Outerlimits Launching Assault On V-bottom Kilo Record

While the venue has not yet been determined, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats is gearing up for an attempt to break the V-bottom kilo record in late March. The record currently stands at 171 mph and was set by a 42-foot Fountain Powerboats V-bottom in 2004.

In a recent test session, this Outerlimits SV 43 reportedly reached 164 mph. (Click here to watch the video.

Mike Fiore, the owner of the custom high-performance V-bottom and catamaran company in Bristol, R.I., is teaming up with Joe Sgro—the record attempt will be made in Sgro’s SV 43 canopied raceboat—and noted offshore racer Brian Forehand, as well Michael “Doc” Janssen, who owns the two-time offshore world championship-winning SV 29 Snowy Mountain Brewery raceboat and Dave Scotto, who owns an Outerlimits SL 52 open cockpit V-bottom that ran a record-setting 150 mph at the 2013 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.

(Click the video above to watch a video of the SV 43 during a recent test and click here for a second video.)

“We figured that since we have been very successful making our boats run very fast it was to time to break the V-bottom kilo record and establish a new mark,” said Fiore in a telephone interview this evening. “It’s going to be a collaborative effort. We’re using Joe’s SV 43, which has Mercury Racing 1350 engines in it right now, and we’ll be swapping those out for Dave Scotto’s Mercury Racing 1650s for the record runs. Doc Janssen is excellent at managing and organizing a team, so that’s where his talents will come in.

“We’re working on the logistics for a site right now,” he continued. “In testing with the 1350s, the boat has already run 164 mph. Brian Forehand told me he had never been in a boat that handled so well at such high speed. We’ve done a lot of bottom development to make the boat go faster, and that’s still happening. As soon as we’re done testing with the 1350s, we’ll pull them out and install the 1650s.”

“It was like it was on rails,” said Forehand, who ran the boat in testing today and currently has the 43-footer at Marker 17 Marine, his powerboat dealership and service center in Wilmington, N.C.

Fiore said that the final decision on who will be in the cockpit for the record attempts has not been made. “Brian will be in there for sure,” he said. “I’m not sure who else will be in the boat. I wasn’t planning to, but I may end up in there. Our goal isn’t just to break the kilo record of 171 mph, it’s to break the one-way record of 177 mph. We’re pretty confident in our ability to do both.”

Editor’s Note: Speedonthewater.com will follow this story as it unfolds.