Without question, Frisini Motorsports made a big splash with the debut of its SCX 43 catamaran at the annual Desert Storm event on Arizona’s Lake Havasu in late April. But after showcasing the spectacular 43-footer, it was back to work—and hard—for company principal Tony Frisina and the rest of the crew at the Fort Pierce, Fla., company.

Worth the wait, the new Frisini 38 Hypersonic V-bottom reportedly reached 110 mph.



“Our trip to Lake Havasu was fun, eventful, and eye-opening,” said Frisina. “Now it’s time to focus on building boats. We’ve delivered four 32-foot cats in the past month, we’ve launched some new models, and we’re tooling other new ones. We’ve never been busier.”

Of particular note for Frisina and the Sonic faithful (Frisina builds the Sonic, Spectre, and custom Frisini brands) is the recent completion of the much-awaited 38 Hypersonic V-bottom. The boat was originally scheduled to be ready to go for the 2012 Miami International Boat Show in February—nd then, when it didn’t make it to Miami, Desert Storm. But the 38-footer wasn’t ready in time for either event.

Based on the boat’s reported performance, it was worth waiting for.

“The 38 Hypersonic was designed with performance and functionality in mind,” said Frisina. “We put a lot of effort into testing, and we’re excited to report that with a pair of Mercury Racing 700SCi engines, the 38 runs an unprecedented 110 mph. We’re proud of that, considering it's loaded with amenities for the whole family.”

Mercury Racing 700SCi engines provided the power for the first 38-footer, but larger and smaller power packages are available.



For the record, that top end makes the 38 Hypersonic the fastest model in the history of the Sonic line.

Featuring a redesigned five-step bottom and a slinky retooled deck, the 38-footer has a deep and spacious cockpit with seating for five. Belowdecks, the boat’s cabin offers more than six feet of headroom (the most in its class, according to Frisina), an air-conditioning system, and a full head compartment with a stand-up shower.

Noted South Florida paint shop Grafik EFX, headed by Chris Dilling, completed the boat’s extensive custom paint job and Fine Line Interiors handled the upholstery. Several standard color schemes as well as custom designs are offered for the 38-footer.

Another model nearing completion from Frisini is the all-new 390 Center Console, which will be offered in several cockpit configurations and will feature a new stepped bottom. The new hull, said Frisina, will provide better handling, performance, and efficiency than that a “traditional” center-console model.

The Hypersonic 38 boasts a deep and spacious cockpit.



“I’ve always wanted to build a bigger center console—we’re planning to take it to the next level with the 390,” Frisina said. “We’re expecting to be able to push this boat with twin outboards. We know the triple-engine configuration will probably be most popular, but if we can get it to run well with twin engines rather than triples, we’re passing along a great savings to our customer in terms of fuel economy and cost of the boat.”

Frisina, who said he has learned a lot about the boat business since he got into the game in 2010, explained that he wants to build boats with the consumer in mind.

“Building a boat for the customer’s actual needs is an aspect that I don’t think many people in the industry are paying attention to, in all honesty,” he said. “We want to make that our priority.”

Frisina also confirmed that the company is tooling a new 36-foot catamaran to accompany its popular SC 32 models and the all-new SCX 43. He expects the model to be finished early next year.

The 32 Spectre catamaran shown here eventually will have a 36-foot sibling.



“The best thing is all of these new boats we’re coming out with are sold boats,” Frisina said. “I’m not building these boats hoping that someone is going to buy them. Our customers believe in us, and that we do what we say we’re going to do.”

- Matt Trulio

Written by: Matt Trulio
Matt Trulio is the co-publisher and editor in chief of speedonthewater.com, a daily news site with a weekly newsletter and a new bi-monthly digital magazine that covers the high-performance powerboating world. The former editor-in-chief of Sportboat magazine and editor at large of Powerboat magazine, Trulio has covered the go-fast powerboat world since 1995. Since joining boats.com in 2000, he has written more than 200 features and blogs.