28 Skater questions

[mikesufka]

As usual, plenty of opinions out there ( Ford vs. Chevy anyone ) …. Lol

MDS

PS: Speed Jr - I have the same picture ( my Skater 28 ( Dave’s old one ) and my yellow SS )

[Z06man]

Answers to your questions about the 28 to the best of my knowledge:

1. They've built 135-140 to date - the most of any model in their line.
2. Most 28s were built with balsa coring (hull and deck), with some having been built with foam coring in the hullsides and deck. All Skaters are built with wood stringers and transoms.
3. I'm not certain where you heard 28s need the bottoms replaced, but that is completely false. Unless the boat has been run aground, no Skater will ever need the bottom replaced due purely to age. I've owned a '94 46, '96, '97 and '07 28s, '05 30 and '09 36 - none of them ever had any structural issues due to poor build quality. It's not to say that you won't find some that need repairs due to water intrusion into areas of wood, but these issues are always caused by penetrations through the fiberglass - either collision damage or rigging defects - that allows moisture into the coring/stringers/transom.
4. The tanks need to be done on any Skater built prior to 2007 if fuel containing ethanol was in the tanks for several years.

I highly recommend you stay the course on your quest to purchase a 28 Skater. I've owned three of them (one I owned twice when I bought it back several years later), and they're the best "bang-for-the-buck" boat in that size range you can buy. The DW28 works well on smooth water, but not near as well over large wakes or choppy/rough water. My buddy has one of the first ones built with 300XSs on it (I've been out with him in it), and while it is fast (120mph), it does not get over snotty water near as well as a Skater 28. None of the DW28s are built as solid as a Skater either, it doesn't matter what manufacturer built it (those molds have changed hands several times). Even a brand new DW built by DW does not compare to the build quality of a Skater - old or new.

There has been only 1 manufacturer of the Doug Wright designed 28 .They were all done at FAT CAT .None at Doug Wright .As far as a Doug Wright fit and finish he has never ever put an interior or rigged 1. There are some cheaply done ones but then Performance Boat Center stepped in and they have a fit and finish to keep up with any Manufacturer . The 28DW Fat Cat was faster than my 28 Skater but it was not designed for the rough stuff like a 28 Skater will take. They 28 Skater and 28 Fat Cat DW are both great boats and Performance Marine will take them to a new level. There was only 1 Skater in Super Stock Offshore left and it was not at last 2 races. A lot of DOUG WRIGHTS and 2 Victory cats.

[Z06man]

Doug Wright Boats will soon be doing a complete boat .

[aggiestckl]

Doug Wright Boats will soon be doing a complete boat .

Doug makes a heck of a good product.. I don’t really think was a wise business decision to move away from performance boat center.. the new owners way of selling and doing things has really eroded away at the brand equity built by Performance.. not to mention it doesn’t help they blow over the new race boat and have a few others fall apart on race course

[aggiestckl]

As usual, plenty of opinions out there ( Ford vs. Chevy anyone ) …. Lol

MDS

PS: Speed Jr - I have the same picture ( my Skater 28 ( Dave’s old one ) and my yellow SS )

More like a Chevy vs a Ferrari or Lamborghini in fit finish and technology tbh.. kinda like thinking design of a SBC will compete with a Ferrari .. never gonna happen.. the DW and MTI are light years ahead.. even in the big stuff 48 & 50s

[mikesufka]

Do they fall apart or are they light years ahead ? You just said both …

Not arguing - just like hearing about these rigs - a bigger boat may be in my future - love the look of the 32 DW

MDS

[JPEROG]

Do they fall apart or are they light years ahead ? You just said both …

Not arguing - just like hearing about these rigs - a bigger boat may be in my future - love the look of the 32 DW

MDS

Mike,

Do the research (test ride and drive). The 32 that came apart was not completed correctly. Doug made a fatal mistake letting the boat go out the door to be rigged and finished offsite. We all got to see what happened and it has only happened once. As for the tank controversy, MTI uses plastic tanks which in my opinion are the best for over all durability and still being able to be replaced if needed. They are also a self contained tank that doesn't use the running surface or hullsides of the boat as part of the fuel compartment. Doug Wright has used plastic tanks upon request in some cases but prefers to use his fiber glass tanks (also a separate tank) that doesn't use the running surface or hullside as part of the tank and is then glassed to bottom supports and to the tunnel side for extra strength and ridgity.

