggest Mystic presence ever at the Shootout,” said Scott Sjogren, the owner Shogren Performance Marine, Mystic’s global dealer in McHenry, Ill. “We have a busy week on tap.”

American Ethanol Shooting For ‘Two-Teens’ In Lake of the Ozarks Shootout

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