Image of the Week: Before the After

The high-performance powerboat circus that’s the best part—at least for us—of the Miami International Boat Show has already started rolling out of town. The show closed yesterday, and to my way of thinking, and according to vendors who didn’t get rained on, it was among the best Miami events in years.

Under wraps before the Miami Show—the Mercury Racing 1650 Race engine. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols.

Among the noteworthy products unveiled this year was the Mercury Racing 1650 Race engine. It’s safe to say a lot of people knew it was coming, but details on the engine were scarce until the Mercury Racking folks pulled off the sheet and began talking about it. And nobody but those folks and a few people in the Miss GEICO offshore racing camp new that the team would be running the 1,650-hp powerplants. That deal was inked less than 24 hours before the unveiling.

That’s the glitz, the stuff that makes news stories. But before the Miami Show, “before the after” if you will, there’s an untold amount of grunt work and sweat, long days and late nights that are decidedly unglamorous.

That’s what we love about this Jay Nichols photos of the Mercury Racing 1650 Race engine the day before the unveiling. There’s nothing sexy or appealing about an engine wrapped in a blanket. But when the blanket comes off? Wow.