Nor-Tech 390 Completes Center Console And Cat Combo For Empire State Couple
Just one week after running their new DCB Performance Boats M37R catamaran at the Lake Champlain Poker Run in Vermont, Ken and Renee Lalonde of Upstate New York hauled the Mercury Racing 450R outboard engine-powered 37-footer to Central Missouri for the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout and Super Cat Fest. Members of the 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run organizing committee and one the most gracious and fun-loving couples in the Northeastern performance-boating community, they were home for two days between road trips.
Clearly, they take their boating seriously, which explains why—as previously reported on speedonthewater.com—the cat is one of two new color-matched beauties the husband-and-wife duo had built this year. The other is a Nor-Tech 390 Sport center console powered by quad Mercury Racing 400R outboards.
And though they had hoped to have it earlier in the season, the 39-footer was delivered in time for them to campaign it—as well as their DCB beauty—in last weekend’s Oneida Lake Chicken Wing Run.
More than worth the wait, Ken and Renee Lalonde’s Nor-Tech 390 Sport center console is a stunner.
“For the first time, Renee towed the Nor-Tech with the F-450 and I towed the other boat,” Ken Lalonde said. “I ran the DCB with my son, Josh, and my best friend Mike Lasell drove the Nor-Tech with Renee, and some friends. It was a lot of fun, a cool event.
“I have been looking forward to running the Nor-Tech all summer and I’m going to for the first time this weekend,” he added. “Renee’s family is coming up”
Though he hasn’t gotten behind the wheel of his newest ride, Lalonde is no stranger to the Nor-Tech brand. In May 2020, he purchased a new 390 Sport powered by three Mercury Racing 400R outboards from Michael Knoblock at American Custom Marine, a full-service Nor-Tech dealer in Kimball, Mich. He sold that boat (at the same price he purchased it) and used that money to help fund his new one.
When it came to matching the Lalonde’s Nor-Tech paint colors with the gelcoat hues of their DCB, the Nor-Tech team sweated the details.
Lalonde had hoped to have the Nor-Tech 390 in time for the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Northern Michigan in July, but supply chain issues delayed the delivery, an all-too-common challenge in the manufacturing world—marine and otherwise—the year. But he still tackled Boyne Thunder in his full-tunnel DCB cat and hung out with Nor-Tech’s dealer manager Geoff Tomlinson and chief operating officer Henrik Margård, both enjoying the event for this first time this year.
“The Lalonde’s 390 Sport isn’t the first color-matched boat we’ve done, but it is the first one like this with a DCB,” Tomlinson said. “It was a really cool project and they were incredibly patient in letting Nor-Tech make sure the boat met their expectations. We’re excited for them and can’t wait to see it on the water.”
To make sure their paint matched the gelcoat applied at DCB, the Cape Coral, Fla., builder secured a gelcoat remnant from the El Cajon, Calif., catamaran builder and brought in a representative from global automotive and marine paint powerhouse PPG Industries.
“You can’t even tell the difference in colors between the two boats—they’re right on,” Lalonde said.
Knoblock agreed. “It came out awesome,” he said. “I have known Ken for years from past poker runs but got to spend time with him and Renee during Boyne Thunder this year—Ken and I were both sponsors. They’re great people.”
Enjoy more images of the 39-footer beauty in the slideshow above.
During the Oneida Lake Chicken Wing Run, the Lalonde’s new Nor-Tech 390 topped out at 89.8 mph in Lasell’s capable hands. Top speed with the quad 400R propulsion package is 92 mph and that’s more than enough for them in a center console likely to host a crowd on any given boating weekend. Upgrading to quad Mercury Racing 450R outboards was a six-figure proposition and Ken Lalonde, who loved his triple 400-hp outboard-powered 39-footer, didn’t see the need.
And though he can’t wait to run the blue-and-yellow stunner in the 1,000 Islands area this weekend, he already knows he’ll be thrilled with it.
“The Nor-Tech I bought from Michael last year was by far my favorite boat I’ve ever owned,” he said. “Everything about it, especially ergonomics, was perfect. The extra outboard will give the new boat even better stability and acceleration.
“And it will hit 70 mph without even touching the trim,” he added, then laughed. “I can’t wait to run it.”
A perfect pair for an appreciative couple.
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