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In the realm of high-performance on the water, not all boats are created equal. There are an array of designs, engines, prices, and handling characteristics to suit the needs and tastes of every would-be high-performance boat buyer. Are you a speed-demon who lives to run fast? Looking for something sporty that can handle a family? Want to run a performance boat with the most horsepower? Or find a small cat or V-bottom that’s a kick to drive? There’s definitely something for you.
Of course, some brands of go-fast catamarans, center-consoles and V-bottom sportboats build better boats for specific purposes than others. I say “better” rather than “best,” because there are brands, such a Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats of Fort Myers, Florida, that build all three boat types and do an exceptional job with each. Also worth nothing? This is one boating writer’s admittedly subjective take on solid brand choices for different categories of high performance boats.
Top Brands For Big Water
Not all rough-water happens in oceans. Lake Michigan, for example, is well-known for dishing out wild stuff with less-than-a-moment’s notice. So it’s no accident that Skater Powerboats is situated on the shore of that mercurial waterway. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Douglas, Michigan-based go-fast catamaran builder offers stout models from 24 to 55 feet long that can take on the meanest waterway. Pete Hledin, the owner and founder of the company, has long-prided himself on building cats for real-world conditions, which explains their deep-tunnel hull designs. On the smaller side of the offshore catamaran world, there is no better rough-water catamaran than the Skater 38.
Skater Powerboats photo.
In big-water V-bottom configuration, Mystic Powerboats of DeLand, Florida, offers 52-, 42-, and 38-foot performance-oriented luxury center consoles ideal for offshore, as well as a 40-foot catamaran to tackle heavy seas. Mystic principal John Cosker is one of the very few college-trained architects, and his resume includes working on the late Tom Gentry’s trans-Atlantic Gentry Eagle V-bottom.
Mistic Powerboats photo.
But for today’s rough-water V-bottom of the classic closed-deck kind, would-be buyers tend to look no further than Cigarette Racing Team of Opa-Locka, Florida. The company currently offers 39-, 42- and 50-foot V-bottom sportboats. It also builds performance-oriented center consoles that range from the 41 Nighthawk, to the 59 Tirranna.
Cigarette photo.
Top Brands For Versatility & Value
Versatility means a boat, even a go-fast boat, can do more than one thing well. A host of today’s performance-oriented center consoles answer that call in outstanding fashion. But some offer more value—what you get for what you pay—than others. Here, the clear leader of the pack is Sunsation Boats of Algonac, Michigan, especially with its 32 CCX center console. The 40-plus-year-old builder started building V-bottom sportboats and then switched to center consoles almost a decade ago, and for those in the market for something larger, Sunsation also offers a 36-footer and a 40-footer.
Sunsation photo.
Would-be buyers who need more space would do well to look at Miami-headquartered Concept Boats, which builds a strong 44-footer at a reasonable-for-the-category price. Concept was one of the earliest builders of outboard center consoles for performance-minded buyers. The company’s 36-footer, which though updated since its introduction remains in the Concept lineup, is an excellent choice for typically calm waterways, but can handle rough water like a much bigger boat when necessary.
Concept photo.
Top Brands For Luxury
Gone are the days of line-built, production go-fast boats. Almost everything you see on the market now is built to order and customizable to some degree. But there is custom and there is really custom, and when it comes to really custom, crafted-to-finicky-perfection catamarans from 29 to 42 feet long, DCB Performance Marine of Phoenix leads the category. Once headquartered in Southern California, the company relocated to a brand-new facility in Arizona almost a year ago, It now has more dedicated space to offer even larger and more luxurious models. And regardless of vessel size, DCB’s build quality and attention to detail are second to none.
DCB photo.
On the brawny yet sexy V-bottom sportboat side, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats of Bristol, Rhode Island, commands the market. The Outerlimits SL V-bottom series boasts classic stand-up cockpits, while the SV series offer lower-profile, sit-down V-bottom options. But the company also offers two canopied catamarans—a sterndrive-equipped 46-footer and an outboard-powered 37-footer—and while not quite as plush at the V-bottoms are still fine choices for buyers with a taste for the finer things.
