MTI Delivers Luxurious New 390X At Owners Fun Run

For Brett and Sharon Spraggins—Huntington Beach, Calif.-based performance boaters who do a majority of their boating at their home away from home, Arizona’s Lake Havasu—they’re still coming down from the high of taking delivery of their astonishing new MTI 390X catamaran powered by Mercury Racing 450R engines during the Wenztville, Mo., company’s annual Owners Fun Run in the Florida Keys last week.

Southern California performance boat enthusiasts Brett and Sharon Spraggins were excited to take delivery of their new MTI 390X catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 450R engines. Photos by Tom Leigh/Tommy Gun Images

The Spraggins, who also own a Statement Marine 38-foot center console with quad Mercury Racing Verado 400R engines, got their new 39-foot cat just in time for the MTI-hosted event that went from Miami to Key West, Fla., and back, and were blown away by the boat, which they’ve named Bougiee AF in a nod to the couple’s appreciation for the finer things in life and because “Bougiee” is Sharon’s fun-loving nickname among her powerboating friends.

“Oh my gosh, we had such an incredible time boating in the Keys with so many incredible people,” said Sharon Spraggins, who was very involved in the decision process regarding the boat’s paintjob, interior and more. “The boat is absolutely gorgeous and the ride is amazing. It is so smooth and comfortable. I wasn’t sure if I wanted another cat, but we rode in a 34-foot MTI at the 2018 Lake Powell Challenge and we were very impressed so we went ahead and ordered the new 390 in early 2019 before MTI had even announced it was building the boat.

“I can’t even tell you how many people came over to check out the boat during the event and they all told us how good it looked,” she continued. “Brett and I were blown away. The paintjob is beautiful and everything inside the boat is perfectly finished. I’m a picky person and pay close attention to detail, and I couldn’t find one thing in the boat to pick apart. And neither could Brett.”

Brett Spraggins said MTI owner Randy Scism came up to him after the event and asked him if he wanted the team at MTI to haul the boat back to Missouri to update or change anything on it, and Brett said absolutely not.

“I told Randy it was perfect and, to be honest, I think he was a little surprised,” Brett Spraggins said. “Randy and the MTI team kept telling us that they couldn’t believe how cool the boat was coming together, especially the interior with the trim pieces of orange Louis Vuitton bags that were added to the seating and covered the controls console between the front seats, and we weren’t sure we if they were just saying that because they tell everyone that. But they were right. It came out perfect and they got it done when they said they would. It came down to the wire, but Randy and his team came through. The entire build process was pleasant and everything came out exactly as planned.

“The boat is a joy to drive,” he continued, adding that it’s going to take some getting used to the outboard-powered 39-footer after coming out of a 150-plus-mph DCB Performance Boats M35 Widebody powered by twin Mercury Racing 1100 engines. “There’s no denying the difference in the motors—they’re not 1100s—but Sharon was done going that fast so we followed the outboard trend. The boat is still quick; the acceleration is great and so is the midrange power, plus it still runs 120 mph and it’s very comfortable at speed.”

Check out the slideshow above of Bougiee AF, which is derived from the hip-hop slang for something luxurious in lifestyle yet humble in character and is also one of Sharon Spraggins favorite sayings as she loves her Louis Vuitton bags and other lavish things.

Although he admits he was a bit nervous running the 390X in Florida because of the varying water depths, channels and sandbars that aren’t the norm for boaters from the West Coast, Brett Spraggins said it helped that MTI has plotted the course for him in the boat’s Garmin GPS display.

“What MTI did for us and everyone at their event was first class,” he said. “Everything was great and well organized. They had a fuel truck there, they had guys wiping down all of the boats at the docks and they even brought our luggage down in a van so no one had to load their bags into their boats. It was a pretty cool experience.”

Brett Spraggins added that he appreciated the limited amount of noise produced by the twin 450-hp supercharged engines because he could communicate easily with everyone in the cockpit. He said that he’s also expecting to appreciate the maintenance aspects of the 450R engines, not to mention the more affordable insurance that comes with the boat.

“We can’t wait to get the boat out to Havasu,” Brett Spraggins said. “This boat is going to be pretty eye-catching out there. The Statement definitely is, and the MTI is going to be the perfect complement to that boat.”

MTI Delivers Luxurious New 390X At Owners Fun Run

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