Nor-Tech 390 Sport CC Hull No. 100 Tops 100 MPH

Nor-Tech‘s Trond Schou (right) and Double-R’s Raymond Roberts ran this Nor-Tech Sport 390 CC to more than 100 mph.

Wanting something that would make a big splash at this week’s Miami International Boat Show, the people at Nor-Tech and Double R Performance, the performance boat-builder’s well-known dealer in Ontario, Canada, set out to produce the first outboard engine-powered center console to break the 100-mph barrier. And with a new 390 Sport CC—hull No. 100 since the model was introduced in 2010—powered by quad Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboards on jack plates, they did exactly that during their final run that saw the boat top out at a GPS-recorded 101 mph last Friday.

Nor-Tech principal Trond Schou and Raymond Roberts, who co-owns the full service Double R dealership with his brother, Peter, were on board the 39-footer, which was fully equipped with a full T-top, a stereo system, an additional row of bolsters and a sliding cooler/seat and a host of other amenities.

“It was not a ‘flash’ of 100 mph,” said Roberts. “It was a long pull with the GPS reading 100, 99, 101, 100 and so on. It hung there throughout the run. With five people on board, we got 98 mph in the run before that so we we’re pretty sure we’d get it.”

“The neatest part about the boat is I could take any 39 they ever built and duplicate this performance—this is a factory production hull, not a ‘speed run’ boat,” he continued. “There’s nothing ‘lightened up’ about it. The engines are right out of the crates. It is completely itemized with everything the customer wanted. There’s nothing special about it other than a great hull and some really good setup work. It’s something we could reproduce for any client without having to give up the luxury the boat is known for.”

Terry Sobo, Nor-Tech’s director of sales and marketing, agreed. “We knew the hull could do it,” he said. “We had a 39-foot Monte Carlo with Mercury Racing 700s in that ran 104 mph, and it’s the same hull.”

Both Sobo, who was onboard during the 98-mph run, and Roberts said they felt protected from the high-speed onrushing breeze behind the console. “There was no wind at all behind that big windshield,” said Roberts.

Added Sobo, “We were completely comfortable the whole time.”

The speed number in the lower left-hand corner of this image tells the story. Said Raymond Roberts: “It was a long pull. It hung there throughout the run.”

After the Miami event concludes, the 39-footer will be delivered to its owners/business partners Jean-Luc Sigouin and Cedric and Etienne Derosiers, who have opened a boat-sales division of Sig-nature in Laval, Quebec. Sigouin and Derosiers are longtime Double R Performance/Nor-Tech customers, and Peter Roberts said he sees “plenty of opportunity” for the duo to sell Nor-Tech center consoles in the Quebec area.

That the first 100-mph outboard-powered center console was hull No. 100 was no accident. The Roberts brothers had that goal in mind when they purchased the Sport 390 CC “on spec” before Sigouin and Derosiers stepped up to buy it.

“During my whole career, I have watched guys chase speed numbers,” he said. “They are the guys you don’t hear from for awhile until they post a number. Then you see them at the first half of a poker run—and you don’t see them again. Now we can give our customers a product that is exciting and starts every time you turn the key and puts the fun back into boating. We’ve never had this before in boating, and it’s really exciting to tell the truth.”

“I have never actually taken delivery of a 390 before I’ve sold it,” he added, then laughed. “We’ve always done really well with it.”

Nor-Tech 390 Sport CC Hull No. 100 Tops 100 MPH

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