MTI Finishes New 390X With Mercury 450R Engines And More To Come For Miami Show

To no surprise, Randy Scism and the team at MTI in Wentzville, Mo., have been working hard on the company’s full lineup of models as of late. They are currently getting a new MTI-V 57 with five Mercury Racing 450R engines together to show off at next month’s Miami International Boat Show (Feb. 13-17) at Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, along with a bevy of other boats, including a 48-foot catamaran with twin Mercury Racing 1350/1100 engines, a quad-engine MTI-V 42 luxury performance center console and a 340X sport cat with twin 450R engines.

The second MTI 390X, which is powered by twin Mercury Racing 450R engines, is ready for its demo boat duties. Photos courtesy MTI

Of course the company is going to have two of its all-new outboard-powered 390X catamarans front and center at its in-water space, booths 392-399. In a little sneak peek, Scism and his delightful daughter, Taylor, who manages client relations, shared a few images of the latest 39-footer, hull No. 2, which is going to MTI’s 2020 demo model. Hull No. 1 was supposed to be the demo, but MTI customer Tom Hall made an offer MTI couldn’t refuse following its early November unveiling in South Florida before the Key West Poker Run. Hull No. 3 is currently being painted—it’s the first one that wasn’t an MTI-designed wrap—and is going to be the other 39-footer on display in Miami.

“We took the new demo boat out recently over the holidays and we couldn’t be happier with it,” said Randy Scism, who didn’t mind spending time in the cat despite brisk conditions on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. “The performance numbers are awesome and the more I run the 390X, the more I’m impressed with how well it does everything. We’ve sold 13 of them already. Everyone who went for a ride in Florida or here at the lake has been blown away. They all talk about how good it does in all kinds of conditions.”

Although he said there’s nothing like a custom paintjob, Scism has come around to the idea of wrapping a boat, especially because it ultimately saves on the build time since the boat doesn’t spend a month or two in the paint booth.

Check out the slideshow above for a couple more images of the new 390X as well as a picture of the new 340X and MTI-V 42 models that are going to be on display in Miami next month.

“We have five paint booths going at the shop and it’s still not enough,” Scism said. “A lot of our customers want paint—that’s not going away—but I can see why getting your boat done quicker by having it wrapped at a fraction of the cost of paint would be appealing. It has its merit for a customer who just wants to go boating.

“I think the two wraps we’ve done so far have turned out great,” he continued. “They don’t have the finish of paint but the detail is impressive and they appear to be very durable. One of our 42 V customers is going to have us wrap his new boat from the rubrail down. Besides the printing, which is handled by the local company that also does the install, the application process takes about three days. They can wrap seatbacks, side panels, dashes, you name it. They can do touch-ups, too.”

Taylor Scism added that longtime MTI customer Johnny O’Loughlin’s 48-foot cat that he took delivery of last fall is going to be in the Mercury Racing display showing off the Fond du Lac, Wis., company’s 1550/1350 engines.

Needless to say it’s going to be a busy several weeks, make that months with the company’s Owners Fun Run in the Florida Keys coming up in March, for the team at MTI.

MTI Finishes New 390X With Mercury 450R Engines And More To Come For Miami Show

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