This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a V8-powered personal watercraft, and it certainly won’t be the last, but dang! This has got to be the most unique one we’ve ever seen. Matt Markstaller emailed The Watercraft Journal today, saying, “I thought you and your readers might be interested in my hot rod Wave Venture project. I am an engineer and have built many boats, hot rods, race cars and motorcycles over the years. I’ve ridden PWCs since I was a kid when my dad bought a JS440 in about 1977.”
Mark continues, “I currently commute to work on a Spark. I recently combined two of my interests and built this. I’ve always had an appreciation for engines and they are prominently featured in most of my projects. This is a Venture hull that I modified and installed a Ford DOHC Cobra motor.
“I built an overdrive gearbox to increase the output RPM and transfer power from the engine which necessarily has a higher crank centerline than the pump. I built the carbon fiber cowl, stainless headers, and everything else it took to make it work. It runs about 80 when I run out of RPM, but not power, so it has more potential (350 horsepower).”
Undoubtedly, this insane machine is a definite one-of-a-kind build, and want to thank Mark for letting us know about it. While it’s definitely a cool ski, we’d hate to burn our legs on the open headers.
