Peter Hledin: The genius behind Skater Powerboats

catmando · 10-17-2007, 10:56 PM

Yes I know, not yachts but a treasure trove of fiberglass boatbuilding from the man who started at the bottom and built Skater into the strongest, fastest, best-handling catamarans and V bottoms in the industry.

http://www.proboat-digital.com/proboat/20071011/

YachtForums · 10-18-2007, 09:51 AM

Before going big, I was going FAST. Here's my 24' Skater. It was hull #6 out of the mold from Peter Hledin...

SharkyFHB · 10-18-2007, 11:03 AM

Great pic Carl.
What was her top speed?

JH

YachtForums · 10-18-2007, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharkyFHB

Great pic Carl. What was her top speed?

Pic was taken by an old friend and part-time photographer, Greg Blahurt. This was the first time he ever hung from a harness and the quality of the shots reflected the same. Nearly 100 pictures were taken. About 10 came out half-way decent. He missed almost every jump.

In the jump pictured above, I hit a negative G and was pulled up out of the seat. I actually sat much lower. Of course, these were the days WAY before 6-piece restraining harnesses and F-16 canopies.

Back when Don Schwebe ran Mercury's Lake-X facility, my boat held the lake's top speed record (for a 24 Skater) one year at 103.5 mph. 24 Skaters were the rage in offshore racing in the late 80's, paving the way for much larger, much faster catamarans... but not before a few of us rolled, stuffed and grew accustomed to the taste of hospital food.

Ahh... the good old days! Back before my "No Fear" sticker expired.

Loren Schweizer · 10-18-2007, 03:17 PM

Pretty racy stuff.
Now, I know what an 'assassin' is, but please enlighten us as to what your boat name means.

Yacht Novice · 10-18-2007, 03:22 PM

Pete is also a very nice guy in addition to being an innovative builder at the top of his game.

Yachtforums - nice picture. I've spent quite a bit of a time driving a 24 Skater with twin 2.5s putting out a bit more power than the boat or engines were originally designed around!

That's a fun machine.

Fast cats are an addiction all to themselves. I was recently a passenger running 150mph - 151mph in a 3600 Nor-tech and having a blast! I just wish it were a bit faster...

YachtForums · 10-18-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loren Schweizer

Now, I know what an 'assassin' is, but please enlighten us as to what your boat name means.

That's the result of an illiterate sign painter and a race deadline to meet! A few days later, I had the name stripped and re-painted with the proper spelling. Good catch Loren. Most people miss it.

catmando · 10-18-2007, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yacht Novice

Pete is also a very nice guy in addition to being an innovative builder at the top of his game.

Yachtforums - nice picture. I've spent quite a bit of a time driving a 24 Skater with twin 2.5s putting out a bit more power than the boat or engines were originally designed around!

That's a fun machine.

Fast cats are an addiction all to themselves. I was recently a passenger running 150mph - 151mph in a 3600 Nor-tech and having a blast! I just wish it were a bit faster...

That's very fast in an open-cockpit boat that small. I might be squawking like a scared chicken but I prefer a full canopy, oxygen mask and racing harness at that speed.

catmando · 10-18-2007, 05:33 PM

Carl do you still have the Skater? I would love to have a 28 with 300Xs.

YachtForums · 10-18-2007, 07:02 PM

CatMan,

The last Skater I had was a 28' with 2.5's, back in 1996. Both the 24' & 28' were amazing boats. Actually, the 28' was a quantum leap in rough water capability and ride quality. I've slowed down a bit since then, enjoying an occasional offshore jaunt in my Powerplay.