Bottom line is that each builder has their high points. You just need to do the homework and decide which one has the most that matter to you. I am performance oriented and therefore choose D.W. The 32 is an easy decision proven at every offshore race in America over the past 15 years.

Joe

[Rayzor]

Why doesn't somebody contact Shaun Torrente and ask him what he thinks of DW's build quality? I'd say he has more firsthand experience and knowledge than anyone on the planet with DW32s. I'd also say there's a main reason why he's in an MTI now.........

[aggiestckl]

Why doesn't somebody contact Shaun Torrente and ask him what he thinks of DW's build quality? I'd say he has more firsthand experience and knowledge than anyone on the planet with DW32s. I'd also say there's a main reason why he's in an MTI now.........

Felt like I had one of nicest 32 DW there was.. reason I bought a MTI

that said DW is much much much nicer than a skater and handles way better

[kelvin523]

It's an elite group to own any one of these three rides; give and takes with all, no wrong choice imo\. The 28 skater kevlar build is/was an incredibly strong and durable boat, built and designed for yesterdays race course not todays imo\. The skater tanks as stated early in the post, Skater is the only choice if going with like for like repair that will last, bladders are an option.

[JPEROG]

Many have more experience then Shawn in Doug Wrights. Gary Ballough has raced them longer then anyone else. Like I said, it happened once and that should speak for itself (it was a major mistake on Doug's part to let the boat out of his shop and supervision). Let's see if the MTI runs or if he ends up in a DW again next season. It didn't look so good in Key West compared to the rest of the field. Beckley seems to be running much better now then in the past as well.

The 24 and 28 skaters were light years ahead of their time and are still some of the fastest boats for their size almost 40 years later. We have owned 9 skaters over the years have hundreds of hours logged with smiles on our faces.

Joe

[2thelake]

Tanks made in Arizona ... ??? What, no one in Chit~cargo knows how to read a tape measure ...

Ohhh thats right .. Lightfoot school system doesn't put much stock in readin, writin an ariff-ma-tic ..

It’s a shame but hey the Chicago teachers union gave itself 5/5 stars….LOL

[2thelake]

Regarding question #4 I have a 89 24 skater original tanks and Pete told me no worries on my tanks. I pulled my pickups/senders and went around feeling the bottom of the tank with a piece of angle iron. It was all solid! Even from the bottom no waves or anything. I always fill it with non ethanol fuel.

To be honest tho even though, I think there was a cut off in the early 90s on which boats needed replacement. It was when Pete switched his fiberglass resins or something. If you google “scream and fly skater tanks” you can find a bunch of threads on the subject.

[Rayzor]

Just to set the record straight, the year that Skater switched resins to the new ethanol safe resin was 2006. I know for fact because my 2005 30 needed to have the tanks redone, I had resin chunks in my tanks from the bond material between the lids and tanks falling off over time after they closed them up. Even Pete wasn't sure what year he switched over, as he thought my tanks would be fine when I sent my 30 back in 2016 to have it converted to outboards. Needless to say, when they were doing the cockpit and transom conversion, they opened up the tanks and redid them. Both my former 2007 28 and my current 2009 36 have no tank issues.

[36Tango]

We own a 28 Skater that we totally refit a few years back. We added a Lee Aerospace wraparound, a front hatch, and a custom dash with 2 simrads and a garmin. Paint and interior were completed by ex-MTI guys. Every once in awhile I feel like I should sell it, but then I think about how much fun it is. It is a little hotrod and with the wraparound, we can cruise hard without getting our faces blown off. Being able to communicate while running hard is a great benefit. The 300x 2 strokes sound bad ass and run hard. I do not run it enough in a year to concern myself with fuel mileage. It is a blast to drive.

We are at LOTO and unfortunately on the weekends the lake gets stirred up by the cruisers, so I have to put it back on the lift. I have considered moving bigger, but am afraid that I'd lose the fun of the 28. We did the Key West Poker Run a year ago and the Atlantic side beat the snot out of us, BUT, running inside was absolutely awesome.