In late April, Florida Powerboat Club formalized a new paceboat partnership with Mercury Racing, engaging in the complete restoration of a 2000 Cigarette 38 Top Gun, which will receive a “Mercury makeover” of sorts. The old power and drives will be replaced with new Mercury Racing 540 stern drives, paired to Bravo XR ITS drives and DTS controls. Performance Marine Trading of Fort Lauderdale has overseen all the the de-rigging of the boat which is currently stripped of all hardware and interior, leaving not much more than the bare hull. Upon completion of paint and cockpit modifications, the boat returns to Pat Sullivan and his crew for the installation of the Mercury Racing repower package.
The resto-mod project also includes a major overhaul of the cockpit and cabin, which will be completed by Fineline Interiors in Hallandale Beach, while custom paint and dash modifications are underway by Darkforce Marine in Pompano Beach. Project 1080HP, was conceived as a way to celebrate Florida Powerboat Club’s 25th anniversary (2018), and has been titled appropriately for it’s twin 540HP Mercury stern drives. The boat is on a fast-track towards completion, with an accelerated project management agenda that is about twice the normal time frame for such a major undertaking. With determination and a little luck, the traditional non-step Top Gun will be on display at the FPC Emerald Coast Powerboat Poker Run, and will soon embark on an aggressive poker run tour around the US and Canada for the next several years.
Special thanks to Mercury Racing and Mercury Marine for their partnership with FPC on this exciting project, and for their continued commitment to manufacturing the most exciting and reliable marine products available to performance boaters around the globe!
