written by Zach Bale
I was bit by the performance boating bug early on. Through Powerboat Magazine I studied the boat tests, offshore race reports and poker run articles for hours. In addition to the typical areas like Key West and Miami, there was a lake often documented in the magazine located in the Midwest that didn?t seem as picturesque yet somehow garnered just as much attention, Lake of the Ozarks. I often wondered what the attraction was to that inland lake 3 hours away from the nearest major city that barely ranks on the list of largest US lakes.
Fast forward a couple decades and last week I visited Lake of the Ozarks for a dealer training event. A few weeks prior, I had reached out to Brett Manire, the owner of Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach, MO. They have been receiving lots of press lately due to their recent merger with Nauti Marine and impressive facility build out and I was eager to see the operation for myself while gaining the inside scoop on what makes Lake of the Ozarks such a performance destination.
As I made the final turn onto the property I was taken aback by the scale of the sprawling facilities. As a city dweller I couldn't come close to estimating the total acreage but as a comparison, the overall property is larger than many regional airports! It quickly became clear that this wasn't just a dealership for expensive boats, it was a destination. The site includes no less than a fully functioning marina managed by Brett's wife, private launch ramp with trailer parking, gas dock, service center, paint booth, detail shop, storage buildings, accessory shop (soon to feature Boat Bling products, naturally), and a massive showroom with 2nd floor office space. If that wasn't already enough, construction is currently underway for a restaurant scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend and if needed, there is plenty of space to grow.
Showroom and service buildings. Storage & restaurant site not pictured
The showroom is the crown jewel of the grounds. You've seen far better photos from Jay Nichols but as you can see there is enough space to display 8+ 40-50' boats on trailers extending another 8-10' and the building dwarfs the company Freightliner Sportchassis. All showroom boats are currently for sale if anyone is in the market. Performance Boat Center is an authorized dealer for Cigarette, Statement and Outerlimits.
2014 LOTO Shootout open house, photo by Jay Nichols, much better than mine
14' wide 46' Skater to give you an idea of scale
Lots of these emblems from The Art of Design paint shop on the showroom boats
Who doesn't have TVs mounted on their gooseneck trailer?
My personal favorite boat of the showroom
36' MTI sitting on an Extreme trailer with 15"+ frame rails originally debuted at Desert Storm. Originally designed to compete with DCB & Eliminator for the Havasu market. this model never really took off but this one is pretty cool.
While there are many shops capable of working on performance boats with standard drivetrain packages, when an ultra high performance boat with exotic setup breaks there are only a few locations in the country that have the experienced staff, facility and equipment to perform the work. Brett admitted that even though the building is less than a year old, it's already cramped and demand is so high for their services they need more room. It was a tight squeeze past the cleaver props on this 52' Outerlimits owned by Brett's business partner.
The Nor Tech pictured below was recently purchased through another dealer and upon inspection, major issues were discovered in both motors. The owner was facing a steep tab to correct the problems and get on the water this summer.
Boats in for service, no way to capture them all in one shot.
There must have been 10 #6 drives in various states of assembly!
These prop aerators are custom build by Reggie Fountain the 3rd
While much of Performance Boat Center?s clientele are those whose million dollar boating budgets likely amount to rounding errors on their income tax forms, they?re also happy to take on older boat projects like this complete restoration and repaint of a classic straight hull Cigarette Top Gun aptly named Reloaded (I?m told the name was already in place but that makes for a poor story). Dropped the ball on pics so use your imagination taking 1980?s teal and pink and turning it into a sleek dark blue and black graphic over pearl white.
On the day of my visit it was sunny but quickly cooling and I saw something that is alien to us in the Southwest, ice! In fact, the cove will completely freeze so winter boat tests sometimes require a barge or beater boat to break through the ice just to get to the main lake. Then you've got to get back quickly before the ice starts building
A shot of the lot from a slightly warmer day
Boating Lake of the Ozarks is all about its destinations. With countless bars, restaurants and marinas there is something for everybody but with those attractions come boats of all types including 55' cruisers. The water gets big and unpredictable due to wakes which never dissipate because the shoreline is made up mostly of cliffs and seawalls vs gradual beaches. Those that have experienced Lake Powell's notorious Antelope Canyon after a tour boats passes through probably have some idea how nasty of the washing machine effect this can have. Any runabout can handle the water well enough to get you from point A to B but if you want to go 100+ mph safely for any distance you need the stability that comes from 40' of fiberglass.
Understanding that there are so many options on the lake, you begin to realize why Performance Boat Center has to set itself apart. Taking around 8 new boats and a crew of 25 to this week's Miami boat show, their presence will be on display for the high end boat buyers. For the more casual enthusiast, Brett paints a picture of a boater pulling up for fuel on a summer day, enjoying a dockside lunch with the family, strolling into the showroom to enjoy some expensive eye candy and on the way out taking notice of the service and storage capabilities all the while making a mental note to come back the following week to see what?s new.
Hope everyone enjoyed the photos and trip report. I braved life and limb (Midwest winter weather) to share a little of what boating is like a thousand miles away from the river scene.
To read what the members are saying about this trip, and for more information please click HERE to visit the thread in our forums.
