Photo by Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos
The 2001-model-year, 44-foot catamaran known as Tommy Bahama is considered to be the boat that showed everyone that MTI was here to stay. Its new owners, Tom and Julie Mischke brought the boat back to life after years at a storage facility in Virginia Beach, VA. Continue reading to learn about the boat and more!
It wasn’t the first boat Marine Technology Inc. built when the up-and-coming powerboat manufacturer in Wentzville, Mo., started creating high-performance catamarans 25 years ago, but owner Randy Scism and company are confident that the 2001-model-year, 44-foot, canopied catamaran that hit the offshore racecourse as Tommy Bahama was the boat that put MTI “on the map.”
After 15 years of not competing on an offshore racecourse, the Tommy Bahama MTI has become a fan-favorite boat at the Desert Storm Poker Run in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., thanks to its new owners, Tom and Julie Mischke.
While the fan-favorite cat that was built for Mark Nemschoff and raced by him and his son, Paul, for several years in the heyday of APBA Offshore, LLC, retired somewhat early—the Nemschoffs exited the sport in the mid-2000s and soon thereafter converted the four-seat 44-footer for pleasure use by removing its canopy at MTI headquarters in Wentzville—the boat was revived and thrust back into the spotlight thanks to an enthusiastic couple from Arizona.
Tom Mischke, the owner of Classic Performance Restorations in Gilbert, Ariz., and his wife, Julie, took an interest in the popular boat, learned about its whereabouts—it was tucked away at a storage facility in Virginia Beach, Va., owned by Douglas Hahn, the team’s former crew chief—and, after more than a few discussions with Mark Nemschoff, acquired the former raceboat in December 2018.
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Original article published on speedonthewater.com