I am Joe Muscanera, owner of Speedcraft Marine and the current builder of Speedcraft boats.

In 1979, I was a partner in Star Rods, a fishing rod manufacturing company. I had initially been building custom fishing rods for myself and local fishermen before partnering with Star Rods. In an effort to expand the business, a fishing boat was needed for testing and marketing purposes. Due to its popularity among local fishing club members, it was decided that a Speedcraft boat would serve the purpose well.

We teamed up with Raul, the owner of Speedcraft, to build the first outboard motor version of his 24-foot open fishing model. A transom well was designed, and following Raul’s advice, we mounted two 200-hp, 20-inch-shaft Evinrude outboards. The boat was difficult to get on plane due to cavitation issues. The motors would go underwater with a following sea, but the boat performed well once on plane.

Another initial quirk was that the boat tended to porpoise at certain speeds, which at the time we attributed to the motors not being mounted low enough. We redesigned and built another boat based on what we had learned to accommodate two 25-inch-shaft Mercury 200s (see picture). It was a vast improvement, and the porpoising issue was much improved but not eliminated.

After numerous discussions with Raul, we decided to invest in Speedcraft boats for a share of future sales. He needed to pay off a debt that he was concerned about, so we loaned him the money for that. We also brought other outstanding bills current and invested in building boats for resale. Additionally, we financed the development of a new flats boat, which had striking similarities to what was later known as a Maverick flats hull (see picture). We built several of them.