Eliminator Goes ‘Above and Beyond’ with Revamped 25 Daytona Interior

Last fall dedicated performance boater and drag racer Brendan Alvarez—the owner of PSI Racing in Sarasota, Fla.—repurchased the Eliminator Boats 25 Daytona catamaran he bought new in 2008 and sold in 2014. Then, after making sure the boat, which is powered by an in-line six-cylinder turbocharged PSI Racing engine, still ran well, Alvarez turned it over to the Eliminator crew in Mira Loma, Calif., to freshen up the interior.

The PSI Racing fleet of dragsters includes two Toyota cars and an Eliminator Boats catamaran. All photos courtesy Brendan Alvarez

And boy is he glad he did. After a lengthy trip to Southern California to pick up the boat recently—get this: Alvarez hopped a flight from Florida to St. Louis, drove to Nashville, Ill., to pick up a new truck, then drove 1,800 miles to California only to get back in the truck and drive 2,500 miles (with boat in tow) to his hometown of Bradenton, Fla.—Alvarez was beyond impressed with the completed interior.

“All I can say is Bob Leach and the crew at Eliminator went above and beyond with the boat,” Alvarez said. “Not only did the interior upgrade turn out amazing, the team also made sure to take care of some small scratches and house the Daytona while all the new details were completed.”

With the goal of giving the almost 20-year-old 25-footer a modernized look complete, Alvarez said it’s on to the fun part (for him).

“Now that she’s home, it’s game time,” Alvarez said. “Luckily I have many of the components to put a ‘new project’ in the works and with the Daytona already loaded with all the previous engine goodies, it makes things a lot easier since we have plenty of spare parts, new and old.

“We already have a complete short block built, and we’re going to go through the cylinder head, install new gauges, new injectors and prepare her to head back to the West Coast to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., for the Desert Storm Poker Run in early May,” Alvarez continued. “The ECU we used in the boat was that of 10-year-old technology, controlling only fuel parameters. The New Haltech Engine Management System will have ignition and fuel control so we will be able to run a flex fuel sensor that way when there is no E85 available I can run standard pump or race fuel.”

The slideshow above includes several images of the new interior that the team at Eliminator Boats recently completed for Alvarez.

Following Desert Storm, Alvarez is planning to return to the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Missouri at the end of August. “We’re very excited to see all our old fans and friends at both events,” he said.

As you can see by the image above, building high-performance Toyota drag cars has consumed much of Alvarez’s life for the past 20 years.

“Pictured with the boat is our current drag car—a 1982 Toyota starlet with a best quarter mile E.T. of 6.98 seconds and a best trap speed of 200.38 mph,” Alvarez explained. “That car is powered by a PSI Racing-built 2.0L 4-cylinder Toyota 3S engine that produces more than 1,400 hp at 11,000 rpm with about 55 psi. The other drag car is our next project—a full carbon-fiber chromoly chassied Toyota Supra. It will be powered by a PSI Racing-built 3.2L Toyota 2JZ and will produce an estimated 2,500 hp at 10,000 rpm with over 85 psi.”

Alvarez added that he wouldn’t be able to do this without plenty of hometown help, including that of Mike Fountain of Fountain Race Engines, Ryan Beckley of Kinetic Animation, Grant Bruggemann of Grant’s Signature Racing, Lee Latozke of Latozke Racing Heads and photographer Pete Boden of Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“I’d also like to thank all of the sponsors who have helped us, including Haltech, Arias Pistons and Web Cam,” Alvarez said. “I can’t leave out my good buddy, Rob McKeehan of Rootz EFI CA who has always helped me out when I’m out West, and of course my longtime friend, Brian Jackson of Offshore Outdrives who has had my IMCO SC drive performing flawlessly.

“We’re looking forward to a good year showcasing the Daytona so everyone can see it and hear it in the water at some of the greatest events in the country,” he concluded.

Editor’s note: Speedonthewater.com will continue to follow Alvarez’s progress with the 25 Daytona.

Eliminator Goes ‘Above and Beyond’ with Revamped 25 Daytona Interior

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