The way I see it, the comparison between the automotive and the boating worlds are obvious. Luxury cars and pickup trucks pretty much serve the same purpose as yachts and cargo ships. At the same time, pure sports cars are definitely the head-turning, need-for-speed, get-the-attention-of-the-opposite-sex machines of the roadways, while the offshore speed boats play that same role on the waterways.

Speedy Gonzalez

Nevertheless, here's the bottom line with speed boats. Forget about slow cruisin' or carrying around lots of passengers. And you can rule out any practical concerns, especially motoring around on a low budget. Ya see, offshore muscle boats are good for pretty much one thing-and that's the raising the fun quotient above se level, with speeds and sounds so awesome, they'll grab the attention of jealous onlookers for miles around. By their nature, offshore boats are wild machines. Some, however, top the scales into the outrageous zone. This is definitely the case with Kip Grossman's boat, aptly named Outta Control.

As a 35-foot '94 fountain Lightning, which has been converted for offshore racing, Kip's speedster brings to mind a floating Formula One race car, with two 502-cubic-inch motors pumping our a total of 1,300 hp. Performance is further improved by a Latham steering system for racing and a set of Kiekhaefer racing trim tabs, which control the boat's left-to-right pitch, keeping it level. The original propellers have been replaced with racing models. So in the same way race-car drivers use different tires for different track conditions, Kip swaps out the propellers on his boat for different water conditions, sometimes racing with Mach props and other times using Hypromotive brand. And talk about being outta control, the top speed on this rig is 95 mph, which is faster than lots of folks have ever gone on land, never mind water.

When your skimming the water at near-triple-digit speeds with two V8 powerhouses thundering behind you, you can't hear very much. To overcome this cacophony, the boat incorporates a Fasttrack intercom system that lets the races communicate with each other through a microphone and two speakers installed in each of the helmets. In the event of a serious accident, the helmets feature quick disconnects for the Fasttrack wiring; so if a pilot gets thrown about, the helmet stars on the person, instead of staying hooked up to the boat. Quick disconnects also make it easy to plug in when preparing for a race. Considering Outta Control's wealth of equipment and its incredible speed, astronaut Neil Armstrong would likely feel right at home on board.

No Brakesl

.Safety is a big concern in any motor sport, especially one like speed-boat racing, where the competitors don't have brakes. To get the boat ready to compete, a separate ignition kill was put in for each of the two copilots, making a total of three starter-kill devices; the boat also came stock with one for the primary driver. By simply pulling a cord, each pilot has the ability to shut down both engines at will with his own personal ignition kill. And guess what? Just like with automobile racing, unexpected engine fires can flare up in boat racing too. So five fire extinguishers were positioned strategically around the vessel. If those prove inadequate, the boat has a marine safety radio, so the crew can call for help.

Even with one person dedicated to navigating, it's pretty easy to become disoriented in low-visibility weather, especially at the high speeds that this boat thrives on. Sop a global positioning system (GPS) and custom compass were added to keep the pilot from pulling a Christopher Columbus and ending up in the wrong place. In addition, the compass needed to be calibrated by a specialist, thanks to the interference caused by the magnets on the boat. Hmmm…a compass calibrator…it sure would be interesting to known what kind of people calibrate compasses for a living.

Manly Marine Audio

 All these extra features add up to well over $200,000, as wells as a speed coat capable of tsunami-causing performance. A racing machine with this much power deserves an equally powerful audio system. And having once owned a car stereo shop, Kip had a good idea what he was looking for. He wanted a sound system that would do more than let him hear the tunes over the crashing waves and roaring engines. The system would also have to withstand the harsh environment of a racing boat, with its constant bashing around, corrosive salt water, and cramped equipment space. The bottom line is that Kip wasn't going to settle for anything less than the sound of a floating concert hall. So he called in the installation gurus from Sounds Good Stereo & Security in Woodland Hills, California. And a team was quickly put together, with Sounds Good owner Isaac Goren designing and supervising the project and Jerry Meister, Bryan Hanes, Nelson Shehatian, and Jim Titez performing the installation.

Since the boat wasn't built with a killer audio system in mind, upgrading the power supply became the first challenge facing the installers. Step one: the alternators. The installation team rebuilt the original 45-amp alternators to 80 amps, using the stock alternator casings; any system good enough to satisfy Kip would require lots of current. Step two: the batteries. Each of the boat's two engines already had its own deep-cycle battery, but the installers needed an efficient way to power the sound system without drawing from those batteries. So the decision was made to connect a second Optima deep-cycle battery to each engine's alternator for audio applications only.

