No matter how meticulously planned and executed, almost every new-model-release hits a snag—and usually at the last minute. For the new MTI-V 422 unveiled yesterday at Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach, Mo., ahead of tonight Shoot Out On The Strip party presented by Waves and Wheels, the snap arrived in the form of HydraFoam marine decking
“We had been anxiously waiting for roughly a week or so for MTI to send us the flooring template for this new secret model, which we knew their team was working around the clock to get the build completed before the big reveal,” Steve Smarsh, the owner of Michigan-based HydraFoam, explained. “We did finally start receiving the flooring template files Saturday afternoon.
“I got the call oddly enough while I was out on my 48-foot MTI on Lake St Clair,” he continued. “After pulling the boat back into my dock, I immediately got our team working on processing everything, including our CAD designer working on converting the DXF files to fit our machine software, pulling inventory, applying adhesive, and prepping our material for machining. By Sunday at 5 a.m. ,the HydraFoam material was being CNC-fabricated on multiple machines at our Michigan facility, while MTI was simultaneously sending us updated measurements.”
Time was off the essence if the boat was to be ready for its Tuesday afternoon unveiling, and the team was fast running out of it. That’s when MTI principal Randy Scism decided to his best imitation—aerial style—of an Amazon Prime driver.
“The only way to get this custom-laser-etched HydraFoam flooring kit into MTI’s team’s hands for installation in time for the reveal was for Randy to fly the MTI jet strait to Michigan for pick up and bring it back to his factory in Missouri,” Smarsh revealed. “There was no time for conventional shipping methods with what was at stake The HydraFoam team worked straight through the Sunday night, all the way through the early hours of Monday morning when the jet landed arrived in Detroit to pick up the finished product.”
Loaded immediately, the plan returned to Missouri where the team at MTI award the HydraFoam decking to finish the job. They started at 3 a.m.
Smarsh joined Scism and company for the ride as his own HydraFoam-branded MTI was slated to be in tonight’s Shootout On The Strip street display alongside the new 442 center console. He caught a brief nap yesterday before heading to yesterday’s new-model unveiling at Performance Boat Center.
“It was one hell of a treat to see both existing MTI customers and potential new ones drooling over the improved model,” he said. “The boat was very well received.
“And what a team effort,” he added. “Congratulations to everyone involved.”