Like most go-faster boaters, Silvio Sardi was intrigued by the life of legendary powerboat builder Don Aronow. While doing research for the documentary “Thunder Man: The Don Aronow Story,” Sardi found an even more interesting character—Ben Kramer.

Kramer allegedly hired the hit man to kill Aronow near his office on 188th Street in Miami back in 1987. In the documentary, which was released on DVD, casts doubt whether Kramer had any direct involvement. Kramer pleaded no contest charges related to the murder and is currently serving life in prison for that and other crimes.

Sardi acquired the rights to Kramer’s biography and is currently producing a documentary about Kramer. The Italian-born producer provided some insight about the “Thunder Man” film.

You’ve talked to Ben Kramer several times. What’s your opinion of him?

Everybody I met (making the film) had a different opinion about Ben Kramer. Now I have my own opinion of what I see after meeting the guy sitting in prison for 22 years. He was in his 30s when he went to prison, now he’s 54 or 55.

I am convinced 99 percent, obviously I cannot say 100 percent, that Ben Kramer had nothing to do with the murder of Don Aronow.

Your documentary does lean in that direction.

As I said before, I don’t think Ben Kramer did it for many reasons. First, why would he do it on the street in front of their offices?

The public record says when Don sold the Blue Thunder boat company to Ben, the government found out Ben was behind the company and they shut down the deal. Ben went back to Don, and he said, “Hey, give me back my money because now the company doesn’t have any value.”

What the investigators say is Don said, “Screw you, now it’s your fault you lost the deal.”

(Investigators) say the reaction of Ben is supposed to be so bad he wanted to hire a hit man to commit murder. What are we talking about, a million dollars or $500,000 or $600,000 at that time to buy the company?

The banks claimed that (Ben) had more than $50 million cash in the bank. If I put myself in the position of Ben Kramer, I have a problem with a man I’m so upset, OK I send four tough guys to beat him up, put him in the boat and take him to the ocean, and make him disappear.

If I’m such a big gangster, everybody is scared of me, what would it take for me to do that…You don’t murder somebody for 1 percent of your cash value at the moment, come on. You could beat him up if you wanted to ruin his face.

In your research, did you find that Don Aronow knew he was selling boats to drug smugglers?

He knew he was selling the boats for drug smuggling. I personally think when he started Cigarette, Magnum, Donzi—all these big boats, he knew that some of his customers were smuggling. The big thing was how could he stop it. It’s like when you go to buy a car, the dealership tells you where you can take your car. You can’t stop me from where I want to go.

Some of the people we interviewed say Don was working (with the drug smugglers), but I personally think he was really clean about that. He was: If you want my boat, show me your cash. That was a classic way to make business. He’d say, I don’t care what you are doing with the boat, just pay me cash and I’ll give you the boat. If you don’t have cash, don’t bother me.

Did that passion lead to his death?

He was selling everything, he had too big of a passion. Cash and the woman were his two big passions. I think the people that went looking into his murder need to look at something else, even bigger. He was (building) these boats that he sold to the government for the U.S. Coast Guard, it was really a pig of the water, it was not able to catch anybody. He’d just take advantage of the deal. It was unusually common for him to advantage of any deal he was making.

But maybe around the deal…maybe somebody was scared about Don starting to work with the Feds and the government, maybe in that moment, in the middle of the (drug) war in 1987. The DEA was starting to have the first success to arrest people all over. I think the guys that paid Bobby Young, it’s more plausible they came from Columbia, the big drug business.

Former president George H. W. Bush was a good friend of Aronow. Was he reluctant to talk about him?

His office was open, very available and very nice. He wanted the questions written down (before the interview). He just didn’t want to talk anything to do about his murder. As you see in the DVD, we have the full interview.

The DVD is now available at Amazon.com.

For a review of the DVD, check out the February 2010 issue of Powerboat.

Anyone who has attended a poker run in recent years will recognize that as the size of poker runs have grown, so have the length of boats. If you owned a Baja 26 Outlaw, for example, you were firmly in the middle of the pack when it came to boat size.

But these days if you attend a poker run in Florida you are probably one of the smallest boats at the docks. The New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club (NJPPC) has noticed that trend and is putting on a poker run in 2010 for the “little guys.”

The poker run will be exclusively for boats that are 28 feet or less in length. The event is slated for Saturday, Sept. 4.

The NJPPC’s steering committee led by club president by Dave Patnaude decided to launch the event after looking at the dearth of smaller boats at poker runs. In talking with non-participants, the committee found a few themes:

• Owners felt their boats were too small compared to the fields that average 38 feet.

• Even with a 60-mph class, owners said they weren’t fast enough.

• Too expensive to participate.

To accommodate the smaller boats, the club plans to start the poker run early in the morning so the water conditions are smoother. Patnaude said the entry fee will be “very reasonable” and will include a brunch and an award ceremony at the conclusion.