Leisure Cruising is Normal

 With enough power available to light a small home, the install team turned their attention to ensuring hat the boat's performance would not be compromised. A manual three-position switch that tailors the electrical power delivery to how the boat is being used (race, normal, or charge) was installed behind the front seats.

In race mode, the alternators only charge the boat batteries, reducing the load on he motors. Normal mode is for leisure cruising. So when the keys are in the ignition, all four batteries are being used for the boat's electrical needs, including the audio system. But once the keys are removed from the ignition. The boat batteries become isolated so the stereo doesn't draw energy from the batteries requires to start the engines. When the boat is restarted, the alternator charges all four batteries once again. In the switch's third position, known as charge mode, an external charger can be connected to juice up all four batteries simultaneously; this feature was designed for topping off the batteries before a race and for those times when the boat and its system are being displayed at a show.

Maniacal Modifications

The music center of the system is a Clarion ARX7170 AM/FM cassette deck, featuring CD changer controls and a detachable faceplate. Contrary to the wishes of Clarion's engineers, the installers from Sounds Good took the unit apart and proceeded to make some wild modifications to it. First off, the chassis is mounted in the cabin, where it's set up to play tapes, but the faceplate is installed in a totally separate location, on the deck near the passenger side of the boat. The reason for the seemingly odd modification is actually quite obvious: The deck area is far too harsh an environment for the delicate components of a head unit. (In fact, at top speed, the deck area may be far too harsh for anyone with a properly working head.) In order to bring it all together, the installers had to solder 10 feet of wires from the chassis to the faceplate. Then the faceplate was covered up and protected with a Scosche EFX transparent marine cover; it keeps the water out but still lets the driver change discs and blast the volume with the remote control.

Brand loyalty is blatant in this system. The amplifiers, speakers, and crossover are all from Rockford Fosgate, not to mention most of the accessories. There are four Rockford amps in all, including three DSM-110s. The first DSM-100 drives two component speaker systems: the 5.25-inch RFA-514 and the 6.5-inch RFA-614. The 514 components are mounted on opposite walls of the deck, while the 614 system, also on deck, fires from behind the seats. The second DSM-100 powers a pair of 10-inch RFA810 subwoofers, which flank the pilots. The final DSM-100 runs two 12-inch RFA-812 subs, each of which is mounted in a sealed triangular enclosure underneath the back seat. The subs take up only half the space under the seat, leaving the rest of the compartment for tool storage. Hey, ya never know when you'll need to adjust a fuel injector en route.

With this much speakers power on board, it would be a shame not to show it all off. Well, obviously Kip and Isaac felt the same way. With that in mind, Sounds Good powdercoated the speaker grilles on the deck in an eye-catching blue finish. (Powdercoating is a first-rate finishing process that involves baking on the paint.) That way, even the audio uninitiated are forewarned of the musical offensive ready to shock their aural senses.

Zoning Out

The cabin required fewer speakers, lower power, and not as much labor because, well, it's not outdoors like deck. Apair of RFP-1469 6-by-9-inch speakers are mounted in the stock locations and powered by Rockford's DSM-40 amplifier. The two different speaker zones (the cabin and deck) are controlled by the fader on the head unit, making it a breeze to turn each zone on or off.

The audio components are kept in place with silicone and stainless-steel screws instead on conventional brackets. Which eventually give out under the constant pounding off open-ocean touring. In addition, waterproof crimps were used to tie wires, and soldered connections were soldered with a special marine heat shrink. And finally, anticorrosion grease was used on standard plug-in connections (like those of an RCA cable) to eliminate corrosion buildup that could reduce conductivity.

It's All Done With Mirrors

Outta Control's cabin is a luxurious cocoon, with a totally different vibe from the no-nonsense layout of the deck. It's covered in velvet and suede and has plenty of room for a bar and sleeping area. (Yes, amazing as it may sound, Kip races around with a bar beneath him.) The bar area is also where most of the equipment is installed. The Clarion CDC605 six-disc CD changer is in a cabinet under the sink, the DSM-40 is mounted alongside the audio system's fuse panel and distribution block. In a bulkhead above the bar, you'll find the DSM-100 amplifiers displayed in prominent fashion-a stark contrast, when you consider the more conventional mounting style of the other components. The amps are set side by side and linked with covers from Rockford that make the whole bunch of 'em look like on King Kong size amplifier. The Sounds Good team mounted the amps on a mirror with no sires showing, giving the impression that the amps are floating in air.

But floating in air is more that just an impression when it comes to Outta Control. In fact, considering the boat's outrageous performance, it's actually airborne half the time, riding the cool crests of waves and blazing a trail across the ocean. At 95 mph, surrounded by water and your favorite tunes, how could anyone resist?

  Mobile Sound June 1997