Distinct Progress: Under new ownership, Spectre's speedy 32CS got a new setup and an extra 10 mph.

By Jason Johnson

When Scot Conrad purchased Spectre Powerboats in February, the offshore racer and owner of SC Performance Marine said he wanted to take the company's boats to another level. Without changing any tooling, Conrad has already delivered on his promise.

The Southern California native brought a 32CS to Long Beach, Calif., for this roundup, and the boat was a rocket. Not to say the previous 32CS we tested last fall in Sarasota, Fla., at our Performance Trials wasn't fast. It's just that with slight modifications, this version of the 32-footer was even faster with the same power.

By adding a pair of 12-inch Stellings stand-off boxes, which raised the Teague Platinum drives a couple of inches, along with utilizing 33"-pitch Hering five-blade propellers, our Test Team reached 130 mph on GPS with a pair of Ilmor MV-10 mills producing 625 horsepower apiece. Nearly 10-mph faster than the top speed in Sarasota with the same reliable power and drives (albeit it with 35"-pitch Mercury Bravo One props), the simple setup changes made quite a difference.

The modifications didn't alter the acceleration or handling. The 32CS was still lively as it reached plane in 5.1 seconds and raced from 40 to 70 mph in 7.7 seconds. From a standing start, the boat blasted to 86 mph in 20 seconds, the same speed it reached during the drill in Sarasota.

The 32-footer leaned into turns, carving exceptionally well in cruising and full-speed efforts. It was perfectly sensitive to trim and tracked well at all speeds, which was fully appreciated when running 100-plus mph in head-on winds.

For a catamaran of its size, the 32CS also handled the rough stuff well. In mixed-up chop in Long Beach Harbor, the 8,000-pound boat skipped across the bumps. In the calm water, the vacuum-bagged hull packed air efficiently and took off. In fact, while cruising at 4,500 rpm, the boat ran an even 100 mph and rode nice and level.

An added benefit, the 32CS stayed on plane nicely at low speed. The driver noticed a slight glare on the three-piece acrylic windshield from the boat's shiny, white deck.

Along with the Spectre logo on the deck, the builder included Accon Pop-Up cleats, a pair of recessed navigation lights and flush fuel fills. To protect the vinyl graphics that featured the Spectre name in yellow on the boat's side, a stainless rubrail was precisely installed.

A pair of manual-lifting engine hatches with gas struts housed the polished Ilmor motors. The hatches, which were secured with quarter-turn, stainless-steel latches, had built-in scoops to help keep the engine compartments cool.

In the cockpit, seating consisted of five comfortable bucket seats. A stowage compartment behind the rear buckets contained the battery switches, polished aluminum battery boxes and a pair of JL Audio amplifiers for the optional stereo system.

Two 10-inch subwoofers were installed in the gunwale in front of the driver and co-pilot and 6-inch speakers with tweeters were mounted in gunwale cutouts next to each bucket seat.

Gauges at the helm were arranged in a circle around the nontilting IMCO steering wheel. The Livorsi Marine gauges were installed in platinum bezels. Allowing for a single operator or for a driver and throttleman, Livorsi race series shifters and throttles were mounted in a center-console between the driver and co-pilot.

The bottom line is that the 32CS performed beyond expectations. It goes to show that setup skills learned from racing can be used to improve everyday performance boats.

Test Results

Click to enlarge.