This is how it all started

[kfxguy]

TBH I have admired all your builds, first saw them on KBB. Your first builds look to me like someone that has built many boats already, attention to detail and the way you route the wires and cooling tubes...some may call it O.C.D. but consider it a compliment, so neat and tidy. I would know one of your builds any day just on the wiring alone, wires cut to the mm in most cases. Consider yourself a top shelf builder, it's clear you have skills from before you got into FE.

Your Rivercat's are just so neat, working on them must be a pain because of the small size, at least they are not twins with motors tucked into sponsons!

Keep up the inspiring builds and innovations, always thinking outside the box and how to get that hair more in performance, that's the spirit.

Thanks man. I appreciate the compliments. It's definitely refreshing whenever everyone you know in your day to day life thinks your a nut for doing these kinds of things lol. They don't think that when they see these things blasting across the water though!

[Keagan-Z06]

That was a nice read! Good work Travis!

[kfxguy]

This is one of my latest iterations of the Rivercat. This boat sank sandlot from a flip that it just couldn't handle. I had just made a 98mph pass right before so I suspect it was going at least that fast. This boat taught me a few things. Lesson number one: never trust the hatch that comes with the boat to be strong enough out the box. I strengthen the whole boat minus the hatch, I never recovered the boat but my strong suspicion tells me the hatch broke open. So for now on I add lots of extra reinforcement. Lesson number two: when you think you have enough foam, add more. Yea, if I would have added just a little more foam I would have been able to retrieve this boat. Very expensive lesson. I now fill the whole bow as much as I can with two part foam (for you guys cringing at this, do note there's a product available that easily dissolves it should you need to make repairs). Then I add some foam noodles in the empty areas, in the transom and rear part of the sponsons. I think/hope next time a bad flip happens I'll be able to recover the boat to see what happened.

[Jcarlton]

Always admired your builds as well ... working on a 32" cat build and im stealing alot of your ideas for it .. Keep it up Travis !!!

[Brushless55]

Sweet builds Travis!

[dirtdummy]

Great read Travis! You have built some awesome boats!

[kfxguy]

Thanks fellas for the compliments. Without this forum and the great bunch of guys here, I don't think I'd know half of what I do now. I would like to list names but if I forget anyone then people might get offended, you guys who've helped me along the way know who you are and great thanks go to you. I've also used some of these guys great ideas when doing my builds so the credit cannot go all to me. Some things I've come up with out of necessity but a lot of it was ideas from these folks. I feel like I'm neglecting the boat world right now and I really am, I'm just trying to get my life back in order still. Having an open heart surgery set me back and it did something to me. It kinda made me lose interest in boats. Not sure why. I hadn't broke 100mph yet before my surgery and then during my down time I came back and did it with the little 32" boat I've been trying to do it with, on 4s to boot. Then I felt like my ultimate goal was smashed, several times. Now I'm too nervous to run that boat because it's very special to me (I'm a weirdo I guess lol). Now I'm concentrating on getting my obligations to my people I'm building boats for. One big problem I have is I don't just build boats. I build automatic transmissions for gm vehicles and I fabricate a few custom 4 wheeler parts. Along with all the other odds and ends I end up doing for people. I've been asked a few times if I'm retiring from boats. Well no I'm not. I'm just on a little break right now because life gets in the way. I still have been pecking away on builds here lately as time permits. I just haven't had much time to be on the forum but I do lurk a lot and not post.

[Prodrvr]

Man Travis, only three years in and doing such great work...super impressed!! Can't wait to see the Daytona in person!!