MTI-V 42 Review, the Performance Center Console That Rewrote MTI

Why a catamaran racer started building MTI center console boats

Anyone shopping MTI center console boats should know where the brand came from. Marine Technology Inc. of Wentzville, Missouri, was founded by Randy Scism, who managed the Dubai-based Victory Team before opening his own shop, and for its first decade MTI meant offshore catamarans: race cats, pleasure cats and later outboard cats like the 340X and 390X. A V-bottom with a center console was not on anybody's bingo card.

The MTI-V 42 changed that. The first completed boat went to a Miami owner in early 2013, and by late 2014 Speed On The Water reported MTI was running two dedicated V-bottom assembly crews just to keep up with promised delivery dates. The 42 became the template for everything that followed, including the 57-foot V and the 50-foot V, and MTI's own literature says the 57 took its styling and feature cues directly from the 42.

You will see the boat called the MTI-V 42, the 42V and the SV42 in listings. They are the same model; SV refers to the Slot V hull. In 2025 MTI unveiled the 422V at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout as the next generation of the 42, and the factory now flags 422V listings with a note that the boat is not an SV42. That makes the original V 42 a used-market purchase today.

The Slot V running surface and what it does in a sea

MTI describes the hull as a patented Slot V. In plain terms it is a deep vee with twin keels, a bit like a catamaran split down the middle, and a step design that ventilates the bottom and traps a layer of air between the keels. The claimed payoff is straight, predictable tracking at all speeds, very little bow rise when you push the throttles down, and a dry ride thanks to the flared bow in both head and following seas.

Construction is where MTI's race background shows. The hull is an epoxy laminate of E-glass and Kevlar over foam core, with no wood anywhere in the bottom, sides, transom or stringers. MTI says it vacuum bags the entire laminate rather than only the core, then post-cures it, and bonds hull to deck with Kevlar tabbing. Owners could specify carbon fiber on weight-sensitive parts or on the whole boat, and several full-carbon SV42s exist.

The published spec sheet gives a 42-foot length, an 11-foot 6-inch beam, a 30-inch static draft and a rigged dry weight of 15,000 pounds. Bridge clearance is 10.5 feet, which matters for owners on lakes with low bridges.

Speed on four and five outboards

The MTI-V 42 has never been a single-number boat, because almost every hull carries a different engine package. The verified data points show how the boat responded as Mercury's outboards grew. MTI's sales manager told Speed On The Water in 2014 that the quad Verado 300 boats ran 70 to 72 mph. The only V 42 built with triple Seven Marine 557 outboards hit 83 mph in testing on Lake of the Ozarks, roughly 10 mph faster, at a price close to $200,000 more.

Quad Mercury Racing Verado 400R power became the most popular package. A 2018 demo boat with quad 400Rs was described as topping out around 80 mph and getting about 1 mpg at 50 mph, good for a range of more than 400 miles on 460 gallons. At the 2020 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, MTI unveiled its first five-engine V 42, rigged with quint Mercury Racing 450Rs, and Performance Boat Center's Rusty Williams ran it to 88 mph on its only pass while on the rev limiter.

Later boats moved to Mercury Racing 500R outboards in quad and quint form, and MTI's current V 42 spec sheet lists quad or quint 400 or 500 power. No magazine has published a full rpm-by-rpm fuel curve for the boat, so treat the 1 mpg at 50 mph figure as the best verified cruise number.

• Quad Verado 300: 70 to 72 mph (builder, 2014)
• Triple Seven Marine 557: 83 mph (builder test, 2014)
• Quad Verado 400R: about 80 mph, about 1 mpg at 50 mph (dealer, 2017)
• Quint 450R: 88 mph at the 2020 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout
• Speed On The Water also reported a V 42 running 70 knots off Miami in a 2020 video feature

Two rows of bolsters, a sun lounge and a hardtop that covers them

The deck plan is built around performance seating. Behind the helm sit two rows of three-person stand-up or sit-down bolsters, and the hardtop, carbon fiber on most boats with an integral windshield, is large enough to shade both rows. Aft there is a wide bench, often with a rear sun bed or an aft-facing seat with cooler, ahead of a transom walkway that lets you step between the engines.

Forward of the console, the contoured sun lounge on top of the cabin is the seat owners fight over. It cradles you at cruising speed in a way flat bow cushions never do. Further forward, the bow has wraparound seating. A starboard side door with a removable ladder makes boarding from a floating dock easy, a detail many 40-foot performance consoles skip.

Option lists ran long: painted hullsides and engines, SeaDek or synthetic teak flooring, triple Garmin displays, JL Audio systems with multiple subwoofers, FLIR night vision, underwater lights, Seakeeper stabilization on late boats and the S.S. interior package with taller seatbacks and upholstered gunwales.

Below the console, a real cabin for two

The cabin sits under the console and sun lounge. MTI's spec sheet calls it a center cabin with a full-size bed, an electric head and lounge seating. In the 422V description MTI explains how the layout works: the rear of the bed folds up to form a limo-style seat, and the head hides below an additional seating area. That is the main thing the 422V changed, adding a fully enclosed head, more windows and a reconfigured cabin.

Air conditioning, a cabin refrigerator, a microwave and an inverter were common options, and a small gasoline or diesel generator could be fitted. Nobody buys a V 42 to cruise for a week, but a couple can overnight at a Bahamas marina or wait out a squall in comfort, which is more than most go-fast boats can claim.

What it costs to keep four supercharged outboards happy

Running costs scale with the engine count. At the verified figure of about 1 mpg at 50 mph, a day run of 150 miles burns roughly 150 gallons of premium fuel. Mercury Racing 400R and 500R outboards also want regular service by a dealer who knows them, and several listings we reviewed highlight extended Platinum or Gold coverage running to 2027 through 2032, which buyers clearly value.

Budget roughly $60,000 to $130,000 a year for fuel, service on four or five outboards, insurance on a seven-figure boat, storage or a lift and trailer upkeep. Many V 42s live on Myco or Heritage trailers between Lake of the Ozarks, the Florida Keys and Lake Havasu, so towing costs and a capable truck belong in the plan.

MTI's owner community is a real asset. The factory and Performance Boat Center run fun runs and owners events, and MTI sells pre-owned boats directly through its site, which keeps used boats in front of the right buyers.

Shopping MTI 42V for sale listings

Used prices for the MTI V42 have held remarkably well. A 2015 fishing-rigged boat on quad 400Rs with 185 hours was offered at $699,900 in 2022, while a 2017 SV42 on quad 450Rs with about 150 hours was listed at $899,000. Boats from 2020 to 2023 cluster between $1,025,000 and $1,099,000, and the newest SV42s with 500R power and low hours ask $1,490,000 or more.

The spread comes down to four things: engine generation and hours, warranty remaining, carbon versus standard layup, and paint. A custom Miles or Visual Imagination paint job can cost as much as a small boat, but it rarely returns its full cost at resale. Repowered older hulls are a value play, since the hull and systems age slowly when the boat is trailered and kept dry.

With the 422V now in production, expect the original V 42 to become the entry ticket to the MTI center console family rather than lose much ground.