Image of the Week: Caldwell’s Custom 48 MTI

This year wasn’t the first time that John Caldwell had a new MTI catamaran on display at the Miami International Boat Show. In fact, at the 2018 show, the Fort Worth, Texas, performance boater had two boats on display at the docks in front of Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key as MTI had his 2017 green and black 40-footer with twin Mercury Racing 1100 engines for sale in the company’s booth while Caldwell’s new 43-foot cat—the first boat with Mercury Racing’s new dual-fuel 1350/1100 engines—was part of the Mercury display.

John Caldwell’s 48-foot MTI catamaran that was on display at the Miami International Boat Show features a new eight-seat cockpit design and twin Mercury Racing 1350/1100 engines (click to enlarge). Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

But this year’s show was extra special to Caldwell being that his new 48-foot catamaran with twin Mercury Racing 1350/1100 engines dubbed Never Stops was the spotlighted cat in the MTI display and was one of two boats the Wentzville, Mo., company brought out for speedonthewater.com’s invitational helicopter photo shoot on Friday morning before the show opened. Caldwell joined MTI owner Randy Scism for the photography session, which included the latest MTI-V 57 luxury performance center console powered by five outboard engines.

“This is my third new build with MTI and my first 48,” said Caldwell, who owns J Caldwell Custom Pools. “I can’t say enough good things about Randy, Taylor, Tom, Wes, Jason, Nick and the rest of the team Randy has so eloquently constructed at MTI. The entire crew tries so hard—I mean whatever you want to do, they’re going to listen to you and do their best to accomplish it. I’ve asked them to do way too many one-off things and I honestly can’t remember when they have said no to my request.”

Caldwell cited the new cockpit design he asked Scism about doing to offer more wind protection for passengers in the rear seats. His idea, he said, was to bring the center rear seats forward directly behind the driver and copilot seats for additional protection from the wind.

“When I presented the idea to Randy he said he didn’t know if it would work, but that he’d give it a shot,” Caldwell said. “It actually ended up working great, plus we gained some space to include a cooler behind the two seats and steps down into the cockpit between the center seats and the two outside seats. I rode back there and so did Randy at one point, and we were completely protected from the wind.”

Caldwell said his boat is currently at MTI’s South Florida sales and service center located at Haulover Marine Center in North Miami and that he plans to run it in this week’s MTI Owners Fun Run in the Florida Keys.

“I love the 48; the boat runs unbelievably well,” said Caldwell, who opted for a MYCO Trailer for his new cat. “Every one of the MTIs I have owned run really good, but the 48—with the wider tunnel and longer running surface—is very responsive and handles big water with ease.”

Editor’s note: Look for more on Caldwell’s new ride in the next Speed On The Water magazine featuring 13 different profiles on high-performance boats from the Miami International Boat Show.

Image of the Week: Caldwell’s Custom 48 MTI

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