The GTMM 39: Ready for Its Close-Up
Legacy builder hopes to make a splash with custom go-fast V-bottom.
February 16, 2012
When the 2012 Miami International Boat Show opens on Feb. 16, no one will be more relieved than Giovanni Theodoli. And that’s a bit odd, because this is not his first time at the rodeo. He is the son of Katrin Theodoli, owner of the famed Magnum Marine in Miami. Giovanni started working for his parents soldering wire harnesses at age 10, and has been at more than his share of new-model introductions.
But this one—the debut of the first GTMM 39-foot V-bottom performance boat—is all his, though really not “all” his as he has a partner in the venture, Scott Smith, who cut his teeth at Cigarette Racing Team.
An artist's rendering of the new GTTM 39
“I have two emotions around this project," said Theodoli, "abject terror and fear and total jubilation. I float between the two.”
GTMM, or Giovanni Theodoli Marine Manufacturing in longhand—started more than a year ago. Between stints working for his mother at Magnum Marine, an on-again, off-again situation that is not unusual in a family business, Theodoli was looking to make his own mark on the marine industry. Being a Theodoli had it perks—for instance, annual summer-long jaunts with his parents to glamorous ports throughout the Mediterranean on the latest Magnum. But it also came with an outsider’s perception that Giovanni was a guy—one with a lucky surname—who was along for the ride.
“I truly wanted, and still crave, justifiable credibility as a boat builder, not just that I am one of the Theodoli kids,” he said.
At Magnum, Theodoli got to know Smith, who went on with former Cigarette Racing team president Craig Barrie, to found Dragon Powerboats. Dragon had one model—a 39-foot-long full-canopy V-bottom—and it was anything but a commercial success. A handful of Dragons were built and all construction, rigging, and painting were outsourced, a process that did not lend itself to the most consistent final product.
But the Dragon had a couple of things going for it. First, it was a great-looking go-fast V-bottom, sleek and sexy and devoid of anything resembling a 90-degree angle on its capped hull and deck. Go-fast boat lovers, most of whom had never seen one in person, much less ridden in one, loved it. Second, it was tied to Barrie, a well-known and well-liked industry figure who also had worked with Theodoli and Smith at Magnum. But Barrie eventually moved on to become vice president of sales and marketing for Donzi, and the Dragon molds went up for sale.
“I was back at Magnum for a bit after working at Monza with Richie Powers,” said Theodoli. “I had this opportunity to build the 27-foot Magnum on my own, but I also had the opportunity to buy the Dragon molds. I spoke with Scott about it—I’ve actually followed what Scott and Craig have done since they left Magnum.
“I had always thought the Dragon was a very pretty boat,” he continued. “I was not in love with the fit and finish or its underlying concept, but Scott and I talked and I said, ‘You know, if we could take it in another direction and make some changes I think it would be pretty cool.”
Theodoli bought the Dragon molds and he and Smith became partners in the venture. Their next step was to select a builder, as setting up a boat-manufacturing plant for one model was out of the question. Through referrals from Eddie Guardado at noted powerboat paint shop Guardado Marine, and Troy Hannon at Supreme Marine, a well-know rigging outfit—both companies are near Miami—they met noted high-performance catamaran builder John Cosker of Mystic Powerboats in DeLand, Fla.
“We flew up to meet with John,” said Theodoli. “He’s such a nice guy—and we found we had the same sort of philosophy on building boats. We decided to work together.”
The original 39-foot Dragon was, for all intents and purposes, a hybrid of an offshore race boat and a pleasure boat. It had a full canopy, dual steering wheel receptacles, center-mounted throttles for dual-person operation, and a small and essentially useless cabin. It was also laid up with carbon fiber, Kevlar, and epoxy, which make a boat lighter and stiffer, but can also translate to a rougher ride.
Theodoli and Smith wanted to create a true high-performance pleasure boat, so the Dragon-centric goodies, meaning all of the items listed above, had to go for it to become the new GTMM 39. A three-piece windshield replaced the canopy. The steering wheel moved permanently to the starboard side of the dash and the port-side wheel receptacle was eliminated, as was the cabin. The lamination recipe went back to more forgiving traditional materials, including vinylester resin and fiberglass, though the hull and deck are still vacuum-bagged and foam-cored. (For buyers who want them, a full canopy, half canopy, and epoxy-and-carbon fiber lay-up will be offered as options.)
But the most significant changes were made to the boat’s two-step hull.
“The original Dragon was good in rough water, but in the flats in a pure speed contest it left something to be desired,” said Theodoli. “The Dragon’s steps were shallow, one-inch tall. We made them two inches tall and added a notch to the transom. We are also going to try a pad on the bottom.”
So how does the newly configured hull run? No one knows, because, as tends to happen with new models targeted for boat-show debuts, Theodoli, Smith, and Cosker ran out of time before they had to move the boat into the show.
“We’re going to run it without the pad first, and then have John ‘glue’ a pad to the bottom,” said Theodoli. “If it picks up the speed we expect it to without any compromises in handling—I am all about safety first—we’ll build the pad into the hull mold. If not, we’ll leave it out.”
With twin Mercury Racing 700Ci engines, Theodoli said the boat should run in the “110-mph range.” With base power, a pair of Mercury Racing 525EFI engines, the base price is $550,000. While that may seem spendy to those outside the custom go-fast boat world, it’s actually reasonable relative to comparably built and powered models.
Once Theodoli and Smith complete the 39-footer project they’ll refocus their efforts on the GTMM version of the Magnum 27, which will retain its original hull but be fitted with a completely new deck and deeper cockpit with higher freeboard. But that’s for down the road, and Theodoli, who wouldn’t divulge a timeline, though he did say Mystic would build the 27-footer as well as subsequent orders for the 39. He added that he’d like to build three to four 39-foot models a year.
“We’ve put everything into getting the 39 ready for the Miami show, and everything for the 27 on hold,” he said. “Right now, we’re still focused on the 39. We have no buyer for this one yet—this is truly a spec boat—but we’re really happy with the way it turned out.”
For more information, visit GTMM.
- Matt Trulio
Specifications
- Length: 39'0" (11.9 m.)
- Beam: 8'6" (2.6 m.)
- Fuel: 200 gallons (757 l.)
- Power options: Twin Mercury Racing motors of 525 hp to 1,350 hp. or Yanmar Diesels
- Upholstery/Paint options: Custom
