Tres Martin is the owner of Tres Martin Performance and Tres Martin Performance Boat School, where he offers advanced, hands-on, skill-based training for performance boat owners. Martin grew up working with his father, Ralph Martin, at Everglades Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ralph Martin is credited with organizing the first poker run for boats in 1985.

In 1986, Martin began racing offshore powerboats, achieving great success in the Superboat class, where he throttled various Apache and Fountain race boats. He concluded his career with an impressive 66 wins, including four National Championships and four World Championships.

In 1993, Martin founded Tres Martin Performance, focusing on high-performance boats. In 2003, he launched his driving school after several customers halted work on their boats due to difficulties securing insurance. Today, Martin’s school is often a requirement by insurance companies for boat owners seeking coverage.

Martin emphasizes the importance of proper education and training to prevent accidents and ensure boater safety, regardless of insurance requirements.

In this episode, Martin discusses the unique characteristics of today’s high-performance boats and shares valuable tips on becoming a safer and more skilled boat operator.

This episode is brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

Visit Tres Martin's websites at www.performanceboatschool.com and www.tresmartinperformance.com

Follow Tres Martin on Instagram @tres_martin_performance and @tresmartinperformanceboatschool

Follow Tres Martin on Facebook @Tres Martin’s Performance Boat School Inc and @Tres Martin Motorsports

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

Gordy Jennings is one of the most decorated circle boat racers in history, particularly noted for his excellence in driving blown boats in the K-boat division.

While his boat racing career is remarkable, Jennings is perhaps best known for his expertise in performance engine building, a skill he honed while working for his stepfather, Paul Pfaff, at Paul Pfaff Racing Engines. During his time at Pfaff, the company excelled at creating power plants for boats and found success in various forms of motorsports, including sprint cars and off-road racing.

Today, Jennings works as a dyno operator for Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and continues to build engines for Tom Buckles' Bucks Up Racing K-boat, driven by Cory Ferguson. Jennings hints at a secret plan to attempt a K-boat kilo run with one of his best friends and K-boat owner, Mike Stock.

In this episode of Power Boat Talk, Jennings discusses his background in racing, which began alongside his boyhood friend, Greg Foster. He also talks about his rivalry with racer Duff Daily, his experiences driving in the Parker Enduro, Australian B.A.D. boat racing, Offshore Racing, his horrific racing crash in 1995, and the lengthy recovery process that followed.

This episode is brought to you by: BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms. 

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

You can follow Gordy Jennings on Instagram @kingofkboats and on Facebook @Jennings Motorsports

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

Chuck Stearns and Mike Avila are two of Water Ski Racing's most successul competitors. Stearns, who is often regarded as the greatest water skier in history having won National and World Championships in tournament skiing, won his first Catalina Ski Race in 1955 at the age of 16. Stearns went on to dominate the international race winning an unprecendented (at the time) 11th title in 1982 at the age of 44. Stearns also set a multiple world speed records culminating with is run of 122.11 m.p.h. in 1969 at Long Beach Marine Stadium.

Avila one the first ski race he entered in 1968 at the age of 10. He went on to become one of the most dominate skiers in the 80's. Avila claims to have the most wins in ski racing history with 149 which included 27 national championships. Avila was a member of six US world teams. Avila still competes today as a boat driver and finished 1st overall in the 2023 Catalina Ski Race.

Lifelong friends, Stearns and Avila are both members of the Water Skiing Hall of Fame. Stearns was inducted in 1982 as a member of the first class of inductees. Avila was inducted in 2002 as the first speed skiing only member. 

Stearns will also be a passenger in Avila's boat as they compete in this year's Catalina Ski Race on July 13. 

This episode is brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by: BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms. 

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

Keith Eickert is one of the most recognized and successful high-performance engine builders in offshore racing history. With a career that began at Mercury Racing in 1972, Eickert went on to create power for 37 World, International, and National Champions. 

