Janssen Nabs Unique Outerlimts SV 53 to Go Poker Running

Best known for his dominant Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats SV 29 raceboat Snowy Mountain Brewery, Michael “Doc” Janssen is the proud new owner of the notable, but seldom used, canopied carbon-fiber 53-foot Outerlimits that he said was the inspiration for his one-and-only 29-foot Superboat Vee-class boat.

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Marker 17 Marine is updating the Outerlimits SV 53 to get it ready for next month’s Key West Poker Run. Photos courtesy Michael Janssen

Featuring twin Teague Custom Marine power plants that are currently being converted to the Valencia, Calif., company’s 1,365-hp, 5-liter Whipple-supercharged engines, the SV 53 was built in 2010 and was more “work of art” than “pleasure boat” because of its limited use. It was only in the water a few times before Outerlimits took it to New York’s Buffalo Poker Run in early August and the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Missouri at the end of August.

“In 2011 I was interested in coming up with a new design for a Superboat Vee raceboat,” said Janssen, a spinal surgeon from Colorado. “The boat I was amazed by and ended up being used for a template was the newly constructed SV 53 that Mike (Fiore, the late Outerlimits founder) was building for an owner in Russia to be showcased at the Miami International Boat Show.”

Fast forward a few years and a dozen calls to Fiore asking if the owner would be willing to part with the boat, which mainly sat in storage in Bristol, R.I., and Janssen pounced on the opportunity to own the five-seat SV 53 after he got to see it up close and personal at the Shootout. He said he plans to take the V-bottom to poker runs—starting with the Florida Powerboat Club’s Key West Poker Run next month—and use it at his home away from home, Lake of the Ozarks.

He hasn’t decided whether he’s going to race the Snowy Mountain Brewery boat this year at the Super Boat International World Championships in Key West, Fla., but Janssen is doing the poker run no matter and will likely have both Outerlimits on display. Motivated by the name of a tribute article to Fiore he co-wrote with speedonthewater.com’s very own Matt Trulio in LO Profile Magazine, he is renaming the boat Without Limits. Formerly Panties Off, the V-bottom is already stickered with its new name as well as Snowy Mountain Brewery and Saratoga Resort and Spa logos.

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The slideshow above includes more photos of Without Limits, Janssen’s Outerlimits SV 53 powered by Teague Custom Marine engines.

“I can’t wait to get in the boat—and no, I haven’t driven it yet,” said Janssen, who has won five world championships alongside Brian Forehand of Marker 17 Marine (formerly of Fountain Powerboats) since 2009. The last three years, their team won in Snowy Mountain Brewery. The year before that they won the same class in the Watch Your Back Fountain, and in 2009 they won the Superboat Vee Extreme class in the 42-foot Fountain Saratoga Stampede.

“I bought the boat on Sunday morning of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, stored it in my building that night and shipped it down to Marker 17 Marine in North Carolina where Brian began assessing the setup,” Janssen continued. “We’re currently changing the setup to maximize the performance. Brian and the team at Marker 17 set up both Outerlimits—Snowy Mountain Brewery and Joe Sgro’s 180-mph SV 43—for the world record kilo runs we established last year so we’ve got a lot of experience behind us.”

Janssen said the project has created a wonderful team atmosphere already and even includes a pair of his past spine-surgery patients, Bob Teague and Joey Griffith.

“I’m really excited about Without Limits,” Janssen said. “The boat is such a showpiece. Between it and Snowy Mountain Brewery, I feel like I have two of the greatest boats Mike ever built.”


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