DCB Delivers First Mercury Racing 450R-Powered 33-Footer
No one enjoyed the Lake Powell Challenge last weekend more than Greg Timmons. Not only did the Southern Californian get to take in the Colorado River-fed waterway’s breathtaking desert scenery with his family, he got to do it in a brand new boat. As reported in our 2019 Lake Powell Challenge coverage, Timmons took delivery of the first DCB Performance Boats M33R Widebody catamaran powered by Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines.
Before it was delivered to its owner for the Lake Powell Challenge, the first DCB M33R catamaran equipped with Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines reached 125 mph in a test session (click image to enlarge). Photo courtesy/copyright Tom Leigh/Tommy Gun Images.
Fans of the El Cajon, Calif.-based custom go-fast catamaran brand likely know of Timmons as the former owner of a new DCB M28R powered by Mercury Racing 400R outboards. Though Timmons said he loved the 28-footer, which he owned for a year and a half, he sold it in December 2018 and ordered the 33-footer with bigger power.
“I felt like I wanted a bigger boat and I had heard the 450R was coming,” he said. “The new boat rides beautifully. It can get pretty rough on Lake Powell with the water rebounding off the rock cliffs and the M33R just glided right over that stuff. I did the Lake Powell event last year in my M28R, and it didn’t have the same feel. It’s a great boat, too. It’s just smaller and narrower.”
After taking the 33-footer through a shakedown cruise and running it to 125 mph with its engines turning 6,450 rpm and 35-inch-pitch Mercury CNC propellers on the lower-unit spindles on Lake Elsinore in Southern California, DCB’s Tony Chiaramonte delivered the boat to Timmons on Thursday at Antelope Point Marina in Paige, Ariz., the host venue for the Lake Powell event. With his family on board for three long days of boating, Timmons opted not to push it and ran the cat to 107 mph.
“Tony told me he ran out of room and propeller at Lake Elsinore,” he said. “With a taller propeller and cooler weather, he said it will probably run 128 mph.
“The 450s have so much more punch and torque than the 400s, especially in the mid-range,” he continued. “I barely push the sticks forward and it jumps.”
Timmons ordered the half-capped, foam-cored boat, which was built with the Vacuum Infused Resin process, a full carbon-fiber layup and 100-percent Alcantara interior color-matched to its Phase III gelcoat exterior, completely loaded. Electronics include a pair of 12-inch Simrad NSS12 touchscreen monitors and one 12-inch Garmin 7612 GPS unit. A pair of Garmin units also are mounted in the backs of the headrests of the driver and co-pilot bucket seats. All six seats are set up with an intercom system featuring VHF boat-to-boat communication known as the DCB channel.
Check out the slideshow above for a closer look at Timmons’ new M33R Widebody catamaran.
Other niceties include DCB’s Interior Rigid LED lighting package (mood lighting, courtesy lighting, LED cupholders) and Stage II stereo system with a Fusion head unit, two hard-wired remotes, a pair of JL Audio amplifiers, eight JL Audio M6 midrange speakers and two 13-inch JL Audio subwoofers. Hardware includes DTS controls and a 40-inch billet swim step with SeaDek surfacing.
Chiaramonte delivered the 33-footer on a triple-axle trailer with 18-inch FUEL rims, stainless fenders and a triangular drive guard, an undercarriage LED lighting package and more from Extreme Custom Trailers.
“We did three full days of boating at Lake Powell, probably running five hours a day—but we did a lot more miles than hours,” Timmons said. “We probably ran at least 300 miles.
“On Saturday, I ran side by side with a friend who has an M33R with 400s,” he added. “And I was pulling away from him the whole time. Now he’s selling it to buy a 450R boat from DCB.”
For three straight days, Timmons and his family explored Lake Powell in their new 33-footer. Photo courtesy/copyright Tom Leigh/Tommy Gun Images.
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