Powerboat Talk

Ross Wallach is the Owner and President of RPM Racing Enterprises and is the main man behind West Coast circle boat racing where he is the race director and promoter. Wallach is the President of the Southern California Speedboat Club (SCSC) which was founded in 1946 and is one of the oldest, remaining, active powerboat clubs in the world and the stewards of the famous Parker Enduro.  Dubbed by Wal...

Shaun Torrente is a three time F1 and two time Offshore World Champion. He also owns Shaun Torrente Racing where he manufactures innovative marine components, with billet set-back brackets being their specialty. Torrente is also a Mercury Racing dealer, rigs and set-ups race boats, and operates the GSR High Performance Driving School.  If that wasn't enough to occupy his time, at this year's Lake...

Jim Schultz is the owner of the Factory Billet 51 ft. Outerlimits GTX that set the record for the fastest V-bottom at this year's Lake of the Ozarks shootout with an astonishing run of 184 mph. The pass obliterated Schultz's old record of 166 mph on the 3/4 mile course and surpassed the all time LOTO V-bottom record of 180 mph which was accomplished on a one mile course! Schultz, who is a machinis...

Jeff Bennett is an Aerospace Engineer and the owner of Bennett Analytics, a firm that offers state-of-the-art engineering services like aerodynamics, wind tunnel testing, and systems engineering- All talents that have helped things like the Space Shuttle. Bennett can also help your boat go really, really fast! Stemming from a love of fast boats, Bennett has methodically blended his experience from...

Tony Chiaramonte is the Vice President and part owner of DCB Performance Boats now located in Phoenix, Arizona. DCB was founded over 30 years ago, in 1990, by Dave Hemmingson, under the name Dave's Custom Boats. DCB quickly became the "go-to" place for high end, custom rigged Eliminator Daytona's and other high performance outboards. Chiaramonte joined Hemmingson in 1993 where he swept floors and...

Mark and Thomas Weigl are the owners of  Tuff Boats located in Ontario, Canada. At the recent Lake of the Ozarks Shootout , Thomas Weigl drove their TUFF 34 ft. model to capture the title of fastest single engine V-bottom at 135 mph. Powered by a Mercury Racing 1100/1350 hp engine, the boat has run 148 mph in testing on their home lake in Canada.  Mark, the elder Weigl, founder and President of Tu...

Jake Fraleigh is the owner of Eliminator Boats in Mira Loma, California. In 2018, Fraleigh and a group of investors acquired the company in a bankruptcy auction. Fraleigh had the good fortune of growing up near Bob Leach, who founded Eliminator boats in 1969, and spent many summers working at the boat company. Fraleigh now finds himself at the helm of the company that builds some of the most stori...

Erick Bryner is an motorsports photographer and owner of Firedrill Productions , a boutique graphic design and digital production studio specializing in creative services support for corporate marketing departments for several large companies and ad agencies. But, what drew us to Bryner was his professional photography business, Fast Loud Photography where he spends a lot of his time shooting fast...

Don Onken is 83 years young and has accomplished a lot in his powerboat racing career. But he's not done yet. "Our goal with American Ethanol is to go as fast at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in 3/4 mile as we previously did in one mile" Onken said. "People didn't think we'd ever get to 200 mph on the short course, but here we are."  In 2022, driven by Tony Battiato and throttled by John Cosker...

Phil and Jeremy Gerber are the owners of the Roadster Shop which is known for its high-end, custom built Muscle Cars and Trucks. Their company also manufactures new, state of the art, high-performance chassis that they use in all of their builds and sell to the best custom builders in the world. The Gerbers, along with their Director of Operations, Josh Henning, are also hosts of the Oil and Whisk...

Stan Murakami boasts over 40 years of experience at Schiada Boats , having started his career right after graduating high school in the late 70s. As the current Vice President, he oversees the company's custom rigging and boat production. On the podcast, Murakami shares insights into the remarkable evolution of Schiada boats' performance and his past work at Teague Custom Marine and Howard Boats ....

Todd Haig is arguably the best water ski racer in US history having won the prestigious Catalina Water Ski Race an unprecedented 16 times. 12 of those wins and a World Championship in 2005, were achieved with the help of his Team Nordic Racing teammates; driver and owner of Nordic and Hallett boats , Randy Davis, and observer, Dennis Hall. In 2014, with Catalina win number 12, Haig surpassed the C...

