Florida Powerboat Club Charters A New Course With Project Superhawk
Heading to the water today for the first time since it was completely updated, a 1998 Sunseeker Superhawk will be the Florida Powerboat Club’s first charter boat. The 48-footer will be available to club members for all but its Orange Beach, Ala., and Destin, Fla., events. Including a captain and a steward, the stylish offering—no longer in the Sunseeker line—can accommodate six passengers. It also will be offered for non-event-related charters.
For Stu Jones, the president of the Pompano Beach, Fla.-based outfit, the project is a byproduct of observation he’s made in almost 30 years of producing go-fast boating events. Not every member of the club, Jones said, agrees on what constitutes “a fun day of boating,” and that gave him an idea.
With a renovated Sunseeker 48 Superhawk, the Florida Powerboat Club now has a poker-run charter option.
“So many times during the years, I’ve seen the guys enjoying a windy, 100-mph adrenaline rush while the ladies would rather be cruising at 45 mph and sipping cold beverages,” he explained. “The Sunseeker Superhawk was the perfect answer to this dilemma, giving families and would-be poker run enthusiasts the opportunity to keep up with the pack—albeit in a more civilized setting—with cushy air-conditioned cabin cabin, a full bathroom and lots of lounge seating.
“And for those who still want plenty of wind and sun, the sunbeds on the engine hatch and foredeck are plenty comfortable,” he added.
After an extensive search, Jones found the boat he wanted in Michigan. The 48-footer belonged to longtime go-fast boating enthusiast and club member John Frohlich, who also owns a 47-foot Apache V-bottom and a 46-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran. Given the owner’s penchant for speed on the water, the Sunseeker wasn’t getting much use during Michigan’s short boating season. The boat spent most of its time in a climate-controlled warehouse and—as such—had logged 500 operating hours on its triple MerCruiser 502 EFI engines during its 20-year lifespan.
Though the 48-footer was in great shape for a 24-year-old boat, there was plenty of updating that needed to be done to make it suitable for charters.
Jones purchased the boat with partners Tony and Mona Mondazze, his longtime friends, in July 2021. Once active in the club, the Mondazzes owned several Cigarette Racing Team sportboats, including the famed American Muscle 46-footer before exiting the go-fast boating scene to raise their family.
“After getting out of the boating scene for more than a decade, they took a renewed interest in powerboating,” Jones said. “Their four daughters moved into adulthood, giving them more leisure time. This Sunseeker partnership was the ideal project for them to pursue, because we are all good friends and liked the fact that I would take on the entire task of buying, refitting, storing and managing the boat. All they have to do is show up, use the boat and park it back at the Jones residence in Pompano Beach.”
For more images from Project Superhawk check out the slideshow above.
Chip Miller of Miller Marina in St. Clair Shores, Mich., prepped the boat for delivery to South Florida and it arrived a couple of months after the sale. Then the renovation work began in earnest at Unique Custom Marine Vault in Pompano Beach. The Unique team handled much of the scope of the project, including hull refinishing, helm refits and installation of new Livorsi Marine hydraulic trim tabs and gauges, new LED navigation lighting and more. EC RUFF Marine installed a new bow-thruster and replaced the boat’s anchor windlass system. Boat Wraps handled the new graphics package.
Additional vendors included Howard Marine Services, SCI-Superior Communications, Marine Customs, T/K Marine Canvas, Marine Canvas America and Audio Design Solutions.
Jones will keep Project Superhawk on a 40,000-pound-capacity hydraulic lift installed behind his waterfront home by Patriot Marine Contracting. It will be available for poker run charters and day charters—all with a licensed captain—by the end of the month.
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