Serial boat owner and adrenaline junkie Elliott Maurice picks out 6 of the fastest boats available on the market…
A rarefied segment of the boating industry is dedicated to creating some of the fastest boats in the world. They’re the Bugatti Chirons and Koenigseggs of the seas. Builders of these boats work to extreme tolerances, using exotic materials and construction methods usually found in the aviation industry.
Of course, at this level, low volume production and the aforementioned construction methods combine to create an exclusive product with an even more exclusive price tag. These super high-performance boats will be hugely impractical for most purposes, when compared to a typical leisure vessel, and the skipper will need significant ability to get the most out of it.
In reality any boat capable of speeds more than 60 knots (69mph) is very fast indeed. Given the hugely changeable nature of water compared to tarmac, this is akin to driving a car at around 120mph.
Most of the fastest boats use race-derived hulls with roots dating back to the 1980s when the ‘Go-Fast boat’ became synonymous with the glamor and excesses of the time. TV shows like Miami Vice , with Don Johnson catching drug dealers in his iconic Wellcraft 39 Scarab , helped make these boats extremely popular.
In reality, high performance offshore boats of this type were extensively used by cartels to run drugs into Miami, with the DEA commissioning a fleet of Blue Thunder powercats to help combat the problem.
Fast forward to today, some of the fastest boats are capable of exceeding 180mph with specialist engines and are in fact faster than the boats in Class 1 Offshore racing, where horsepower is limited to twin 1,100hp.
This list is by no means exhaustive – there are also a number of phenomenal offerings out there from legendary builders like Nortech, Sunsation, Donzi and Fountain.
World’s fastest RIB
Top speed: 85 knots (99 mph) Price: $1.2million
Starting with one of the most revered names in the world of performance RIBs, Norwegian yard Goldfish Boats build exceptionally capable open water powerboats. They are also the fastest Ridged Inflatable Boats on the market today.
The 46 Bullet is the fastest of them all – with triple 500hp V10 Mercury outboards 85 knots is achievable. Around $1.2 million will put you in the driving seat of this exquisitely built boat with a carbon superstructure, state of the art electronics and custom racing seating for six.
Perfectly capable of cruising for hours in excess of 60 knots in challenging conditions, the Goldfish is capable of holding its own in rough water against almost any offshore powerboat challenger.
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Mystic m5200 yacht tour: on board the 70-knot, 2,400hp bentley gt of the seas.
World’s fastest production monohull
Top speed: 156 knots (180 mph) Price: $900,000
At 50ft 1in LOA and only 9ft in the beam, this rocket ship is a pure raceboat in design, with five steps in the hull and staggered engines to keep the driver as close to the centerline as possible.
At the 2023 Lake of the Ozarks shootout an SV50 with enclosed cockpit and twin 2,000hp engines ran 180.47 mph on a 1km run making it the fastest production monohull on the water.
More impressive is that a standard boat with twin Mercury Racing 1,350/1,550hp can easily top 140mph. However, this is a boat requiring an exceptional skill to drive, with handling characteristics as aggressive as its outright speed suggests. Starting at around $900,000 the SV50 is the ultimate in its class.
Top speed: 156 knots (180mph) Price: $2 million
Another brand known for its offshore race winning boats, MTI produces nothing but high-performance boats. From its V series center consoles to its outboard -powered cats, this semi-custom builder doesn’t make a boat that does less than 80mph.
The 52 Pleasure is the fastest of the breed, with a full race version available using the same hull. With twin 1,750hp Mercury racing engines, this boat can achieve over 180mph.
With full custom options, MTI have even built a Lamborghini-inspired 48 footer to match the owner’s Lamborghini Aventador. Fitted with Aventador style tail lights and dashboard, the boat even had a matching covered starter button.
Needless to say, all this glamour doesn’t come cheap. You can expect a starting price of around $2 million for this level of exotica.
The most legendary go-fast boat
Top speed: 113 knots (130mph) Price: $2.2 million
No go-fast boat comes with as much pedigree as the Cigarette. Founded by the legendary Don Aronow, Cigarette Boats dominated offshore racing worldwide for over a decade, so much so that the brand name has become synonymous with offshore racers.
Still built in Florida, the brand has development ties with Mercedes AMG and Mercury Racing alike. As the largest high-performance boat in the range, the 515 offers peerless attention to detail and quality alike.
It is not the fastest production monohull, with a top speed of just over 130mph achievable with twin staggered 1,350/1,550hp Mercury Racing engines. It is, however, the best riding and one of the most capable offshore powerboats for handling rough water.
