SB: We had the time, but we didn't have a clear idea of what we wanted to do. We collaborated to work through all the steps. And even after it was built we had to go through several design revisions to figure out exactly how it had to be. The good news about the whole project was, once we got it to the show, the original plan was to tilt it up on angle, roll it through, tilt it back flat, and have a platform people could get on to look into the boat. But we got it in the show and set it where it was going to be. And looking at it, we said, "You know, it really looks better on an angle because you can see into it without having to step up in and look." You can't step back and look and see all the work we had to do.
GB: Somewhere in there we need to mention that BASF Glasurit helped us out with all the Glasurit paint, which is really high-end paint on that boat.
SB: Did we figure it out retail wise?
GB: There is probably retail about $15,000 worth of paint, primer, and surfacers.
SB: That's just material, not labor.
GB: Yeah, BASF Glasurit makes a polyester primer that is really good for shaping. It's not usually intended to do big projects with. It's for repairing high-end cars... It's only available in quarts, and I don't want to tell you how many gallons we went through. It wasn't cheap. They definitely helped us out.... And the engine. We added a little bit of the weight to the boat so we had to add a little bit of horsepower to the boat.
SB: [laughing] Exactly. Vortech supplied us with a supercharger system for the engine and we ran some custom-made headers. And actually, we're working with a couple engine manufacturers now to get a motor built. A motor that's designed to handle high-induced pressure so it can get up to speed. The good news is we've had the boat on Lake Elsinore twice now and the boat runs great. So we know that it actually works as a boat and it functions the way it's supposed to function. We were joking at CES that we weren't even sure if the thing would float. So we were pretty happy when we put it in the water that it didn't sink right to the bottom.
CA&E: Did you take a tally while you were building to keep track of the weight?
GB: Constantly. It was the first time I got a scale and weighed resin and Duraglass, and even Rage Gold for the finishing work. The big difference in doing the boat was that we had to do a lot of the bodywork in the fiberglass so we could keep filler to a minimum.
SB: There's a decent amount of weight added. Just the product alone adds a lot of weight, but there's no way around that. So just trying to position the product correctly in the boat, trying to keep the weight balanced... we did a good job. One of the main issues you have with a heavy boat is that it's hard to get it up on plane--from a rest to get it up on top of the water when you're running. But the boat gets up on plane just as easily as if it were stock.
GB: It only took a couple hundred extra horsepower, but it gets there.
CA&E: Back to the tow vehicle, you had it all torn apart.
GB: It was a 2008.
SB: The funny thing about this vehicle is it was the original one that Mercedes took on tour for the auto show circuit to debut this model: a GL 550.
GB: Which is a step up from the 450 that was already available here in the states. The 550 is basically the same