With the 2020 offshore powerboat racing season just two months away, Brit Lilly, the owner/driver of the Pro Stock V-class LSB/Hurricane of Awesomeness Rev-X Oil team didn’t need to add anything to his plate. In addition to piloting his own raceboat this season with his longtime throttleman Kevin Smith, he’ll be subbing for extreme sports superstar Travis Pastrana in the Class ONE 47-foot Miss GEICO catamaran when Pastrana isn’t driving the boat—most likely for two races this season—with veteran throttleman Steve Curtis.
Plus, he has this bothersome full-time day job at Lilly Sport Boats.
Lilly has made significant progress on hull lamination for his first Lilly-29-foot Extreme V-bottom build.
Lilly, an endlessly ambitious and energetic 32-year-old, acquired the 29 Extreme V-bottom molds last month. As initially reported on speedonthewater.com, his plan was to start by building an open-cockpit, Mercury Racing 450R outboard engine-powered pleasure version of the pleasure boat. But it may end up as a raceboat build. He’s just not sure yet, nor is he likely to be for a little while.
In his “spare time,” Lilly been laying up the hull.
“It’s been a hobby at the moment,” he said. “I’ve been working on it at night and on weekends,” he said. “I’ve been recording hours but I haven’t added them all up yet.”
Said Brit Lilly (right, with LSB team throttleman Kevin Smith), “The devil on my shoulder wants a raceboat.” (Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.)
If it the 29-footer ends up as pleasure boat, Lilly said Pastrana, his close friend since childhood, may well be his first Extreme boat customer. If he settles on a raceboat—and he’ll need to come deck-lamination time—the boat will be his own, though it likely won’t be ready in time for the 2020 season. Either way, though Lilly has made significant progress laminating the boat’s hull, he has not committed to a completion deadline for the first build.
“I can’t decide if I’m building myself and raceboat or Travis a pleasure-boat,” he said, then laughed. “The devil on my shoulder wants a raceboat.
“It’s been so fun and pleasing,” he added. “I just freaking love boats.”