Its carbon fiber, vacuum bagged construction helps to justify its $2.2 million starting price and above all, it is the ultimate Cigarette boat.
Photo: Tom Leigh
Top speed: 108 knots (125mph) Price: $699,000
Mystics founder John Cosker is responsible for some of the fastest offshore raceboats in the world. Throttling his American Ethanol 50ft Catamaran, he hit 204mph this year setting the record on the Lake of the Ozarks sprint course.
Mystic will custom build a race winning boat for you on request, however Mystic now has a range of three high performance center consoles, with the C4000 outboard cat being the fastest production boat in the range, equipped with twin 500hp Mercury Racing outboards.
The C4000 will top 125mph and cruise in the upper 80s. With a bias on cruising comfort, the C4000 is a tuned down version of the Mystic race boat, with the tunnel compression reduced to hold the boat down rather than create the less controllable lift of the 180mph capable race hull.
The engines are also mounted on hydraulic jack plates to further trim the hull and keep the boat glued down in rough water. At just under 44ft the luxuriously appointed Mystic C4000 can offer performance akin to a light aircraft over distance – think Miami to Bimini in under an hour in the right conditions.
The Mystic is designed to run at speed confidently by most owners without the extreme characteristics of boats at this performance level. Options like a full cockpit sunshade, premium stereo and open transom make the C4000 as comfortable for lounging at a sandbar as it is running at blistering speed in open ocean.
The fastest center console boat
Top speed: 78 knots (90mph) Price: $1million
The center console market has exploded over the past few years, with a ceneter console now available for almost any boating application. The high-performance end of the spectrum has a handful of sublime builders.
However, the fastest arguably goes to Midnight Express 43, when running 5x 500hp V10 outboards. Capable of over 90mph, the 43 can also accommodate up to 20 people in comfort and 9 people at speed in luxurious quilted ultra leather bolster seats.
So good is the hull on the Midnight Express that Miami-Dade County DEA used the 39ft version as its high speed response boats. With its all-carbon superstructure and air-conditioned helm, the 43 is an extremely desirable boat, and over 100 units of this $1 million dollar boat have been sold to date.
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For many, high performance boats are the most fun way to experience the water. Often referred to as go-fast boats or speed boats, these vessels embody the pinnacle of marine engineering, offering unparalleled speed, agility, and power on the water. Designed with sleek, aerodynamic lines and equipped with high-powered engines, these boats are ...
Gunboat 68 (+35Kts) Gunboat 68 is a cruising catamaran designed to reach the highest speeds possible. Made by Gunboat, the ship uses Grand-Prix racing boats' designs to develop the speediest cruising catamaran on the market. Gunboat 68 is made entirely from carbon composites, which keeps the ship lightweight and fast.
Freeman catamarans were fast out of the gate. The original 33 hit a top end of some 55 knots with twin 350-hp outboards. Customers were sold, and demand for larger boats poured in. Freeman expanded, offering a 37 and 42, and earlier this year, the company released a 47-footer with a 13-foot, 2-inch beam.
Photo via World Cat Boats. World Cat is one of the most recognizable brands in the world of power catamarans — in fact, according to the company they're the largest producer of power catamarans in the world. Their line is a mix of center console and dual console fishing and family boats ranging from 23' to 40'.
A winning balance, it turns out, with the Balance 482 securing its position as the Best Performance Cruiser for 2022. More: balance catamarans, Boat of the Year, Boat of the Year 2022, catamaran, Kinetic Catamarans, print 2022 jan, Sailboats, seawind catamarans. With a powerful, versatile sail plan—as well as light, solid construction and go ...
The Number One builder of high-performance catamarans in the world has been in business for 50 years. ... Skater is the standard by which all other high-performance boat manufacturers are compared. The sleekest in design, the fastest, and the most sought-after Skater is the Bugatti of the water. ... From the interior to the paint to the power ...
The Aquila 36 is the first vessel in the builder's series with outboard power. Aquila Boats. The Aquila 36 is a departure from her sisterships in that she is an outboard-powered, express-cruiser-style catamaran, but she also adheres to MarineMax's philosophies.. With a single main living level from bow to stern and a beam of 14 feet 7 inches, the Aquila 36 is like a bowrider on steroids.
Sport Catamarans Power catamarans are the fastest high-performance boats on the go-fast market. Typically fitted with twin outboards and range from 28 to 36 feet and are the go-to of the go-fast powerboat world since they are comparatively more straightforward to operate than their speedy counterparts, drawing in a less experience buying crowd.