The poker run is a good idea for the sport and hopefully it will lead to more people participating. But I’m not sure a small-boat poker run will attract a large number of participants. I hope they prove me wrong.

Organizers of the Salton Sea Speedweek have cancelled the event slated for next month because water levels on the California desert lake are too low.

A hot summer dropped water levels to less than 2 feet in Varner Harbor on the lake outside of Palm Springs, said promoter Ross Wallach. The harbor would normally be dredged but that hasn’t happened because of the state’s severe budget problems.

“Because of the water levels, the ramp isn’t usable,” Wallach said.

The kilo runs last year featured offshore boats looking to breaking speed records because of the lake’s low elevation (227 feet below sea level), high salt content and cool temperatures in the winter. More than 20 boats participated in the event at the Salton Sea State Park recreation area. The top speed was 144 mph set by Tony Chiaramonte in an Eliminator Boats 28 Speedster.

Wallach is optimistic the Salton Sea Speedweek will return in December 2010 and it will also include the Salton Sea 500.

If you follow the reality show the “Deadliest Catch,” you probably know it was a tough season for Captain Keith Colburn and the gang on the Wizard. A rogue wave hammered the crew as it was on the deck trying to put a tarp over some crab pots. The injury report included broken ribs and lots of bruises, but the Wizard’s crew soldiered on.

Normally I have a great dislike for reality stars because they, frankly, did little or nothing to earn their fame. They either conned someone on a reality show or they’ve gotten a TV gig because their parents are rich and famous. While Colburn is being filmed for simply doing his job, he’s at least putting his reality TV show stardom to good use.

Colburn is the official spokesman for the United States Coast Guard’s “Boat Responsibly” initiative and has been making appearances around the country on behalf of the cause. This weekend he’s doing an autograph session during the Panasonic 19th annual New York Super Boat Grand Prix and he’s been appearing at various boat shows and charity events during the year.

The “Boat Responsibly” program features Colburn doing public service announcements on the dangers of drinking and boating, and reminding captains they are responsible for everyone’s safety on board the boat.

I suspect we haven’t seen the last of Colburn at Super Boat International races. Having attended the Sarasota, Fla., race this summer and now the New York event, he could become a regular when he’s not running the Wizard.

Back from the 21st annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout and here are some of my impressions about the summer classic.

• Rance Burger and Mike Alford do an absolutely terrific job broadcasting the Shootout on KRMS 1150 and the local Charter cable channel. For 16-plus hours over the weekend, they keep the spectators and competitors informed on speeds and the happenings at the Shootout. Credit also goes to producer Kevin “KB” Burns and Michael McSorley, who filed reports from the docks.

• Ron Duggan and the group of volunteers certainly did their homework after hosting the Shootout for the first time in 2008. The improvements they made included a JumboTron and speakers throughout the grounds of Captain Ron’s for fans to follow the action. The awards ceremony following the Shootout couldn’t have gone any smoother.

• It’s nice to see all of the events popping up around the Shootout. Once again there was a stereo shootout at Dog Days Bar & Grill hosted by Waves and Wheels. Platinum Powerboat Club hosted a benefit party at Captain Ron’s and Shootout favorite Doc Janssen held a private event. There were numerous other parties going on.

• MTI is always well represented at Lake of the Ozarks Shootout but the Skater nation came strong this year. The collection of high-dollar catamarans led to some of the fastest speeds the Shootout has ever seen.

• Winning the Shootout is old hat for David Scott but in the last two Shootouts I don’t think I’ve seen him more relaxed. Scott’s 196-mph run in the Mystic was impressive for a catamaran with piston power.

For years it has been a love-hate relationship between the boat-racing sanctioning bodies and the organizers of The San Diego Bayfair on Mission Bay.

The operators of the major tours would grumble privately that Bayfair organizers were cheap and threaten not to show up. But year after year the Unlimited hydroplanes and tunnel boats would be there despite receiving substantially reduced appearance fees.

So it was unusual to see this week the war of words between the American Boat Racing Association’s Sam Cole and Bayfair Chairman Jeff Thomas. Bayfair is slated for Sept. 18-20 and it’s unlikely you’ll see the Unlimited hydroplanes there.

The ABRA is reportedly seeking a $170,000 sanctioning fee to participate in Bayfair. It’s been a few years since the ChampBoats have participated.

Thomas told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “San Diego is big for the Unlimiteds; they need us probably more than we need them.”

Cole had issued a statement earlier in the week taking the tour site to task.

“I can state categorically that, given the current state of the relationship between Bayfair and the ABRA, none of our race teams will be appearing at Bayfair this year,” Cole said. “I hope that clears up any possible confusion on the issue.”

