Story and photos by DinaRella / Professional images from PBC & Keys Weekly
What’s red, white and reads hot rod all over? The first twin Mercury Racing 300R outboard-powered Performance Boat Center P-280 catamaran launched at the 65th Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. The 28-footer might not be stripped down or souped up like its street-side family… but it sure goes FAST.
It bolted to 121 miles per hour straight out of the gate with 31-inch-pitch props and PBC service manager Myrick Coil behind the controls. Given the fact, offshore racing is his middle name; FASTER numbers loom on the horizon if he has anything to say about it. Coil shares the cockpit with co-worker Rusty Williams in Super Stock-class, and partners with Tyler Miller in M-CON/Monster Energy in Supercat class, so nobody’s better qualified for the task.
Thinking you already saw the “first-ever” P-280? You did. Sort of! Back in April, it stole a “LOTO” hearts at the PBC inaugural Open House and Spring Fun Run. The difference was the first black and red hull came out to play with a single Mercury Racing 450R outboard engine. The pocket rocket also launched to triple digit acclaim marking 108 mph with a Mercury Max 5 propeller during its initial dunking. The speedo later spiked to 116 mph. (Note: The single engine boat is set up for a 500R but at the time of testing, PBC had a 450R in stock and used that.)
Back to red and white build number two. Tucked into the first slip sitting in the shadows of a sizable Sunsation center console, we almost missed it since the show did away with the dockside entrance. Fortunately, we have PBC’s friendly new sales guy Jay Zadrozny to thank for telling us to go check it out.
Getting acquainted with both man and machine, the Connecticut native first shared how he landed the position to work at their new Fort Lauderdale location at 3277 SE 14th Avenue after his fiancé surprised him with a 40th birthday trip to the LOTO Shootout where he connected with co-owner Brett Manire and the team.
As for the boat, stickering for $375,000 with a MYCO aluminum trailer, the five-seater is ideal for the likes of Lake Havasu or river running. The smallest of the catamaran series, which includes 36- and 42-foot editions, reveals a plethora of matching performance traits and comes equipped with a Mercury DTS (digital throttle shift) and VesselView 902; a Fusion/JL Audio sound system with 7.7 JL Audio components and JL Audio subwoofer; an Isotta steering wheel; and SeaDek flooring.
Michael Hall from the sales and marketing department tells us, “The P-280 is still a work in progress which will be undergoing more R&D this winter. After returning back home to Missouri, we’re going to fill the notches on the back to see if that changes the ride with respect to how it tracks and handles in turns.”
What’s not a work in progress was the P-420 positioned two slips over. You might remember last November PBC used this show as a launching pad for the justly titled, First Born. This latest 2025 installment decked out in blue, black and gold was equally spectacular. Having knocked it out of the park with the premiere, there were no notable changes from our past story linked below, but the beast was still begging us to board for a quick look.
Like all the hottest new high-performance hardware released at FLIBS, the next stop for both boats was Key West. Bearing in mind, Performance Boat Center was the presenting sponsor of the 2024 RWO World Championship; the P-280 did double duty on the pier at Truman Annex and inside the FPC Poker Run village. Seeing these machines by night generated plenty of attention to their LEDs and luminary details. Looking at the photos below, under the lights you can better spot the intense sparkling effect and how it really pops out in the white paint job.
We’re excited to track PBC’s progress dialing in the P-280. In the meantime, we digress back to the first P-420.
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/for...-it-with-new-p-420-catamaran-first-born.1130/
What’s red, white and reads hot rod all over? The first twin Mercury Racing 300R outboard-powered Performance Boat Center P-280 catamaran launched at the 65th Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. The 28-footer might not be stripped down or souped up like its street-side family… but it sure goes FAST.
It bolted to 121 miles per hour straight out of the gate with 31-inch-pitch props and PBC service manager Myrick Coil behind the controls. Given the fact, offshore racing is his middle name; FASTER numbers loom on the horizon if he has anything to say about it. Coil shares the cockpit with co-worker Rusty Williams in Super Stock-class, and partners with Tyler Miller in M-CON/Monster Energy in Supercat class, so nobody’s better qualified for the task.
Thinking you already saw the “first-ever” P-280? You did. Sort of! Back in April, it stole a “LOTO” hearts at the PBC inaugural Open House and Spring Fun Run. The difference was the first black and red hull came out to play with a single Mercury Racing 450R outboard engine. The pocket rocket also launched to triple digit acclaim marking 108 mph with a Mercury Max 5 propeller during its initial dunking. The speedo later spiked to 116 mph. (Note: The single engine boat is set up for a 500R but at the time of testing, PBC had a 450R in stock and used that.)
Back to red and white build number two. Tucked into the first slip sitting in the shadows of a sizable Sunsation center console, we almost missed it since the show did away with the dockside entrance. Fortunately, we have PBC’s friendly new sales guy Jay Zadrozny to thank for telling us to go check it out.
Getting acquainted with both man and machine, the Connecticut native first shared how he landed the position to work at their new Fort Lauderdale location at 3277 SE 14th Avenue after his fiancé surprised him with a 40th birthday trip to the LOTO Shootout where he connected with co-owner Brett Manire and the team.
As for the boat, stickering for $375,000 with a MYCO aluminum trailer, the five-seater is ideal for the likes of Lake Havasu or river running. The smallest of the catamaran series, which includes 36- and 42-foot editions, reveals a plethora of matching performance traits and comes equipped with a Mercury DTS (digital throttle shift) and VesselView 902; a Fusion/JL Audio sound system with 7.7 JL Audio components and JL Audio subwoofer; an Isotta steering wheel; and SeaDek flooring.
Michael Hall from the sales and marketing department tells us, “The P-280 is still a work in progress which will be undergoing more R&D this winter. After returning back home to Missouri, we’re going to fill the notches on the back to see if that changes the ride with respect to how it tracks and handles in turns.”
What’s not a work in progress was the P-420 positioned two slips over. You might remember last November PBC used this show as a launching pad for the justly titled, First Born. This latest 2025 installment decked out in blue, black and gold was equally spectacular. Having knocked it out of the park with the premiere, there were no notable changes from our past story linked below, but the beast was still begging us to board for a quick look.
Like all the hottest new high-performance hardware released at FLIBS, the next stop for both boats was Key West. Bearing in mind, Performance Boat Center was the presenting sponsor of the 2024 RWO World Championship; the P-280 did double duty on the pier at Truman Annex and inside the FPC Poker Run village. Seeing these machines by night generated plenty of attention to their LEDs and luminary details. Looking at the photos below, under the lights you can better spot the intense sparkling effect and how it really pops out in the white paint job.
We’re excited to track PBC’s progress dialing in the P-280. In the meantime, we digress back to the first P-420.
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/for...-it-with-new-p-420-catamaran-first-born.1130/
