Inside SOTW Mag: Skater 30 Prototype Project—Immaculate Conversion

Despite that fall presents some of the best boating conditions of the year in Northern California and its compelling Sacramento River Delta, which winds its way through the vast farmland of the Central Valley, the boating activity pretty much drops off there after September. But on any given Saturday or Sunday between then and the first major rainfall of the year—typically during the second or third week in November—you’ll find Discovery Bay’s Dale Rayzor and his longtime girlfriend Lisa Molls out there in his reconfigured 2005 Skater Powerboats 30 Prototype catamaran.

Originally built with big stern-drive power, Dale Rayzor’s Skater 30 Prototype is now an outboard-powered stunner. Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Even on a cold winter weekend, you likely still find them—albeit bundled up to handle the wind-chill—on their local waterway.

And why not? Converting the 30-footer from its original twin 800-hp Sterling Performance engines with Arneson drives to a pair of Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboard engines at Skater Powerboats in Douglas, Mich., took more than two years and cost approximately $250,000.

In addition to revamping the interior and converting the bustle once between the Arneson drives into a swim platform between the outboards, the project included a new breathtaking teal-and-gray paintjob handled by Chris Mills of Boat Customs in Caledonia, Mich.

To read the full story, click the download link for the PDF of the September/October 2018 Speed On The Water magazine, and please share any feedback with us below, via email or on social media.