Even in the days when Budweiser was the driving force of the Unlimited hydroplane tour and the Bayfair title sponsor, the event on Mission Bay still struggled from year to year. Despite more than 100,000 people attended the three-day event, Bayfair goes without a title sponsor. With no major sponsor, the race has to rely on concessions, ticket sales and parking revenues to cover costs. That’s difficult even in the best economy.

Even if you brought former President Bill Clinton to broker a peace deal, I don’t think you’ll see the Unlimited hydroplanes in San Diego next month. And that’s a shame for the great venue and for the sport.

It’s no secret that times are tough for many of the boatbuilders in the high-performance business. They may want to take a page from the playbook of the automobile industry to increase sales. (Did I just write that?)

The automakers have been offering “payment protection” plans as an incentive to spur sales. If the buyer loses his or her job during the first year after purchasing a car, an automaker will make the payments until they find new employment. The payment protection comes with restrictions, of course.

The Brunswick Corp. announced last month it was getting in on the “payment protection” promotion with 12 of its brands eligible for the insurance. Production boats from Crestliner, Bayliner and Maxum are among the brands qualifying for the program.

Under the promotion, Brunswick says it will pay up to nine months of payments if the boat buyer loses his or her job within a year after the boat purchase. The qualifying monthly payments can go up to $500 for Bayliner, Maxum and Trophy, while other brands are good for $250 a month. Customers have to get their new boat by July 6.

High-performance boatbuilders might want to consider a similar idea to boost sales. Maybe guarantee payments of up to $2,000 a month for a year if the customer loses a job. It might be the catalyst to get consumers into the showroom.

By all accounts, Gary Taylor had a bright future as an engine builder in the performance-boat industry. A firefighter by day, he would spend his days off and weekends building custom engines.

The 41-year-old Taylor is now a sad footnote in the high-performance industry after he was sentenced to 22 years in prison in early May for his crimes. Taylor of Newbury Park, Calif., pleaded guilty to three counts of child molestation and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities said Taylor sexually abused a relative between January 2000 and September 2008. He was arrested last December after detectives reportedly recorded the former firefighter incriminating himself in the crimes. He has been in county jail ever since.

At his sentencing in a Ventura courtroom, Taylor’s defense attorney asked for a lesser sentence of 18 years but that was rejected by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie. The sentencing range was 18 to 22 years.

Brodie told the courtroom, which included the teenage victim, “The lives that this case has touched are just incredible.”

Under California law, Taylor is required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. He will spend the next two decades behind bars and register as a sex offender.

Friends described the former firefighter as a down-to-earth guy whose home-based business of Taylor Performance Industries (TPI) had great potential. He also served as a staff member for another high-performance boating publication.

Obviously Taylor had a much darker side. He’ll have at least 18 years in state prison to reflect on his crimes.

If you follow professional sports, you might have seen the news that Albert Haynesworth signed a seven-year, $100 million contract to play football for the Washington Redskins. And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing about a football player when this is a blog about powerboats. Within in our small boating world, the Pro Bowl defensive player is a big fish. Haynesworth has owned boats from an Outerlimits to a Baja and recently took possession of a 44-foot catamaran from Marine Technology Inc. The boat was on display in the MTI booth at the Miami International Boat Show.

He recently ran the boat during the Florida Powerboat Clubs’ Miami Boat Show poker run (his Hell Raiser 44 MTI earned the best paint job award) and took his share of good-nature ribbing from some of the participants. During the stop in Islamorada, ESPN ran a piece saying that Haynesworth’s contract would be the equivalent of an “economic stimulus package.”

I’m sure there are plenty of high-performance boatbuilders hoping he’ll put that to good use. You can be certain Haynesworth will be at his share of poker runs before football training camp opens this summer.

Pepsi vs. Coke. Apple vs. PC. Red Sox vs. Yankees.

While the blossoming feud between Malibu Boats and Tigé Boats doesn’t rank among these legendary rivalries, the tow-boat builders are taking it to the water in an effort to sway consumers.

Malibu Boats in January announced its “Truth is on the Water Challenge,” that allows potential customers to test its boats against competitors—provided those competitors bring a boat. Texas-based Tigé has accepted the challenge and will offer prospective buyers a “Free Demo” checklist.

Going on demo rides is nothing new but what is uncommon is Malibu’s in-your-face approach. And even more surprising is that a rival manufacturer would take the bait.

Under the program, a prospective buyer would go to the local Malibu dealer. After deciding which brands they want to test, the dealer will create a custom invitation for the buyer to deliver to the rival boat companies they’d like to participate in the on-the-water challenge. If the rivals decide to participate, they’ll meet at the local lake.

Malibu is encouraging potential to bring friends, family and gear to “accurately gauge the usability of these boats.”

Tigé Boats in a press release called it an “outstanding opportunity,” noting that they always encourage customers to test drive the boats they are considering.

None of the industry’s larger players such as MasterCraft or Correct Craft have signed on. I think you’ll see Gun n’ Roses reunite before that happens.