2002 Shockwave Magnitude

Testers Notebook: 2002 Shockwave Magnitude Location: Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA Test load: Light load, driver and cameraman, safety gear. Test day conditions: Partly cloudy, six inch chop on the water, little wind. Synopsis: With twin Mercury Racing 377 Scorpions easily powering 28 feet and 6800lbs of offshore boat to over 60mph, this California boat manufacturer has managed to get the often elusive size-weight-engine combination just right in a package that allows for customization and choice.

By: Mark Rotharmel
     Shockwave. What a great name for a custom boat, and judging from the workmanship on this California beauty, Shockwave is sure to send ripples throughout the competitive, high performance community. We came to Lake Havasu, a very popular destination for performance boaters, to test Shockwave's impressive offshore model known as the Magnitude.  It's a 29 foot, twin-step deep-V, powered by twin Mercury Racing 377 Scorpion small blocks.  It's a size, weight and engine combination that, in theory, should prove to be a winner.
     As a California-based custom boat builder, Shockwave proudly flaunts quality workmanship, with smooth, eye-catching, graphics, and customized interiors, limited only by ones' imagination.  The attractive helm is the boat's nerve-center, featuring powder-coated bezzles and Dana Marine tab and trim hardware.  The snug fitting bolster seats and carpeted footrest lets the driver focus on these well-positioned performance and navigational instruments.  Below deck, you'll find a comfortable lounge and a deep berth. Most impressive to me was Shockwave's immaculate under-dash wiring job.  It's details like this that show how fit-and-finish oriented a company is. 
     To give you the sense of just how this boat handled in our test, join me on board as I describe my experience at the helm for the segment on PowerBoat TV.  Click on your connection speed to view the streaming video (Real Player required) of the test: Dialup or Highspeed.
     "Now, the conditions are pretty good right now.  We've got a six-inch chop, and a little wind.  Let's see how fast the boat pops out of the water. Here we go. Drives in. Hit it.
     The bow doesn't pop up at all.  In 3.7 seconds, it sits flat on the water.  Once planed, you want to get right up on the trim.  This boat loves to be trimmed high.  You can trim it all the way up to eight degrees on the indicator. Running the drive out, it doesn't lift the bow at all - it stays nice and flat - with a nice, low angle of attack.   This is a 28 foot ten-inch boat, but  with the swim platform you've got about 30 feet in length.  It's got a 102 inch beam, and weighs about 6,800 pounds. There's a shingle-step, just enough to ventilate the bottom a little bit, and help to free it up. Shallow steps also help in the turns, because they don't tend to catch an edge as some deeper ones will. This boat rides nice and level.
     We're running at midrange speed, 4,500 rpm, 65.2 miles an hour.  It's feels great!  Now, I'm going through the turn at about 55 to 60 miles an hour.  Piece of cake.  For a tighter turn, you want to back down, turn the drives in, real tight.  Kind of pulls you around, but the stern doesn't slide out on you.  Very safe, secure feeling.  Now, the Magnitude can also run very well with a single motor. A  496 Mag takes you to 65 miles an hour. Let's do a high speed run right now, and see what the score is - see what she'll  do.  Here we go.
     Trim it as high as you want, it runs very free, nice and level.  77.6 miles an hour for a top end speed. The more you drive this boat the more you like it.  Now this is one nice riding V, and I think very well powered to satisfy most people's performance cravings, especially if they boat with their families.
     Now the 377 Scorpions give the Magnitude some sting - and the boat is very well balanced.  It's also clear that Shockwaves builds a beautifully, finished, tight and clean riding hull.  And being a smaller manufacturer, it gives customers something that we all value…. And that is choice." 

Specs:

For the dealer nearest you contact:

Shockwave Custom Boats,
1800 Capital St.
Corona, CA
(909) 898-9360

http://www.shockwaveboats.com/