Definitely understandable! Looking forward to seeing it back on the water. :drink:

Cannot wait to see and here the video of this boat!!! You guys are doing an incredible job

Cant wait to see the boat in JAX!!

Got a sneak peek.
Very nice!

Looking forward to seeing the boat in the water, I will be in the purple and teal 280 with lots of cameras on board so smile when you see us!:drink:

Any new pictures ! Any progress! I want to see if that thing can still fly!!!!

I do have lots of pictures and there has been an enormous amount of progress! We are headed up to Sanford tomorrow to put some finishing touches on her. Should be in the water Thursday morning for some testing then it's off to Jacksonville::evilb:

We will likely have the boat displayed in front of the Hyatt for people to check out so stop by and say hello if you're around.

I can't explain how excited we are for this weekend. Steve and Kim Stepp are coming up with me, Mike and my beautiful wife Tanya. We were also able to surprise Mike and work out getting his sister (my cousin) Kelly down for the run, which is absolutely awesome. Hopefully everything goes well with testing...hell of a weekend for the shakedown cruise:)

For those of you that aren't going to be in Jacksonville we'll be sure to post a ton of pics of the finished product. It's been a fun, challenging and infinitely rewarding eight months of work leading up to this point. Thank you to everyone who has followed along with support and well wishes during this journey. I hope when everyone see the boat they are as excited about the resurrected Still Crazy as we are:ernaehrung004:

-Jordan

I'm way down south and can't make Jacksonville. Hope to see pictures maybe some runing.

Hope to see you guys here. Cant wait to see the boat in the water.

i will be there and look forward to seeing the boat , are you going to run the boat in the poker run?

Best of luck with the water test and keep us posted. Take lots of pics Mike, Mark and TJ. Look forward to seeing you Boatfreak guys on Lake Murray!
P.S. Keep your rubber on the road (I-95) Mike and TJ. Don't run over Leeroy!

Yep, the plan is to run the fun run Friday and Poker Run Saturday if everything goes well testing. We're crossing our fingers!

Jordan, sorry i have not had a chance to call yet...been up to my rear in getting things ready to go with mine...but I will see you this weekend for sure, and we can have a few cold ones and get to know each other.

Congrats again on the refurb..she looks amazing..Best of Luck with testing and running this wknd...cheers! :drink:

Congratulations! This is one of the all time great threads on Offshoreonly! Please continue to post alot of pics!

Look forward to the new pictures.


Also have another picture of Still Crazy,.........not sure if it's been posted on this thread already or not?


Good Luck with the shake Down run

Jon

I'll never forget the day, several years ago, I was browsing these forums for any mention of my Dad, Mike Poppa. That is when I came across pictures of Stillcrazy that someone had posted. The pictures were so sad, as what was once a wonderous and amazing boat that my dad raced now sat alone and rotting in a storage yard. It broke my heart, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I knew she belonged back in my family, as she had already carved a place in our hearts. I emailed my cousin Jordan and brother Mike in disbelief that I'd found her, but still wished there was a way we could go rescue her.

Jump to November of 2010, I'd just had a precious baby girl and my brother, cousin and his wife were coming to meet her for the first time. It was then that they surprised me and told me they had bought Stillcrazy and were restoring her. I was shocked beyond belief and words still can't explain how I feel! This weekend I'll have the honor of flying down to Jacksonville to see Stillcrazy for the first time since I sat on her for pictures with my Dad.

I can't thank Jordan and Mike enough for all the blood, sweat and tears they've put into restoring Stillcrazy for the past 8 months, not to mention all the help and guidance they received along the way. I absolutely can't wait to arrive in Jacksonville tomorrow and once again sit in Stillcrazy for pictures with my family :) I love you Jordan and Mike!

I am truly inspired by the dedication to this project.

Congrats to all of you and good luck with the boat this weekend!

:drink:

+1

Will be a pleasure to run with you, lets see who has the biggest :eek: balls
Team Bertram 38

Hopefully after the run is over we will have some great video of the boat running.

Will get some extra copter time while on the poker run.

Like all of you i have enjoyed this re build story and look foward the the next phase of her journey.

See you tomorrow in Jacksonville.

I'm want to second Keytime. I'm truly impressed and read the entire thread, way to go guys hope to meet you and see the boat someday. WAY TO GO.

..looking forward to some pics

Well after two 14hr work days on the boat, we are finally on our way to Jacksonville!! We got Stillcrazy in the water at 7:45 this evening for the maiden voyage. Steve was on the throttles, Jordan drivng, and myself along for the ride. Needless to say it was one of the most amazing moments of my life! We can't put into words how excited we are all for tomorrow. We wish we could of had everything finished up earlier so we could of showed her off today but we look forward to meeting and running with everyone tomorrow!!

See everyone soon!
Mike

Mike, I Congratulate you on your hard work to make this day happen. You made your goal!

I wish you a great and safe time tomorrow at the JAX Poker Run. Tell ol' Bill Pyburn Hello for me...

Also, thanks for allowing me to handle your insurance.

Devin Wozencraft

We'll tell Bill hi in a minute for you. Our trucks idler pulley just broke coming up the bridge to Jacksonville and Bill P is coming to the rescue and picking up the boat!

How did it run on plane.

I Talked to my Brother Jordan right after they were done testing it, he said they had some tweeking to do, and they want to eventually switch props, but she cruised at 84 easily! I would just love to say how proud I am of my Brother and Cousin, I only wish I had been able to work on her with them! I will def be part of the next project!!!!

Good Job Guys, We Love You!!!

Go Get Em!!!

