New Stern-Drive Skater 368 Going To First 318 Outboard Cat Buyer
For devoted Skater Powerboats fans, the name Steve Lane likely rings a bell. In 2016, Lane purchased the first Skater 318 catamaran and the boat, powered by twin 400-hp outboard engines from Mercury Racing, graced the cover of the 2016 Speed On The Water Year In Review magazine.
Steve Lane’s second Skater catamaran is as stunning as his first.
Lane, who lives in Toms River, N.J., has put more than 600 hours on the 31-footer since taking delivery of it six years ago. He named the boat St. Ruth in honor of his mother, who was alive at the time but died almost two years ago, as did his father, also named Steve.
“I called that boat St. Ruth because my dad’s friends used to tease by telling him she had to be a saint to live with him,” Lane said, then laughed.
Now Lane has a new Skater 368 catamaran, which will be powered by twin Mercury Racing 1100 engines, being built at the Douglas, Mich., facility. Steven Schulte and his son, Jake, painted the boat and its name—St. Ruth II—is carried onto 36-footer’s deck.
Enjoy more details from the ongoing build in the slideshow above.
“Steve and Jake did a great job on the paint,” said Lane. “You tell them what you want and they make it happen. I felt like I was bugging them all the time and they were still very, very accommodating.
“I was originally going to power it with Mercury Racing 700s, but I want to go really fast,” he added. “So I went with the 1100s.”
Appearance Products is handling the interior for the boat and Skater is building a trailer for it. As Lane is looking to purchase a second home in Southwest Florida, he plans to hang onto both cats. Until he finds a place, however, both boats will be at his waterfront home in the Garden State.
“Once I have my place in Florida, I’ll start doing poker runs,” he said. “I haven’t done one in Florida and I want to in the worst way.”
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