3 Main Types of High Performance Boats

Racing enthusiast Stephen Patrick Day leads Logistics Group International (LGI) as president and CEO. In addition to leading Logistics Group International, he serves as president of LGI Transport and as a partner at Petro Wire and Steel. Stephen Day maintains an interest in fast cars and boats. He is particularly fond of high-performance boats.

High-performance boats are broadly divided into three popular categories: sport catamarans, center console boats, and V-bottom sport boats. V-bottom boats are the standard high-performance powerboat. They range from 25 feet to over 50 feet, thus granting drivers access to larger seas, and they have engines that vary from about 430 horsepower to over 1,500. Compared to the past, V-bottom boats are not as popular among sailors, yet they remain the most spacious and powerful options for high-performance boat categories.

Sport catamarans have grown in popularity among high-performance boat enthusiasts. They are the fastest high-performance boats around, thanks to their unique design with a less wetted area on the hull. When the hull is wetted less, it has less hydrodynamic drag. Because of this, sport catamarans that have the same horsepower and are the same length as a V-bottom boat are always faster.

Finally, center console boats began in offshore fishing tournaments thanks to their increased deck space and seating options. The combination of space and speed made these boats more practical, which played a role in the popularity of center console boats following the Great Recession. With two to four outboard motors, these crafts reach speeds of about 60 to 85 miles per hour. This is slower than sport catamarans and V-bottom boats but still noteworthy.