MTI, the Missouri Race Shop Building 100 mph Boats

From the Victory Team in Dubai to a Missouri shop

Randy Scism raced a 20-foot Hydrostream before moving up to catamarans and, in 1989, joining Dubai's Victory Team as general manager and Class 1 throttleman. Over that period he collected 10 race wins, 21 podium finishes and a 1999 Class 1 World Championship. He founded Marine Technology Inc. in 1999, and the company's first race boat was released in 2001. In early 2005 MTI opened a 55,000 square foot plant in Wentzville, Missouri, which became its headquarters, and it also operates a facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

For its first decade MTI meant offshore catamarans, both race and pleasure boats, and it remains one of the dominant names at events such as the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. MTI builds with vacuum-bagged, post-cured epoxy laminates of E-glass and Kevlar over foam, with no wood in the structure and carbon fiber available on weight-sensitive parts or the whole boat.

The 390X cat and the V 42 center console

We cover two MTI models. The MTI 390X is a 39 ft 4 in outboard catamaran unveiled in November 2019 at Haulover Marine Center in North Miami. Scism called it the 340X on steroids, built from new CNC molds with integrated steps and made possible by Mercury Racing's 450R outboard. MTI reported 13 sold by January 2020, an eight-seat cockpit followed, and later boats are often full carbon with 500Rs. It remains in production.

The MTI-V 42, also sold as the SV42, took MTI into V-bottoms. The first went to a Miami owner in 2013, and the patented Slot V hull, a deep vee with twin keels that traps air between them, became the template for MTI's 50 and 57-foot center consoles. It carried quad or quint Mercury Racing outboards, with one five-engine boat running 88 mph at the 2020 Shootout. Production ran to 2025, when MTI unveiled the next-generation 422V.

Resale and what to check on a used MTI

MTIs hold value well in the performance world because production is limited and the race pedigree is real; used 390X boats list around $575,000 to $900,000 and V 42s from about $600,000 to $1.65 million. MTI itself lists pre-owned boats on its website, and Mercury Racing dealers handle engines. A performance-boat surveyor is essential.

Survey priorities:

• Hull bottom, steps and sponsons for impact or stress damage
• Outboard hours, gearcase condition and Mercury Racing service records
• Hull-to-deck bond and transom area around the engine mounts
• Carbon parts and repairs, ideally checked with thermography
• Steering, hydraulics and trim systems on multi-engine boats
• Which outboards are fitted versus the original build sheet