Big Cat Delivery Of ‘Blowin’ Minds’ DCB M33R Widebody Excites New Owners
When your new 33-foot, outboard-powered boat is being delivered at an event like the Big Cat Poker Run, with eye-popping high-performance hardware from the likes of Skater Powerboats, DCB Performance Boats, Eliminator Boats, Marine Technology Inc., and more, it can’t be easy to stand out. Unless, of course, your new boat is a fresh-looking, twin Mercury Racing 450R engine-powered walk-through, open-bow M33R Widebody catamaran from DCB. Then commanding the spotlight at the event in Discovery Bay, Calif., is very possible.
Utah’s Brett and Sheila Baur had a blast at the Big Cat Poker Run in their new DCB M33R Widebody walk-through open-bow catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 450R engines. Photo by Kris Wesenhagen/KKJ Media
Dubbed Blowin’ Minds, said boat is owned by Ogdon, Utah-based performance boaters Brett and Sheila Baur, notable for their MTI and Nor-Tech catamarans that have been tearing up Arizona lakes, primarily Lake Powell and sometimes Lake Havasu, for years. Said boat also features a 50-percent Alcantara, 50-percent Chill Cool Tech marine vinyl interior package with custom two-color SeaDek to complement its flawless-as-only-DCB-does-it white Phase III gelcoat scheme with silver metal flake and light Tiffany-esque blue color accents that match the Baurs’ MB Sports Tomcat watersports boat (below) they purchased two years ago.
The slideshow above includes a few images of Blowin’ Minds at the Big Cat Poker Run. Photos by Kris Wesenhagen and Jason Johnson
“We’ve had some big cats—36- and 40-foot Nor-Techs and 44- and 48-foot MTIs—but we decided to look for something a little smaller and ended up ordering the DCB in 2021, going with the full walk-through to do something different,” said Brett Baur, who, while waiting for his DCB, purchased an Eliminator Boats 28 Speedster powered by twin Mercury Racing 400R engines from Legend Marine in Texas for the 2021 season. He’s since sold it. “I’m glad we went with the 33; it feels like a perfect size, especially with the 450s.
“I was really impressed with how well the M33R ate up the conditions we came across during the Big Cat Poker Run—we had 2- to 3-footers in some crosswind and it ran right through it with six of us on board,” he added. “The 450s are something else. I can’t believe how well the engines run and how much pull they have when you want to get on it a little.”
Brett and Sheila Baur, who said they enjoyed working with the DCB team on the build, were amazed by the El Cajon, Calif., company’s attention to detail on its third full walk-through open-bow M33R.
“The DCB fit and finish is unmatched,” Brett Baur said. “We recently had the 28-foot Eliminator, which was a nice boat—and believe me Eliminator’s product as a whole has come a long way since the one I had 15-plus years ago—but it’s still no DCB. The DCB guys killed it with the gelcoat scheme and the rigging and interior is amazing. This boat hit the mark.
“I didn’t make many requests, but after owning the Eliminator, which was a full walk-through, I told the guys we needed to find a way to put a windblocker in the walk-through to knock down some of the wind,” he added. “I mean if you’re cruising at 55 to 60 mph, no one minds that little bit of breeze. But at 70, 80 or 90-plus mph, there’s a lot of wind, so DCB is fitting a removable piece that I think will make all the difference.”
The new 33-foot DCB sat on a triple-axle Extreme Custom Trailer with two-tone, chrome-and-black, 18-inch wheels. Photo courtesy DCB
Baur, who plans to take official delivery of the M33R Widebody in Lake Havasu in a few weeks and keep the boat there for most of the winter season, said the 33-footer is back at DCB getting fitted for the walk-through wind deflector assembly.
“I told them if we’re going to do this, we have to do it right—you’re DCB, you guys don’t do anything half-ass—and it has to look good or I won’t use it,” Baur said. “I think they’ve got me something engineered that’s going to look awesome. I’m excited to see that.”
Baur said he’s also excited to get in the boat again with DCB’s Tony Chiaramonte for a few more pointers. He spent a couple of hours with Chiaramonte on the Thursday before the Big Cat and enjoyed every minute of it. He added that he’s known Chiaramonte, who was featured in an episode of the Speedonthewater.com 2021 In The Lead season, for many years but never ran a boat with him.
“Everything with Brett and Sheila was awesome,” Chiaramonte said. “It’s so nice to deliver a boat to someone with Brett’s level of experience and just turn it loose for a group to go run at an event and have a good time. That’s not always the case.”
Enjoy more detail images of the M33R Widebody in the slideshow above. Photos courtesy DCB
Loaded with a massive Stage IV stereo consisting of a JL Audio head unit, three hard-wired remotes, four JL Audio amplifiers, 12 JL Audio M6 midrange speakers with LED and four 12-inch JL Audio M7 free-air subwoofers, the boat had two NSS12 Evo3 12-inch Simrad touchscreen monitors and a Shadow-Caster interior LED lighting package and 10-inch Shadow-Caster underwater LED light, with tunnel lighting.
On the transom, DCB utilized Shaun Torrente Racing STR X-Act brackets to mount the 450-hp engines and installed an oversized 40-inch billet swimstep with SeaDek lining and a telescoping retractable ladder for easy boarding. Up front on the bow platform, a billet foot shower was included along with a JL Audio hard-wired remote flushed into the inside front sponson.
Related stories
Overflowing Positivity From The Biggest Big Cat Poker Run In Years
Gallery: Big Turnout For Friday’s Big Cat Poker Run Fun Run
Sneak Peek: DCB M33R Open Bow Ready To Rig
DCB Delivers First Open-Bow M33R Catamaran
DCB Delivers Spectacular M33R Widebody To Arizona Customer
DCB Completes ‘Smoking’ M33R Sport Catamaran No. 3
DCB Goes Coast To Coast With Second Mercury Racing 450R-Powered M33R Delivery
Inside SOTW Mag: Nailed It—DCB M33R Catamaran Profile
MTI Enjoys West Coast Swing
and then