ArrowCat 320. Merging express cruiser elegance with catamaran stability, the ArrowCat 320 Coupe features a planing hull design for smooth, swift rides. Powered by twin outboard motors, it promises dynamic performance and exhilarating adventures on every voyage. Standard Layout: 2 Cabins/ 1 Wet Head. Optional Tower Option. LOA: 31′ 2″ / 9.5 ...
And there are all kinds not-exactly-slow, 150-mph boats available in the $300,000 to $750,000 range. These four speed boats, from Mystic, MTI, Skater, and Outerlimits are among the fastest money can buy. Money, as they say, is power, but in this case power also is money - because while hull design and overall construction are undeniably ...
They're all expensive—think £80,000 for an entry-level new go-fast powerboat. At the highest of the high end, something on the order of, let's say, a 50ft enclosed-cockpit, all-carbon-fibre catamaran with twin 3,000hp turbine engines and 200+ mph capability, you're looking at more than £650,000. In short, go-fast boats are not for the ...
The crew wrote a detailed report of the experience and the boat's performance. CONDOR exceeded 30 knots occasionally, but average speeds were between 14 and 17 knots. Their best 24 hours saw 328 nm (an average speed of 13.7 knots). The company motto says it all. "Life is too short to sail a slow boat.".
Imagine driving your truck up a steep hill at 50 mph in second gear while pulling a trailer. That's essentially what it's like for boat engines every time you use them. That's why catamarans are the fastest high-performance boats you can buy. A catamaran of the same length to a V-hull boat will always be faster with identical power. Always.
The Outremer 4x is a stable and comfortable high-speeding cruising catamaran that performs ocean crossings and confronts any weather with remarkable ease. Named the European Boat of the Year in 2017, this 48-foot (14.6 m) bluewater cruiser sails faster than wind speed and attains maximum cruising speeds of 20 knots.. The 4x is an upgrade of the extremely popular Outremer 45, thus retaining ...
Oct 8, 2020. Powercats continue to gain traction in the cruising-boat market offering owners more space, greater privacy and better fuel efficiency and seakeeping ability than monohulls of similar length. Here is a sample of some of the best cats (and tris) on the market today. NAUTITECH 47 POWER. Nautitech 47 Power.
Catamaran Performance Boats for Sale Preowned high performance powerboats, cruisers, and yachts for sale by owner. ... 45' Naval Power Cats 2012 Custom NavalCat Power Catamaran 45 ft: ... Fast 155 mph with mercury 1075 refresh power by Teague Marine. Total hour on the whole boat is 190HR ON THE MOTOR ABOUT 35HR No expense spared! fully loaded ...
Skipper-BSK 32NC. 2024. Request Price. The Skipper-BSK 32NC packs performance and style into a light-weight package that is ideal for casual boaters or those looking for a yacht tender/ chase boat. It features Skipper's signature performance oriented, deep-V hull with 4-steps for thrilling acceleration and top-notch handling.
The 46 Bullet is the fastest of them all - with triple 500hp V10 Mercury outboards 85 knots is achievable. Around $1.2 million will put you in the driving seat of this exquisitely built boat with a carbon superstructure, state of the art electronics and custom racing seating for six. Perfectly capable of cruising for hours in excess of 60 ...
Power Catamaran boats listed for sale on YachtWorld offers a diverse price range, from $42,740 on the relatively lower-priced, classic models to an astonishing $9,412,309 for the more sophisticated yachts available. When evaluating your budget and the listed price of a yacht for sale, it is crucial to factor in the cost of ownership. ...
High Performance boats pricing. High Performance boats for sale on YachtWorld are listed for an assortment of prices from $14,819 on the more reasonably-priced side up to $4,081,000 for the rare custom yachts. It is important to take into consideration the expenses associated with ownership when evaluating your budget and the listed price of a ...
After testing the DCB Mach 26, the company now has earned a place in discussion of really quick catamarans. The second-fastest cat in our roundup, the Mach 26 blazed to a 121.2-mph top speed on the radar gun, more than 10 mph faster than the third-fastest Hustler 377 Talon we tested in Miami.
Prices for power catamaran boats on Boat Trader range from a reasonable $14,783 at the low-end to $4,989,841 for the more lavish boat boats. While affordable utility models may have engines with as little as 115 horsepower on them, models with more power can have motors up to a blazing 2,900 horsepower (although the average engine size is 600HP
There are a wide range of Power Catamaran boats for sale from popular brands like World Cat, Aquila and Invincible with 583 new and 603 used and an average price of $485,931 with boats ranging from as little as $18,941 and $8,946,478. Power Catamarans. When it comes to finding the smoothest ride around, power catamarans are often a top pick.