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One
Mirage That Is Not An Illusion
A Feature
on Steve Zuckerman's Custom Mirage
As
rare as a passing meteorite, once every several years a hardcore high
performance boater invests the time and money into a used rig to make it
extraordinary. Many have purchased new rigs that are perfect in their own
ways but Steve Zuckerman of Old Hickory, Tennessee has recently completed a
back breaking, painstaking, costly and thorough over-haul of a 2000 Mirage
Jaguar.
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Left:
Steve's Mirage, ready to perform as good as it looks.
Right: Ripping across the lake. This rig is not just for
show. Photo © 2001 A. Raisor |
The boat was purchased with a worn trailer, rigged for OMC power (that
didn’t last), and a solid white plain finish with basics for rigging
hardware. Steve, feeling like he just purchased a rig that was engineered
like a UFO at Groom Lake, immediately stripped the boat down to the bare
hull. While that boat was awaiting the commencement of a custom paint job,
work began on the trailer. The trailer was originally a plain simple black
unit in which the step plates were extended forward and blended in with the
frame angle. A swing away tongue and extended rear steps were also added.
Then the trailer was crowned with a Yellow finish, lots of diamond plating
and a matching tool/fuel box.
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Left: Getting ready at the races. Photo © 2001 A. Raisor
Right:
Custom paintwork inside the dash area - awesome! |
Not wasting any time, Steve ordered the necessary hardware that would soon
be the backbone of the rigging. This list included Sea Star Pro hydraulic
steering, CRT trim and steering wheel, full Gaffrig gauge instrumentation,
16 gallon foam filled fuel cell with a transducer as a sending unit (very
hi-tech), 9.5” Rapid Jack, foot throttle, kill switch, shifter, bezels and
mushroom cleats.
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Left:
A showcase of the extreme - speed and looks, including rear fairing.
Right: Custom graphics extended to the motor cowl. |
Anxious to work on the boat while it awaited the paint magic, Steve took
this as an opportunity to blueprint the boat’s bottom, and glass in any
necessary mounting boards for the concoction of chemical tanks that would
soon fuel the rig. Strangely enough, Steve had the patience and foresight
to rig the boat as-is in an effort to test the rig but that plan fell short
due to the availability of the custom paint shop. So off came the rigging
again in preparation for some paint and interior magic. Chris Stemmer of
Air Magic was retained for the paint work while George Williams of Visual
Edge was at plate for lettering work. Ironically, this was Chris’s second
time painting a boat but with extensive experience in painting show winning
Harley’s, it was clear that a boat would only provide Chris with a bigger
canvas for his art work. Upon completion of the paint work, Canvas Unique
was retained to reupholster the interior to match the new paint scheme. Now
that the Mona Lisa was complete, Steve rigged the boat for the second time.
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Article Information: |
| Steve
Zuckerman pulls out all the stops with his highly customized
Mirage Jaguar. |
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Related Articles: |
|
Raceman's Custom STV MOD-VP |
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Created: |
| August 10,
2001 |
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By: |
| Mark Soliman |
| Steve
Zuckerman |
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Category: |
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Features |
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