Justin, Patti, Kenzie, and Dawson


Yug~A~Hi~Ya!:party-smiley-020:

I was actually there to see this boat Still Crazy Racing in the day ,back in the early 80,s at Turnberry Isle Marina . This was a beautiful boat then and even better looking today .When I last saw this boat at Guardo marine they were working to complete the boat and it was looking great !
Glad to see you finished this project !! Now drag that beauty to Sunny Isles beach offshore challenge and show that boat off at the Historic Miami-Bimini Offshore challenge June 16=19th in Gulfstream park ! These boats are why we started this event . The TRUE offshore powerboats have a place to really run and play again Offshore running from Miami -to Bimini for the Pure ADVENTURE or Challenge of a life time !
Offshore Events would love to have this boat displayed in our Race village this coming weekend at Gulfstream park June 16-19th . Contact me anytime ,Larry at www.Offshoreevents.net www.Xtremepowerboats.com
:drink:Join any of the powerboat events all weekend ,The 4th annual iami -Bimini Offshore challenge Historic class vee ,or the Florida powerboat clubs 20th anniversary celebration Poker run saturday .Then watch the Opa offshore Race sunday in Sunny Isles beach .A powerful powerboat weekend at one event !

Oh ,I forgot to mention , bring some old photos of the Still crazy racing teams for the Silent and Live Auction to raise money for the miami Make a wish charity .We are hosting a Live and silent auction each day from Friday to sunday and each evening at the parties in The Village at Gulfstream with hundreds od sports & Other great items from The offshore powerboat sport too .
Now that will be Kool !

Great idea......

It's great to see Steve runing that boat.

This thread needs a running shot. :drink:
Congrats, guys... boat looks fantastic.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5268/...4047bf51_o.jpg

LARGE

Looks great guys congrats...

I remember this boat well. And the video of it running and becoming the first Vee Hull to hit 100 MPH is awesome...Steve and Dick (i think) had this boat "Aired-Out" and running high up on the pad. This boat took a certain amount of skill to drive properly, and when done, it would climb up on the pad unlike any other boat ever...and this is where the speed was at!

Steve Stepp always hated to say it took talent to run this 30' design, but it did...and if done correctly, it was unbeatable. There are ONLY a few people who will understand this, cause until you've been in a 30' Velocity, air-out and running hard, you can't even imaging the thrill of real speed in a vee hull!

I'll try to find the video of the run.

GOOD LUCK GUYS!

J+M, great to meet and hang with you guys...look forward to more of it in the future!

Your Uncle and Father would be so proud!
 

Dear Jordan and Mike (my dear son and nephew),

I think you know how difficult it has been for some of us in the Poppa family to get excited about your endeavors with the Still Crazy race boat. As your mother, Jordan, I knew this day would come, even as you were a little 4-year old sitting on the stage at the SRQ Suncoast Offshore Race awards ceremony with your cousin Mike, as your Uncle Mike was remembered.

You two were so little when Mike died in the 1985 World Championship race in Key West with his partner, Dick Fullum. You may not have fully understood then, the gravity of the situation. It is the most devastating thing to happen in our family and losing Mike broke our hearts. All of our lives were changed forever. it took many years to figure out how to live with our "new normal". I never knew a man could grieve for as long and as hard as your grandpa grieved for his son. That's why you didn't hear much about Mike and his love of racing. We didn't want to upset your Grandpa. He couldn't help but cry every time he thought about him. We all cried.

At Thanksgiving last year, when you shared the news with the family that Kelly and you had found Still Crazy, bought her and had started to resurrect her, some of us had to fight back tears, again. This time these weren't tears of loss, but for me, rather, tears of fear. The Still Crazy race boat equaled the death of my beloved brother and the pain and suffering I witnessed our family endure for many years. I had no good feelings toward that boat.

Watching, or rather, hearing about, all that you and Mike have done this past 8/9 months in dedicating yourselves to stripping her down to the bones and then painstakingly, but lovingly, rebuilding to perfection, every inch of her body, made me realize I have to think differently about this endeavor. I have to honor and respect your need and desire to honor Mike in this manner. I hear it in your voices and I can see it in your expressions that this has been a labor of love. It was just something you had to do.

This weekend when you called me after your maiden voyage in Still Crazy, I felt so proud of all that you have accomplished. I'm still scared, I have to admit, but I know there's a spiritual energy guiding this process and I trust in it.

Your excitement has been contagious through out the Offshore racing community. You've had wonderful people coming forward to offer their help and donate their services. Some who knew Mike and some who did not. You've had people you've never met wishing you well and following along in this blog, supporting you all the way.

What I know for sure is that this outpouring of fellowship and generosity would not have happened had all those people not felt your dedication and sensed your commitment to carrying this through to the end, in a manner that was respectful and honorable.

The new Still Crazy is more than a boat. She has a soul; she has a family; she is loved. What boat could be as lucky?

I'll be bringing your 90-year old Grandpa to Florida for the race in Sarasota over the 4th of July so that he can be a part of your joy. :flag:: It will make him cry as it did when he saw the picture of your names on the boat. Just understand that they are tears of love.

Be smart, be safe and enjoy the satisfaction of the journey and the thrill of the ride! I love you both.

MamaPoppa (aka Mom + Aunt Janine)

Well said Mom! We are all SOO PROUD! Cant wait till the Suncoast Offshore!

I'm not the OSO veteran that many of the members here happen to be, but I'd give that post-of-the-year right there.

It was a great honor running with SC for a while and parking right next to them at parking area. Good stuff guys, all the best.
P