Taylor Scism is the Director of Client Relations at Marine Technology, Inc./MTI Boats , a company owned and founded by her father Randy. Scism is also a World Champion Offshore Powerboat racer as she competes in the 450 Factory Stock class in one of the company's 39 ft. MTI Catamarans. Scism began racing in 2021 in an effort to learn more about the mechanics of making a boat go fast. She currently...

Jim Frisbie's career in the boat industry began in the early 70's. He was instrumental to the success of two of California's most prominent custom boat builders, SKV Boats and Hallett Boats , where Frisbie oversaw production. Ironically, he was the last remaining employee at each company before they were sold. Frisbie was meticulous and organized in the way he built boats and the products reflecte...

Erik Nordskog is an offshore boat racer and the grandson of powerboat racing legend Bob Nordskog. Nordskog began racing stock outboards at a young age and, at age 18, his grandfather selected him as the navigator for his famous Canada-to-Mexico offshore endurance run. Nordskog maintains facebook pages that document the legacy of Bob Nordskog and the magazine he owned, Powerboat Magazine . Nordskog...

Janet Wilson is the Managing Director of Ocean Cup, an Offshore racing series that sanctions open water, world speed record attempts. The endurance competitions are run, rally style, with staggered timed starts in point-to-point and out-and-back configurations. The racers must be equipped to take on open, unprotected passages with no support. Wilson, who is married to Offshore Endurance racer Nige...

Andrew Games is what you might call an extreme performance boater having built and raced flat bottoms, cracker boxes, and river cruisers. Games has also skied in the Catalina water ski race. In this episode, he talks about his experiences as well as his most recent project where he restored a new rescue boat for the Southern California Speedboat Club. You can find Andrew Games on instagram @games5...

Tim Seebold began racing powerboats when he was eight years old. Following in the footsteps of his father, boat racing legend, Bill Seebold, Jr, and his brother, Micheal, Seebold made his mark in outboard powered Formula 1 tunnel boats. After a 44 year career, Seebold retired in 2016, ending the Seebold racing dynasty that had begun with Grandpa Bill Seebold in 1939. But the youngest Seebold's res...

David Newton is the host and creator of a popular podcast about Unlimited Hydroplanes called Roostertail Talk. Living in the Seattle area, Newton, who has been around Unlimiteds his entire life, offers some great insights on the upcoming season, its drivers and teams. We also discuss many of the technical aspects of 200 mph Unlimited Hydroplanes. You can find Roostertail Talk on most popular podca...

This episode's guest is none other than Mike Finnegan, star of the Faster with Finnegan and Roadkill TV Shows. Even his most loyal fans may not know that Finnegan's passion for speed and performance began at an early age with his family's Roger's jet boat. While the world has been watching Finnegan do all kinds of crazy and fun stuff with cars and trucks, in recent years, he has left his mark with...

Today's episode features Stuntman and Offshore Boat Racer Jim York. York is currently the Vice President of Stunts at Dixxon Flannel Company. York got his first taste of boating when he got an invite to drive a Stock Vee Bottom for a "made for TV" event, Travis Pastrana's P1 Offshore Invitational. York went on to compete with Pastrana in the P1 Offshore 2022 season. York shares some hilarious and...

Greg Shoemaker is one of the most recognized authorities on performance powerboats with an unprecedented expertise in performance jet pumps. Shoemaker was instrumental in the development and success of the iconic Daytona tunnel hull manufactured by Eliminator Boats. Shoemaker successfully campaigned the first Daytona drag boat, Underdog. In 1979, Shoemaker left his job at Eliminator and establishe...

Our guest on this episode of Powerboat Talk is circle boat racing legend Duff Daily. Daily has been racing for over 50 years and in 2022, he won his class for the first time ever at the Parker Enduro where his son,  Dustin was his co-driver. Besides his duties in the GN class, Daily, a retired Miami fireman of 35 years, also still competes today, at the age of 69, in a K boat "War Eagle." Since he...

What's the coolest job in boating? How about being the publisher of a magazine that focuses on fast boats? For my first podcast guest, I got to talk to Ray Lee, Publisher of Speedboat Magazine. Ray lives in charmed, albeit hectic, life jetting around the country, attending performance boating events. On the podcast, he shares some of his favorites, and why he loves what he does. Visit our website...