Nordic Boats Test Drives ‘New’ Outboard-Powered 40 Sport Cat

When I saw the news last week that Nordic Boats had purchased the unfinished 40-foot catamaran (and the molds) from Eliminator Boats—just the second one the Mira Loma, Calif., company ever produced—I didn’t expect to see the boat on the water less than a week later. Because the cat, which was nearly complete minus engines and interior padding/upholstery, was originally designed for stern-drive power, I was not thinking about the Lake Havasu City, Ariz., company hanging outboards on the back.

Nordic Boats recently bought the molds and the second of two 40-foot cats Eliminator built. Photos courtesy Nordic Boats

Stupid me, look at that. Those were my thoughts on Monday when the team at Nordic drove the boat with a pair of Mercury Racing Verado 400R engines on the back to see how the boat would handle the twin-engine-outboard configuration (check out the video at right). Of course it was just a trial run—in fact, when complete, the boat is going to be powered by twin Mercury Racing Verado 350 engines.

“The boat is unbelievable; it’s built for rough water,” said Thane Tiemer, Nordic’s general manager. “We had it just over 60 mph with the 400s and a set of 26-inch propellers. The way we set it up with the boxes is for a pair of 350s with the 25-inch shafts, but we only had the 400s with the 20-inch shafts here in the shop so we can’t really get them low enough.”

Tiemer, who tooled the molds for the boat—only one was built and it has diesel power with Arenson drives—for Eliminator in the early 2000s, said the cat weighs 10,000-plus pounds (full interior will push it closer to 12,000 pounds) and has a 10-foot, 6-inch beam. He’s excited to have the molds back in the family and I don’t blame him considering the emphasis and gains in outboard power that were not around a decade-plus years ago.

In a post on RiverDavesPlace.com, an Eliminator representative, who sad the company was sad to see the boat go, said they are too busy for that big of a project right now. “We’re keeping focused on what we are known for, and with what’s coming out, we need the room.”

Check out the slideshow above for more images of the 40-foot cat.

Designed to have two staterooms belowdeck, although Nordic plans to offer a center-console configuration eventually, Tiemer said the boat was never built for top speed. It’s built for cruising, entertaining, fishing, overnight trips, what have you. The 40 Sport Cat has a 380-gallon fuel capacity, and it is proven to be a wave crusher built to tackle a rough day on the Pacific Ocean, Arizona’s Lake Powell or a run to the Florida Keys.

I know one thing, I can’t wait to see what it looks like with updated graphics and whatever wow factor Nordic brings to the interior as well as the transom’s extended swim platform and more.

Also of note, since Tiemer mentioned it to me, is that Nordic recently acquired the CNC molds for a 38-foot center console that the company is going to start working on soon. Keep an eye on speedonthewater.com for updates on that boat as well as the 40 Sport Cat.