Eickert was recruited to Mercury by his childhood friend Gary Garbrecht, who was the head of Mercury Racing. Eickert graduated from working on cylinder heads at Mercury to becoming one of their best engine builders.

In 1976, Eickert was lured away from Mercury to build engines exclusively for racers Rocky Aoki (Benihana) and Preston Hen (Natural Light), the owner of the infamous Thunderbird Swap Shop.

As the race team's participation fizzled and Eickert’s popularity increased, he went into business in 1981 with Jerry Jacoby and Bob Saccenti and opened Hawk Marine Power. Eickert went on to start KS&W Engines where he worked from 1982 to 1984, then worked for Ben Kramer at Apache Boats where he designed parts to marinize and race V12 Lamborghinis for the first time. Eickert later founded Lightning Performance Products and Keith Eickert Power Products, where he added a complete line of high-performance parts to his engine-building business.

After two failed business partnerships, Eickert relaunched his original Lightning Performance line as part of the Don Onken group of companies. Under the Onken banner, Eickert developed and launched his V-16 engine concept, where he coupled two 540 cu. in. Big Block Chevy engines. Eickert programmed the electronically fuel-injected assembly to fire as one 16-cylinder engine. The power plant helped push Onken’s Mystic American Ethanol to multiple Lake of the Ozarks Top Gun victories.

Eickert, now in his 80s, is retired and still resides in Florida. He occasionally still builds engines to stay busy.

This episode is brought to you by: BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms. 

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

Jerry Gilbreath has made a career out of designing, building, and racing some of the most exotic and well-known boats in the world. His journey began in the 1960s, driving flat-bottom endurance boats in races like the Salton Sea 500 and the Parker Enduro. Gilbreath’s father, Jake, founded Gil Marine, which started as a gas tank manufacturer and grew into one of the largest aftermarket performance marine companies in the world, producing iconic Gil Exhaust Manifolds and the first outboard set-back bracket, the Gil Bracket.

Gilbreath became one of the most respected and talented custom boat builders globally. With his GMT Tunnel boats and partnership with racer Greg Foster, he played a key role in advancing the Mod-VP racing class. Gilbreath also rigged water ski racing boats for Vic Edelbrock and Jerry Herbst.

Later, Gilbreath became involved in offshore racing, teaming with Al Copeland and Matt Alcone to form one of the most dominant Open class catamaran teams in the late 1990s. He is often mentioned as one of the best throttlemen to ever control an offshore race boat.

Although retired from racing, Gilbreath remains involved in high-performance boating with a collection of custom boats.

You can follow Jerry Gilbreath on Instagram @jerry_gilbreath

This episode is brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by: BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms. 

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

Bob Brown is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on performance boating, having reported on and participated in every facet of the industry over the last 50 years. Growing up as an avid boat racer, Brown became the editor of Powerboat Magazine in 1973 through his affiliation with fellow racer Bob Nordskog.

After leaving Powerboat in 1979 to start his own public relations agency, Media Direction, Brown continued to write for the magazine as well as for every major performance boat publication, including Hot Boat, Performance Boats, Sportboat, Boating, Speedboat, and Speed on the Water.

Brown has raced endurance inboards in the Salton Sea 500 and Parker Enduro. He has also driven tunnel outboards in the Parker race with legends Bill Muncey, Chip Hanauer, and Alan Stocker, been the winning driver in the Catalina Water Ski Race pulling Chuck Stearns, and raced offshore boats with Nordskog and Tom Gentry.

Instrumental in advancing the Powerboat Magazine Performance Trials, Brown has test-driven over 2,000 boats in his career. He was also key in the promotion and growth of the Southern California and Lake Havasu Boat Shows.

This episode is brought to you by: BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms. 

