OFFSHORE RACING HISTORY

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When people think of offshore powerboats, they usually think of Florida. What the general public is not aware of is that Long Island, NY is in fact the most concentrated area of the country that produces winning race boats. With teams like RC MARINE, OCEAN OUTBOARD, EXTRACTOR, MEDIA MASTER, FEVER, TABU, ARMED AND DANGEROUS, BODY GUARD, and OBSESSION, manufacturers like Progression, Outer Limits, Hustler, Activator, and engine builders and riggers including Ocean Outboard, East Coast Marine, MRD, Falcon Hi-Performance Marine, and Zul Marine Power, it is amazing that  Long Island is not known as the high performance capital of the world.

Coen's list of winning race boats is impressive. MEDIA MASTER, a 30-footer and his newest addition to date, just won the 1996 A-class World Championship in Key West last November. RC MARINE, another 30-foot Superboat, was retired and entered into the US Offshore Racing Association's Hall of Fame in 1993 as the winningest A-class race boat in the history of offshore racing after seizing four national and two consecutive world championship titles. Coen's other Hall of Fame title came when class rule changes dictated the removal of the Factory class in 1995, and Mike Gagliano's 21-foot Superboat also racing under the name OCEAN OUTBOARD was entered into the record books for obtaining the final and unbroken kilo record with a speed of 72 mph in 1993.

One of the oldest race teams on the circuit, the EXTRACTOR, a 32-foot Superboat, plans a return to racing this year after a one-year hiatus with his 10-year old cat. After placing second at the world's eight times due to every possible scenario from sucking in a crab trap float to never having had a sponsor, they finally had their day in 1993 when they also won the world championship title in the D class. Coen himself stepped in to drive the boat to that success, while JAWS, another 32-foot cat, again sped to victory this year in Pro-stock obtaining their third consecutive national championship title.

Coen's other winning race boats include the amazing George Peterson's 21-EAST COAST RIDER, three other 30 footers, STONEHAM BOAT CENTER, OCEAN OUTBOARD and FREEZE FRAME, two different 32-foot cats custom-built for EAST COAST MARINE, the 32-foot cat AMERICAN EXPRESS, and several hulls racing under the name SUPERBOAT. Although racing is what perfected the construction of these hulls, race boats only account for a very small segment of Superboat's business. "The popular misconception is that we only build high-performance speed boats," stated Coen, "But as anyone who has ever been boating on a snotty day can tell you, the real measure of any boat is its comfort and handling in rough water. Every single Superboat was designed for the best handling capabilities with the least amount of horse power and an efficient lightweight hull also translates into better fuel economy. All of our boats accomplish this task thus making them suitable for any application be it speed, cruising, fishing or pleasure.

A testament to the structural integrity of the Superboat hull was again proved at the 1994 Key West World Championships where Rick Robert's LAY IT OUT, the 24-foot Factory-class Superboat placed second. To the untrained eye, this was no magical feat, but the hull was unique in its class. That hull was built 10 years prior as a pleasure boat. After finishing two races off Key West in seas of 6 to 8 feet without a single modification to the hull, Coen simply stated, "My product speaks for itself."

The desire to build boats has been a part of John Coen's life since his earliest memories. "I designed and built my first boat for $40 with my grandfather when I was 12-years old, an 8-foot flat-bottom pram made of plywood that we rigged with a 5 hp Sea King motor," Coen recalled. But his real inspiration came when he got his first taste of racing back in the mid 1960's with a boat that he built with his stepfather. "The thrill of building a winning race boat was the challenge that fueled my desire to turn my skill into a trade, and my ultimate goal was to build a quality, affordable boat aimed at the offshore performance, fishing and pleasure boat markets." By the fall of 1975, Coen was producing and racing the boat which would make him a legend, the 24-foot Superboat.

Utilizing only hand-laid fiberglass techniques, the strength and durability of a Superboat simply cannot be compared to that of a mass-produced boat. The attention to detail starts in the actual structure of the hull and deck. Critical yet minor details like filling in the gaps between the stringer and hull are performed even before the structure is completely encapsulated in fiberglass. This guarantees that there can be no movement in this area since this is the first point of stringer to hull failure. The bulkheads are then glassed into the hull. When the deck is finally installed, all contact points with the hull and bulkheads are glassed together. This ties the hull and deck as one unified structure unable to twist under the severe stresses it was built to withstand. This time tested method of engineering and installation is one of the most important factors of the lightness and indestructibility of a Superboat hull.

According to Coen, "Most people do not appreciate or understand the quality that goes into our hulls because these are the things you cannot see unless you really look for them. We spend more time assembling our hull than other companies spend building and rigging their entire boat. Most of the mass-production boats are not glassed together anywhere. The hull and deck are screwed or bolted together, and this is why they twist and turn so much when you run them. They literally twist themselves apart. There is just no comparison to the way we build boats, and this is why we have some of the best overall resale values in this industry."

The Superboat reputation for durability started in 1970. Today, the construction methods are constantly tested on the offshore racing circuit to guarantee the strongest hull available at any price, and a Superboat will offer you the finest rough water handling characteristics of any boat in its class.

Superboat Powerboats enjoys the reputation of being one of the oldest and most successful high performance boat builders in the world. A legend among offshore enthusiasts, John Coen has been responsible for perfecting the design of some of the winningest boats in the history of racing." - OFFSHORE RACING MAGAZINE, Spring 1997.