Vision 32 Sets Record As First 100-MPH Electric Boat In History At Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout
In terms of Lake of the Ozarks Shootout history, there have been some momentous passes in the Central Missouri event’s 34-year history. None—and yes, I know that’s a strong word in this case—have been as monumental as what happened on Saturday morning when Shaun Torrente crossed the finish line of the three-quarter-mile course with a radar-gun-clocked 104-mph top speed in a 32-foot catamaran with two electric outboard engines. (Editor’s note: Torrente backed up the run on Sunday with a 109-mph pass, read about it in the Day Two Highlights story.)
A new on-water top speed record for an electric boat was set on Saturday morning during the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout as Shaun Torrente drove the Vision 32 catamaran to 104 mph. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix
“It hasn’t completely sunk in for me what we as a group just accomplished; we are the first team in history to go 100 mph on the water in an electric boat—think about that for a minute,” the two-time F1 H2O world champion driver and owner of Shaun Torrente Racing in Ava, Fla., said to me Saturday afternoon as he reflected on teaming up with Vision Marine Technologies Inc. to assist the Montreal, Canada-based in rigging, setting up and testing the company’s 32-foot Hellkats Powerboats-constructed catamaran powered by a pair of E-Motion 180E 180-hp, 160-kilowatt electric outboards and Octillion Power Systems batteries. “Between my guys at STR, Alex (Mongeon) and his team at Vision, the Octillion team, Pat Weismann—Pat is a wizard to say the least—and Dave Dewald who is a master with propellers, a lot of effort went into this accomplishment. My guys have been working on this boat non-stop for six weeks to get it here and to go out and hit that triple-digit mark today made it all worth it.”
After showcasing the boat for most of the day at the docks at Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill, the host venue of the Shootout since 2008, Torrente said he plans to make another pass in the 32-footer on Sunday morning.
“We’ll run it again one more time tomorrow—we’re going to go up in prop to see what it can do,” he said. “Chances are it might go slower. But we may go 106 or 107 mph because I think that’s possible, so it’s worth a shot. One thing I do know is that I’m giving Alex a ride in the boat because that man deserves it. If it wasn’t for him this wouldn’t have happened—at least I know wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t believe in Alex’s vision.”
Mongeon admitted he was a little nervous, but mainly because the challenge was unprecedented.
“Our entire team is very happy about reaching 104 mph today,” Mongeon said. “I was a little nervous, not in the technology but in the attempt because there was no groundwork, no guidance, no experience for doing something like this. But we did it and no one can take that away from us.”
Check out the slideshow above for more images of the Vision 32 on Saturday. Photos courtesy Randy Truesdale
Torrente said he had some trouble falling asleep last night because of last-minute nerves.
“The only thing I was nervous about was something failing—well that and only running 99 mph,” Torrente explained and laughed. “I did want to do it on the first run and I wanted to go past 100. I didn’t want to leave any doubt. And we didn’t, we actually ran one mile per hour faster here than we did at home (during three-quarter-mile tests in Florida). The best part is everything worked exactly like we tested it, which makes us feel good because so many people worked on this project for more than a year.”
After describing himself as speechless, Mongeon paid respect to the late Rey Marino, the founder of Hellkats Powerboats. He also credited everyone involved with the boat for enduring several challenges, including Marino’s death in November 2021, to prove to the world that electric power is for more than just trolling motors.
“Again, I’m very happy with the speed,” Mongeon said. “Now we get to think about all of this and begin to focus on understanding even more about how electric power works.”
Alex Mongeon and Shaun Torrente weren’t exaggerating when they described today’s 104-mph run as historic. Photo by Pete Boden
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