Skater Building First Verado Outboard-Powered 368 Catamaran

ByMatt Trulio January 12, 2016March 28, 2020

With its first Mercury Racing Verado 400R outboard engine-powered 318 catamaran complete, Skater Powerboats of Douglas, Mich., has sets its sights on something bigger tapping the Fond du Lac, Wis., high-performance marine company’s most powerful outboard offerings. The build of a Skater 368 cat to be powered by pair of the 400-hp outboards is underway.

Still in the early stages of construction, Skater’s first Verado 400R outboard-powered 36-footer should be completed by summer (click image to enlarge).

The 36-footer, which is being built for former offshore racer Matt Rice, will have a 34’6” running surface—significantly shorter than that of a standard 368—and will be constructed as lightly as possible, according Skater’s national sales manager Tony Cutsuries. The catamaran’s standard tunnel width of 64 inches and 11-foot beam will not change.

“What we did is take the standard 368 and cut it way down, not just by damming the hull mold to shorten the running surface, but we’ll be making the deck lower profile and adding a lower windshield,” said Cutsuries. “As for the weight, we’re hoping to get it down to between 5,000 and 5,500 pounds.”

Rice is particularly familiar with the Verado 400R outboards as last year Grant’s Signature Racing repowered his 32-foot Skater cat with pair of the popular offerings. (To learn more about that project, download the July/August 2015 issue of Speed On The Water digital magazine now at no charge by clicking here.)

Cutsuries said that the 36-footer is scheduled to be completed by this summer.

Editor’s Note: Speedonthewater.com will follow this Skater 368 build through its various stages as it develops.

Skater Building First Verado Outboard-Powered 368 Catamaran

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