Marine Technology Inc., a manufacturer of high-performance catamarans and center-console V-bottoms is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023. To start the year, the Wentzville, Mo.-based company had what founder Randy Scism called “the best Miami Boat Show we’ve ever had.”
It’s been quite a ride for Scism, who was a young offshore powerboat racer from Missouri when he was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. He was asked to move to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to manage and develop an offshore powerboat racing team.
The Victory Team became a goodwill ambassador for the region as it raced all over Europe with Scism and a handful of hired gun throttlemen from the United States and other countries running boats with native Dubaian drivers. The team won multiple world championships and when Scism returned home to start Marine Technology Inc., he applied much of what he learned in Dubai to building high-performance pleasure boats.
“It’s been so cool,” the 67-year-old Scism told Trade Only Today. “We have such cool clients that drive us to the next level. We’ve built more than a company. We’ve built a family.”
The company delivered 48 go-fast catamarans and center consoles in 2022 and Scism says that number should increase to 60 in 2023. While most performance enthusiasts knew that Scism had built many successful catamarans while working for the Victory Team, he also made some center consoles.
“My boss over there would say, ‘Make him a boat, make him a boat,’” recalled Scism. “They were his friends and they boaters, but they weren’t performance boaters,” he said. “I had an unlimited R&D budget, and I figured out ways to get the boats to ride and handle better. I could take a guy with minimal experience and get him comfortable in short order.”
When he started MTI, Scism’s first model was a 42-foot catamaran with standup headroom in the cabin. Today the company offers outboard-powered catamarans ranging from 34 to 44 feet and sterndrive cats from 38 to 52 feet. The 34-foot and 39-foot outboard cats can be built as raceboats with enclosed cockpits. So can all five of the sterndrive-powered models.
More recently, MTI started building stepped-bottom center consoles and now has 42-, 50- and 57-foot models. For the recent MTI owners’ fun run, the company put Mercury’s new V10 400-hp outboards on one of its V50 center consoles and Scism said he was “amazed” by their performance.
For the past 25 years, that’s the reaction that Scism has gotten when he’s put people behind the wheel of at MTI boat. “It’s been 25 years and we’re wide open,” he said.
