Overhaul Begins for Outerlimits 47 GTX Remote Access

For Louisiana performance boater Nate Michel, his dream boat is on its way to becoming a reality. Michel, who lives in Saint Amant, La., purchased his 2003 Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats 47 GTX 13 months ago and enjoyed several poker runs throughout 2014 once Jason Ventura of Brand X Hi-Performance Marine in Pompano Beach, Fla., got his hands on the boat—dubbed Remote Access—as well as a custom set of 1,100-hp engines.

Nate and Robin Michel are excited about the upcoming transformation of their Outerlimits 47 GTX.

Not long after returning from an incident-free Key West Poker Run in November, Michel turned to Stephen Emmons and the talented crew at Total Marine Performance in Ponchatoula, La., to completely disassemble the 47-footer and prepare it for a new paint job and interior overhaul. Although dealing with a variety of engine issues since taking delivery of the 47-foot V-bottom on Christmas day in 2013 was never part of his plan, Michel said he had always intended to enjoy the boat for a season and then put some time and money into it to make it entirely his own.

Michel’s 47 GTX is currently at Grafik Worx in Miami being prepped for its new red, black and white paint job. At the same time, Emmons is busy working on the boat’s new all-black interior, which he said is going to be a very clean and unique combination of Alcantara and leather. Emmons also said the boat is going to feature a one-off floor design and some cutting-edge fiber-optic lighting—although he doesn’t want to give too much away until the boat is finished. (Editor’s note: Speedonthewater.com plans to follow the Remote Access project until its first run of 2015—the Tickfaw 200 Poker Run in Michel’s home state.)

“I have already sunk more into this boat than I paid for it,” Michel said with a laugh. “This project is totally worth it to me though because once I sell this boat I’m done with boating. This is exactly the boat I wanted so I hope to have it for a very long time.”

Check out the slideshow for more images of the 47 GTX.

Michel, who is currently painting his Ford F-650 tow vehicle all black, said both he and his wife, Robin, can’t wait to see how the boat turns out. In fact, they’re planning to visit Grafik Worx during a trip to the Miami International Boat Show next month to see how it’s progressing.

“I’m excited to work with Nate on this project,” said Emmons, who has been selling, servicing and restoring powerboats for 15 years. “He gave me some ideas of what he wanted, but really he is letting us take it and run with it. Customers like Nate are a dream come true. He has good taste and likes things that aren’t too busy.”

Speedonthewater.com will provide additional updates on Remote Access as available.