the boat that burned was a new 44 msv for dominic visconsi popeye 3 with twin flag ship turbo 454 chevy's and merc drives .I ran this boat once in the bay in miami on testing. a turbo exploded in the race, you know the rest. the pitcure you see next to the burning race was my new msv 38 la tortuga 2.I raced this boat at cedar point with mr sandy satillo at the helm 1974. also at the same time I sold to joel halpern 10 of my 38 msv race hulls from my mold for his cobra race team, joel built has own race deck.if you recall, joel won 2 us championships and competed in many other races gaining points using my hull, also other race teams used my hull BTW my son and I have entered the 2013 cowes monte carlo marathon with modified msv hull for diesels.we are the only american boat and crew to date.we plan to run cat diesels and cal500 race surface drives.we are also selling new hulls and decks with composites and carbon fiber option.
our new race boat is 42 long and 11.6 wide and is a long range gov. patrol craft. model, a turn key project .sonny miller

this boat ran 86 mph lite on fuel with merc 600hp and ssm3 . our 38 msv ,flat deck ran about the same as a 35 cig. we stopped twice to put oil in the stb engine. if the other boats were to have gone down to fun town turn boat with us, we would came in 2nd or third over all.but you guys must remember ,it's about speed,navigation , human endurance, and design. the MSV 44 was a completely new design by me . I lofted out that hull at home in 1970 after my work was completed at Maritime Marine in Ohio[ merrick lewis].aluminum mama maritime project. Mr Visconsi finanaced this build and he was aware of my former boat building skills with thunderbird race team,donzi/magnum and all my work at cigarette. I learned my drafting skill at national air lines training center in miami. 3 years A and P classes.We hired nick chapman to build as drawn. sonny miller

thanks for any help on photo's of the atlantic city
race 1974.any photo's of this popeye 3 running in that race. I only see burning photo's. the crew in this race is Dominic Visconsi sr , Tony Visconsi, Sonny Miller. This was my fastest boat at that time. sonny miller

Did the MSV design go on to become the 41 Corsa?

no , nick chapman my contract carpenter was hired by mr norman zeiler to build that plug 1 year or so after the MSV44 build. the corsa I recall was 40 long and 9 .3 wide and had a steep sharp bow section. It made a good sport boat only. sonny miller

Is there any relations to the 44 MSV and 44 Tempest?

Sonny,
Thanks for the history lesson! Any idea what ever happened to the 44 LaTortuga? That was definately a great looking hull! Bob

no, that project was I think by a doctor that was living in ft lauderdale / sunrise area. again that hull I think was not 24 degree v and had a different bow.any race boats seemed heavy running in their 40 ft plus sizes. This man at that time also had one of his boats behind his house. had merlin diesels and a thing called tempest t drives on the rear as the best I recall. thanks for the reply I am glad to answer any questions of any offshore boats built 1966 to 1985 . after I moved to Monaco. I never sold an licences to any one to reproduce or copy any part or design of any of the MSV boats that were built, ever.I still own the molds, the rights, and designs and also all the new modifications for the new wider diesel version we are putting on the market using new materials and high-performance diesel power packages with our cal500 drives in stainless steel. This new boat will be turned key offer to any customers ready to run. Any other boats out there would be illegal copies. Not my permission. Even though, I'm flattered they copy me.

-Sonny Miller
www.cal500.com

After John Varese died in an accident, I sold the 44 La Tortuga, repainted blue with the name "Hott Knots" and repowered with stock engines. I think it went to the Bahamas. At that time, I built the 38' La Tortuga II. Thanks for the reply. I can post some drawings and photos of the new, modified MSV.

-Sonny Miller

I found a running shot of Visconcis MSV but i can't post. No membership