Countdown to Miami 2022: Landsman’s First MTI Getting Tilted For Boat Show

Well-known performance boater David Landsman has had several boats on display at the Miami International Boat Show throughout the years, but next month’s show is going to be a little different for the longtime Florida Powerboat Club member who hails from Maryland and spends a lot of time boating on the Chesapeake Bay, where he hosts the annual Rockin’ The Harbor Poker Run in Baltimore in late June.

Maryland’s David Landsman recently took delivery of his new MTI 390X catamaran that is going to be part of the company’s Miami International Boat Show display at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Photos courtesy David Landsman

First, he’s never owned an MTI so he’s excited to show off his recently delivered 390X catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 450R engines; and second, he’s never had a boat on a tilt trailer at the show, which is going to give boat show attendees inside the Miami Beach Convention Center an amazing view of his eight-seat 39-footer loaded with all the goodies the Wentzville, Mo., packs into its boats.

“I’ve had several high-performance cats from the Gold Digger Outerlimits to Nor-Tech Supercats and I’ve had a bunch of center consoles with outboards, but this is my first outboard-powered catamaran,” said Landsman, who, after taking delivery of the 390X last Thursday out of Haulover Marine Center in Miami, added that he now understands why the sport cat market segment is so hot. “I’m happy I went this route and that I went with the MTI. This boat is fast, it’s easy to drive and operate, it’s great on gas mileage and it’s really cool looking. It’s like driving a Ferrari; the performance is just on rails and the acceleration is instant.

“To me the 390 with the 450s is the total package,” he continued. “The boat is powerful, lightweight, reliable and robust enough to handle a variety of conditions. The coolest thing I noticed about the boat when Milton (Calafell, who heads Miami-based sales, service and storage center in Haulover Marine Center) and I were sea-trialing it is that at 70, 80, even 90 mph, it felt like we were on a Sunday cruise. We could have a conversation; heck, I could take a phone call if I felt like it.”

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Check out the slideshow above and the image below for a closer look at Landsman’s first MTI.

Landsman, who purchased the 390X after taking a demo ride in one last year during the Florida Powerboat Club’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run and Exhibit, said he plans to run his new boat in next week’s FPC Winter Fun Run (January 28-30) from Miami to Islamorada, then do the club’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run following the show and—hopefully—make it to the MTI Owners Fun Run in March in the Florida Keys. He added that it will reside in Maryland for the summer boating season.

“This boat is just so bad-ass,” Landsman said. “I ordered it last February and it was supposed to be done by the boat show, but MTI had it done by New Year’s Day. I could have gotten it sooner if I had been available to get down to Florida earlier. I mean who gets a boat done a month-plus ahead of schedule? I’ve never had that happen. For a minute, I was almost scared like there was a reason it was finished earlier than expected. But the boat came out so nice and I was thrilled that MTI thinks enough of it to make it their ‘boat show’ boat. And it’s going to be on their raceboat tilt trailer, which is super cool.

“Honestly, it’s the easiest boat I’ve ever built—I put in the order, flew out once, sat down with the design team at 8 a.m. and by lunchtime we had it all figured out,” he added. “I think we went with every option they had. My favorite part is probably the eight-seat option—that is kind of a game changer in my opinion.”

On that note, Landman decided to call the 390X Lil’ Game Changer to go with Game Changer, which is what he’s named the various Midnight Express Boats luxury performance center consoles he’s owned. He explained that the paint applied to the MTI by Mark Morris and the team at Visual Imagination in Peculiar, Mo., was meant to complement the Midnight Express 43 Solstice powered by five Mercury Racing 450R engines that he sold not long after taking delivery of it in spring 2021.

“That Midnight was amazing but I only got one ride on it before someone made me an offer for it that I couldn’t refuse,” he said with a laugh. “I have another one being built now in case anyone thinks I’m jumping ship (laughs again). I love the Midnights and I have a feeling I’m going to love this MTI as well.”

His feeling is so strong that he said he went ahead and put a deposit on another 390X since MTI is roughly 18 months out with the number of boats the company has on order.

“We’re very happy to welcome the Landsmans to the family and we’re excited to see him using the boat at a bunch of events since he’s super involved in the poker run scene,” said Taylor Scism, MTI’s client relations manager. “We’re also excited to have another 390X in his area. We have several in the Northeast now and we’re seeing a lot more interest from that region. With the paint scheme and the tinted windshield, which came out phenomenal, the boat is perfect for the boat show. It’s such a beautiful build overall.”

Countdown to Miami 2022: Landsman’s First MTI Getting Tilted For Boat Show

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