I was bit by the performance boating bug early on. Through Powerboat Magazine I studied the boat tests, offshore race reports and poker run articles for hours. In addition to the typical areas like Key West and Miami, there was a lake often documented in the magazine located in the Midwest that didn?t seem as picturesque yet somehow garnered just as much attention, Lake of the Ozarks. I often wondered what the attraction was to that inland lake 3 hours away from the nearest major city that barely ranks on the list of largest US lakes.
Fast forward a couple decades and last week I visited Lake of the Ozarks for a dealer training event. A few weeks prior, I had reached out to Brett Manire, the owner of Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach, MO. They have been receiving lots of press lately due to their recent merger with Nauti Marine and impressive facility build out and I was eager to see the operation for myself while gaining the inside scoop on what makes Lake of the Ozarks such a performance destination.
As I made the final turn onto the property I was taken aback by the scale of the sprawling facilities. As a city dweller I couldn't come close to estimating the total acreage but as a comparison, the overall property is larger than many regional airports! It quickly became clear that this wasn't just a dealership for expensive boats, it was a destination. The site includes no less than a fully functioning marina managed by Brett's wife, private launch ramp with trailer parking, gas dock, service center, paint booth, detail shop, storage buildings, accessory shop (soon to feature Boat Bling products, naturally), and a massive showroom with 2nd floor office space. If that wasn't already enough, construction is currently underway for a restaurant scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend and if needed, there is plenty of space to grow.
Showroom and service buildings. Storage & restaurant site not pictured
The showroom is the crown jewel of the grounds. You've seen far better photos from Jay Nichols but as you can see there is enough space to display 8+ 40-50' boats on trailers extending another 8-10' and the building dwarfs the company Freightliner Sportchassis. All showroom boats are currently for sale if anyone is in the market. Performance Boat Center is an authorized dealer for Cigarette, Statement and Outerlimits.
2014 LOTO Shootout open house, photo by Jay Nichols, much better than mine
14' wide 46' Skater to give you an idea of scale
Lots of these emblems from The Art of Design paint shop on the showroom boats
Who doesn't have TVs mounted on their gooseneck trailer?
My personal favorite boat of the showroom
36' MTI sitting on an Extreme trailer with 15"+ frame rails originally debuted at Desert Storm. Originally designed to compete with DCB & Eliminator for the Havasu market. this model never really took off but this one is pretty cool.
While there are many shops capable of working on performance boats with standard drivetrain packages, when an ultra high performance boat with exotic setup breaks there are only a few locations in the country that have the experienced staff, facility and equipment to perform the work. Brett admitted that even though the building is less than a year old, it's already cramped and demand is so high for their services they need more room. It was a tight squeeze past the cleaver props on this 52' Outerlimits owned by Brett's business partner.
The Nor Tech pictured below was recently purchased through another dealer and upon inspection, major issues were discovered in both motors. The owner was facing a steep tab to correct the problems and get on the water this summer.
Boats in for service, no way to capture them all in one shot.
There must have been 10 #6 drives in various states of assembly!
These prop aerators are custom build by Reggie Fountain the 3rd
While much of Performance Boat Center?s clientele are those whose million dollar boating budgets likely amount to rounding errors on their income tax forms, they?re also happy to take on older boat projects like this complete restoration and repaint of a classic straight hull Cigarette Top Gun aptly named Reloaded (I?m told the name was already in place but that makes for a poor story). Dropped the ball on pics so use your imagination taking 1980?s teal and pink and turning it into a sleek dark blue and black graphic over pearl white.
On the day of my visit it was sunny but quickly cooling and I saw something that is alien to us in the Southwest, ice! In fact, the cove will completely freeze so winter boat tests sometimes require a barge or beater boat to break through the ice just to get to the main lake. Then you've got to get back quickly before the ice starts building
A shot of the lot from a slightly warmer day
Boating Lake of the Ozarks is all about its destinations. With countless bars, restaurants and marinas there is something for everybody but with those attractions come boats of all types including 55' cruisers. The water gets big and unpredictable due to wakes which never dissipate because the shoreline is made up mostly of cliffs and seawalls vs gradual beaches. Those that have experienced Lake Powell's notorious Antelope Canyon after a tour boats passes through probably have some idea how nasty of the washing machine effect this can have. Any runabout can handle the water well enough to get you from point A to B but if you want to go 100+ mph safely for any distance you need the stability that comes from 40' of fiberglass.
Understanding that there are so many options on the lake, you begin to realize why Performance Boat Center has to set itself apart. Taking around 8 new boats and a crew of 25 to this week's Miami boat show, their presence will be on display for the high end boat buyers. For the more casual enthusiast, Brett paints a picture of a boater pulling up for fuel on a summer day, enjoying a dockside lunch with the family, strolling into the showroom to enjoy some expensive eye candy and on the way out taking notice of the service and storage capabilities all the while making a mental note to come back the following week to see what?s new.
Hope everyone enjoyed the photos and trip report. I braved life and limb (Midwest winter weather) to share a little of what boating is like a thousand miles away from the river scene.
To read what the members are saying about this trip, and for more information please click HERE to visit the thread in our forums.
