If you were lucky enough to be on the lake this weekend, you might have noticed an unusual amount of HTM's on the water. This weekend was the 2017 High Torque Marine "Legends Float Party!"
The HTM get together started in Thompson bay where the infamous 306 dubbed "Team Huntress" was anchored out in front of the Naked Turtle. Other HTM owners were instructed to meet there and at 11:30 sharp they would be doing a parade through the channel, and then head up to Pirates for lunch and drinks with friends and family.
I happened to find out about the event by chance the night before from Rob (one of Stacy's RE clients), so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare to go to it. My plan was to try to arrive to the bridge ten minutes early and take the "poor mans aerial shots" down on the boats from the bridge. Unfortunately I pulled up at 11:20, and the Huntress came into view at 11:25. There wasn't enough time to get on top of the bridge without missing half of the fleet, so I elected to shoot from the Condo's where we were beached.
I didn't count the boats, but I'd guess there was at least 20-25 in the parade that went through the channel. It's not uncommon to see an HTM out on the water, but to see a group like that really rewound the clock for me. HTM's are one of those rare breed of boats where quite a few of them have custom power in them. Almost all of them sound a little different, and there's quite a few of them that are pretty rowdy.
You have to realize, this is the first "HTM" event that has taken place (to my knowledge) in 11 years! It hasn't even been a month since the girls decided to buy back the molds and make an effort and reviving the brand. The news has spread like wildfire across social media platforms, and the response has been nothing short of inspiring. It's obvious that the love for the brand is as strong today, as it was before the recession.
I asked Lia today what she took away from her experiences this weekend and she said "It was extremely humbling to see everyone's love for not only Steve and the guys, but the passion for the products they created." She was excited to see that a lot of the boats that showed up to the event were still the original owners that purchased new!
We had plans with friends to all go boating on this day, so I was unable to leave ahead of the group to get running shots of the boats. We left the channel about 45 minutes afterwards and headed towards Pirates Cove to see what else we could cover of the event. We were pretty late, so a few of the boats had already finished lunch and were starting to leave.
The event had a total of 34 boats show up to Pirates Cove for the lunch with approximately 25 coming up from Havasu, and another 10 coming southbound from up river.
Unfortunately the General Manager wasn't aware that the HTM group was coming on Saturday, so they didn't set aside any parking for the group as a whole. It all worked out, as it was pretty evident when you pulled in that it was "HTM Country" on that day, but it would've been nice for us to get some pics of everyone parked together.
In talking to Lia today briefly she filled me in on some of the plans that they have for the company. They are setting realistic goals of 3-5 boats a year to start that will be "Limited Edition" models. What that means is they will most likely be designing graphics, building the hulls, and bringing in exotic interiors, but subbing out the rigging portion to a reputable third party shop capable of building their boats in a truly custom fashion. She didn't mention any shops specifically, but my sources tell me that Alexi at Boostpower may end up being a power supplier and rigging location. If that's the case with his capabilities both on engine & rigging I think you will see somethings coming out of this manufacturer like you have never seen before!
(Pictured above from Left to Right - Sharese, Lia, Chelsie)
Congratulations to the girls. It's been a long time coming, and I'm quite sure you guys are making Steve and the gang very proud! I know there are a lot of guys (including myself) anxious to see what lies ahead for the company and your family!
written by RiverDave
Last Pic courtesy of Robbie Smith
The HTM get together started in Thompson bay where the infamous 306 dubbed "Team Huntress" was anchored out in front of the Naked Turtle. Other HTM owners were instructed to meet there and at 11:30 sharp they would be doing a parade through the channel, and then head up to Pirates for lunch and drinks with friends and family.
I happened to find out about the event by chance the night before from Rob (one of Stacy's RE clients), so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare to go to it. My plan was to try to arrive to the bridge ten minutes early and take the "poor mans aerial shots" down on the boats from the bridge. Unfortunately I pulled up at 11:20, and the Huntress came into view at 11:25. There wasn't enough time to get on top of the bridge without missing half of the fleet, so I elected to shoot from the Condo's where we were beached.
I didn't count the boats, but I'd guess there was at least 20-25 in the parade that went through the channel. It's not uncommon to see an HTM out on the water, but to see a group like that really rewound the clock for me. HTM's are one of those rare breed of boats where quite a few of them have custom power in them. Almost all of them sound a little different, and there's quite a few of them that are pretty rowdy.
You have to realize, this is the first "HTM" event that has taken place (to my knowledge) in 11 years! It hasn't even been a month since the girls decided to buy back the molds and make an effort and reviving the brand. The news has spread like wildfire across social media platforms, and the response has been nothing short of inspiring. It's obvious that the love for the brand is as strong today, as it was before the recession.
I asked Lia today what she took away from her experiences this weekend and she said "It was extremely humbling to see everyone's love for not only Steve and the guys, but the passion for the products they created." She was excited to see that a lot of the boats that showed up to the event were still the original owners that purchased new!
We had plans with friends to all go boating on this day, so I was unable to leave ahead of the group to get running shots of the boats. We left the channel about 45 minutes afterwards and headed towards Pirates Cove to see what else we could cover of the event. We were pretty late, so a few of the boats had already finished lunch and were starting to leave.
The event had a total of 34 boats show up to Pirates Cove for the lunch with approximately 25 coming up from Havasu, and another 10 coming southbound from up river.
Unfortunately the General Manager wasn't aware that the HTM group was coming on Saturday, so they didn't set aside any parking for the group as a whole. It all worked out, as it was pretty evident when you pulled in that it was "HTM Country" on that day, but it would've been nice for us to get some pics of everyone parked together.
In talking to Lia today briefly she filled me in on some of the plans that they have for the company. They are setting realistic goals of 3-5 boats a year to start that will be "Limited Edition" models. What that means is they will most likely be designing graphics, building the hulls, and bringing in exotic interiors, but subbing out the rigging portion to a reputable third party shop capable of building their boats in a truly custom fashion. She didn't mention any shops specifically, but my sources tell me that Alexi at Boostpower may end up being a power supplier and rigging location. If that's the case with his capabilities both on engine & rigging I think you will see somethings coming out of this manufacturer like you have never seen before!
(Pictured above from Left to Right - Sharese, Lia, Chelsie)
Congratulations to the girls. It's been a long time coming, and I'm quite sure you guys are making Steve and the gang very proud! I know there are a lot of guys (including myself) anxious to see what lies ahead for the company and your family!
written by RiverDave
Last Pic courtesy of Robbie Smith
