Outerlimits And Skater Lead Boyne Thunder Poker Run Brand Representation

The crown jewel of annual summer poker runs, the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Boyne City, Mich., which kicks off Thursday with a fun run sponsored by UNRIEHL Performance to Bay Harbor followed by a welcome party—sponsored by American Custom Marine—at the Boyne Mountain Resort host venue, always attracts some of the finest high-performance powerboat hardware in the country. Much to the delight of the organizers after the 2020 happening was cancelled, the 18th annual Northern Michigan event’s 120 slots filled long ago.

Topless, a 46-foot Outerlimits catamaran owned by Jeremy Tschida of Wisconsin, is one 17 performance boats that will represent the Bristol, R.I., brand in Boyne City, Mich., this week. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

A quick look at the event’s registration sheet tells a more-detailed and—at least for brand loyalists—compelling story.

Of those 120 boats registered, almost half are represented by just five brands. Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats of Bristol, R.I., leads the brand-representation pack with 17 entries from Jason and Laurie Moe’s 46-foot catamaran to David Weschler’s 52-foot V-bottom.

With Michigan being Skater Powerboats country, it’s no surprise that Skater Powerboats, which is located downstate in Douglas, is a close second with 15 entries. The Skater fleet runs the gamut from an immaculate 28-footer owned by Eric and Julie Breckenfelder of Fort Myers, Fla., to Tom Cat, a famed 46-footer owned by Michigan’s own Todd Fountain.

Mavrick II, David and Stephanie Schaller’s sensational 38-foot catamaran, will be among 15 Skater models in the 2021 Boyne Thunder fleet.

Cigarette Racing Team, which is under new ownership and coming off a record 111-boat turnout at last month’s owners event at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, will have 10 boats in the fleet. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats also will have 10 boats in the event.

Last and far from least, MTI has seven boats registered, including one of its more-recent 390X catamaran builds dubbed Jetster and owned by Michiganders Yvette and Burton Kirsten and painted by Stephen Miles of Stephen Miles Design. Of course, had the Kirstens opted to run Jet, their 46-foot Outerlimits cat, the numbers would be slightly different.

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