Fastboats Marine Group Airfreighting Two Statement Center Consoles To Abu Dhabi

ByMatt Trulio

faststate-04

For offshore powerboat racer Randy Sweers, last month’s trip to Doha, Qatar, for the inaugural Qatar Cup proved exceptionally worthwhile. Not only did Sweers and his Racing For Cancer teammate Jay Cooke take third place overall in the Super Cat class, Sweers—the owner of Fastboats Marine Group in Miami and Pompano Beach, Fla.—sold two new outboard engine-powered Statement Marine 38′ SUV Center Consoles to a buyer in Abu Dhabi through a contact made in Doha.

“I met Rashid Al Tayer, the throttleman for the Abu Dhabi X-Cat, while we were in Qatar,” said Sweers, who was joined by his wife, Kim, and their son, Chase, for the event. “I’ve been dealing with him. We are in the process of airfreighting to two 38-foot Statement center consoles with triple Mercury Racing 350s, the new ones. Nick Buis and Craig Barrie of Statement and I put the deal together.”

A Boeing 747 is carrying the 38-footers to the Middle Eastern nation. The hard top for each center console had to be removed for the boats to fit inside the cargo jet.

To see what it takes to get a 38-foot center console ready for shipping by air, check out the slideshow above.

“They had to build custom cradles for the hard tops,” said Sweers. “The guys at Statement did a phenomenal job. I will be sending one of my guys, Jay Meyer, over there when the boats clear customs to reinstall the hard tops and get the boats ready for delivery.”

Sweers said he has a number of customers in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai and Kuwait. As they have in the United States, performance-oriented center consoles have become popular in the region.

“They do give you some sun protection with those big tops, which is nice as it gets closer to summer time,” said Sweers. “They have good performance from reliable power that you’re not wrenching on all the time.”

Related Stories

Victory And Racing For Cancer Prevail, Outerlimits Crashes On Final Turn In Qatar Cup
Racing For Cancer Honored For Efforts In Qatar