On To Its Next Mission: Tom Cat Skater Finds New Home

When the opportunity arose to own Tomcat, an iconic 2001 Skater Powerboats 46-foot catamaran that was restored and repowered in 2013 with twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines and M8 drives, Todd Fountain of Newport, Mich., couldn’t resist. A self-proclaimed “V-bottom guy”—Fountain has owned several Cigarette Racing Team models and currently has a triple-engine Statement Marine 380 SUV center console—wouldn’t have considered the 46-footer a few years back.

Powered by twin Mercury Racing 1350 engines, the Tomcat Skater shown running at Skaterfest 2015 will return to the Michigan event this year, according to its new owner Todd Fountain. Photo by Jay Nichols/Naples Image

His appreciation for cats has come a long way though thanks to several opportunities to drive friends’ boats as well as his ownership of the Skater 402 V, which was powered by twin Mercury Racing 700SCi engines and on display in Skater’s booth at the 2014 Miami International Boat Show. The boat basically brought him closer to the Skater family, or Skater Nation rather.

“I just felt it was time for a cat and thought what better one than Tomcat that my friend Ron Szolack owned,” said Fountain, who owns Dynamic Fire Protection, a full-service fire protection company in Newport. “We closed the deal on the boat at the end of last year and I’m so excited to be able to use it this season. It’s actually at Boat Customs now. Chris Mills and his guys are going through it all.

Read more: On to its Next Mission

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