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

Nathan Eller, owner of East Coast Squirt Boats, discusses his passion for jet boats and LS Chevy engine swaps. He shares how he got into jet boating and the progression of his business, which now specializes in LS swaps. Nathan talks about the challenges and rewards of starting his own company and the freedom it gives him. He also explains the appeal and benefits of LS engines and discusses the various options and accessories that need to be considered when choosing and installing an LS engine in a jet boat.

This episode is brought to you by SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms.

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

Follow Nathan Eller on Facebook @Nathan Eller and @East Coast Squirt Boats Visit East Coast Squirt Boats website www.eastcoastsquirtboats.com

Links to products and companies that sell LS Swap parts as discussed in this episode;

SoCal Jet Boats www.socaljetboats.com

CP Performance www.cpperformance.com

PSI https://www.psiconversion.com/

ICT Billet https://www.ictbillet.com/

Tick Performance Camshafts https://www.tickperformance.com/camshafts/

Bassett Headers https://bassettracing.net/

Schoenfeld Headers https://www.schoenfeldheaders.com/

IMCO www.imcomarine.com

Painless Performance https://www.painlessperformance.com/

AEM https://www.aemelectronics.com/

NJBA https://njbaracing.com/

Lightning Headers www.lightningheaders.com

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com

Watch the video of this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]

You can find links to listen on my website at www.powerboattalk.com or listen on YouTube or most podcast players like Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Podcasts, Audible, iHeart Radio, Podtail, Audacy, Google Podcasts, Tune In Radio

Welcome to my new podcast where we talk everything, performance boats! I have been boating my entire life and have spent over 30 years in the performance marine aftermarket. But, I still have a lot to learn and many people in the fast boat world that I want to get to know. I created this podcast so that I can share my experiences and knowledge with others who enjoy performance powerboats.

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk

Contact me: [email protected]

This episode features a talk with Ron Lund. Lund is not a household name in the boating industry, he’s a cabinet maker by trade, but Lund recently bought two of the old Rogers jet boat molds so now he is a boat builder. I thought it was an interesting story when I stumbled onto it on Facebook so I decided to to talk to Lund to get the full story on what it took to get the molds and how he plans to bring the boats to market. Lund and his son also campaign a Rogers in the Comp Jet circle boat racing class and we had some discussion about that as well.

Thank you for listening!

Joe Rode

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk

Contact me: [email protected]

Lorne Leibel is a three-time US and three-time world champion offshore racer who has driven boats with Bob Latham, John Tomlinson, Richie Powers, Ryan Beckley, Bob Idoni, and Bob Morgan, among others.

After a decades-long retirement, Leibel, a homebuilder from Canada, is back in the saddle again with old mate Latham, conquering the open seas in the Ocean Cup series competition in his vintage triple-engine 47-ft Apache, boat #001 of the 47-ft model, Leibel spent years trying to find the boat and purchase it, only to sell it and then purchase it again.

In the podcast, Leibel talks about some of his boating exploits, including driving with Tomlinson in his very first race, competing against actor Don Johnson, and dealing with Ben Kramer when buying his first offshore race boat.

This episode is brought to you by: BoatLoanGuy.com your trusted source for Marine and RV Financing. BoatLoanGuy provides quick and easy stress-free financing for most types of boats including performance boats, pontoons, and center consoles. BoatLoanGuy offers loans from $20,000 to $5M with up to 20 year terms. 

Visit BoatLoanGuy at www.boatloanguy.com On Instagram @rvboatloans and on Facebook  @RV and Boat Loans Contact BoatLoanGuy.com (619) 699-9900 [email protected]

This episode is also brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.

Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]

Follow Lorne Leibel on Instagram @lorneleibel

Follow Apache Power Boats on Instagram @apachepowerboats and on Facebook @Apache Powerboats

Visit Apache Powerboats online at www.apachepowerboats.com

Learn more about the Ocean Cup Series at www.oceancup.com 

Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com 

View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk 

Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk  and Facebook @Powerboat Talk 

Contact me: [email protected]