Outerlimits photo.
In the plush center console segment, Marine Technology of Wentzville, Missouri, stands tall with its elegant 42- and 50-footers. The company even has a 57-footer in its luxury center console arsenal. Yet MTI, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, started with catamarans and offers three—the 340X, 390X and 440X with outboard engines. On the sterndrive side, MTI released the 482 catamaran, a reimagined version of the original 48-footer that put it in the high-performance pleasure boating and offshore racing worlds.
MTI photo.
Top Brands For Small And Sporty
When it comes to go-fast boats, “small” is relative—the largest cats, center consoles, and V-bottoms routinely top 50 feet. But while Velocity Powerboats of Sanford, Florida, offers several excellent choices in the 29- to 30-foot category, the company’s outboard-powered 22 Punisher is simply outstanding. Powered by a Mercury Racing 300R outboard engine, an updated 22-footer from Velocity recently topped out at 93.1 mph. The company also has a new 33-foot V-bottom in production that has company principal Scott McCormick particularly excited.
Velocity Powerboats photo.
In the catamaran section, there is significant crossover when it comes to boats that are “small and sporty,” all with one thing in common—outboard power. DCB Performance Marine, for example, offers at 29-footer. MTI builds a 34-footer. Going a little bigger, Performance Powerboats released its first P-360 catamaran to strong reviews in 2022. The hulls are built in Houston and finished at Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach, Missouri., the entity that owns Performance Powerboats. The builder, which released its first 42-footer last summer, also is working on a single-engine 28-footer to debut as the P-280 later this year.
Performance Powerboats photo.
Top Brands For Families
Though families are generally smaller than they once were, they still come in all sizes as do the performance boats built to accommodate them. Plus, they need to be able to handle an array of activities. On this front, Formula Boats of Decatur, Indiana, is untouchable with its Super Sport and Super Sport Crossover lines. On the smaller side of family-style offerings, Formula builds bowriders from 24 to 31 feet long, and its Crossover Bowrider series has more feature-filled 33- and 35-footers.
Formula photo.
Though Fountain Powerboats of Washington, North Carolina, is known for swift center consoles of the fishing kind, it also builds plenty of family-friendly offerings. The Fountain 38SCX and 34SCX center consoles have all the functionality of their angling-center console siblings, but are dressed in sport graphics and filled with amenities that appeal to performance-minded owners with families. Perhaps the most interesting Fountain model for families, however, is the 39DX, a dual-console outboard boat with an open-bow up front and an enclosed cockpit.
Fountain photo.
Top Brands For Calm Water
Not your father’s pontoon by a longshot, the sportiest pontoon boats nowadays are typically tri-toons and easily top 70 mph with Mercury Racing outboard-engine power yet are still loaded with cushy amenities. Avalon Pontoon Boats of Alma, Michigan, builds some of the best in performance-oriented pontoons, and the 27-foot Excalibur stands out in smooth to sporty water. During the 2024 Miami International Boat Show, Avalon unveiled a 27 powered by twin Mercury Racing 500R outboards, and the boat had no trouble running well past 70 mph. Cooler still—because docking happens regardless of whether the water is smooth or rough—the engines were equipped with Mercury’s Joystick Piloting for Outboards systems.
Avalon photo.
Back in the more-traditional go-fast powerboat realm, Eliminator Boats of Mira Loma, Calif., builds a variety of snappy center-pod catamarans ideal for calm water as witnessed by their popularity on Colorado River-fed waterways such as Lake Havasu. Founded by West Coast boat-building legend Bob Leach, Eliminator offers 25-, 27-,28-, 31- 33- 33- and 35-footers in its Speedster catamaran series, and the company’s 28 Fun Deck deckboat is another popular choice for smooth-water running.
Eliminator photo.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for from among all of these top builders, maybe you really need a fast boat that’s a little crazier? Or if these are all a little too high-performance, maybe you should reset your search by looking at top brands from across the spectrum? But if you have a thirst for high performance, I promise that the builders listed above are all more than capable of delivering what you’re after.
