As Speedboat reported in July, Pete Caldwell and Billy Moore—two longtime performance gurus from famous speedboating lineage—have teamed up to form a powerhouse shop in North Carolina. For their latest project, they’ve been commissioned by Tom Archer of southern New Jersey to repower his 40′ Skater.

Caldwell Moore Performance Center is swapping out the boat’s Sterling engines and installing some Mercury Racing 1075s, as well as installing new drives and gimbals. The 1075s were rebuilt by Bob Teague of Teague Custom Marine of Valencia, CA.

“The customer had been in a bunch of cats owned by friends, and he finally broke down and bought one,” Moore told Speedboat. “He doesn’t want something crazy fast, but rather something that’s kind of fun that he can run around in.” Once the 40′ Skater project is done, Moore will likely tackle another Skater, this time a 46′ that requires some re-rigging, setup and testing work.

Moore, an established offshore racer, is the son of legendary offshore racer Bobby Moore. His business partner, Pete Caldwell, is the son of boat designer Jim Caldwell, who built and designed the first offshore tunnel boat capable of running 112 mph. Caldwell also recently purchased the Checkmate Boats molds and tooling from Hustler Powerboats, then moved everything to his shop in Washington, NC. Moore has been a key player with Iconic Marine Group, builders of Fountain, Donzi and Baja (also based in Washington), while Caldwell worked for Fountain Powerboats for years as well. The pair launched Caldwell Moore Performance Center as a one-stop shop where they have been rigging, repowering and restoring boats.

“If your boat needs a complete restoration, if you need new want a boat that you want a complete restoration, including new paint and interior, we’re set up to do that,” Moore says. “And since it’s a fiberglass composite shop, we can rework older boats that need to be reworked or redone, from the stringers on up, including blueprint the bottom of a boat to redoing the entire dash setup.”
In addition, Moore is available to travel to various locations to consult with boaters to enhance the performance of their rigs.

He also has yet another Skater-related gig on the horizon: Moore is planning to attend the upcoming OPA races at the Lake of the Ozarks Oct. 2-3 to act as a backup driver for Kenny Mungle‘s 388 Skater Gone Again, which is being brought out of retirement for this race. The boat, which has not raced for three years, is powered by a pair of Sterling Performance engines. After Lake of the Ozarks, offshore racing will return to Moore’s home state of North Carolina when OPA holds its World Championships in Morehead City in November.

For more information on how Caldwell Moore Performance Center can serve your needs, visit their Facebook page or call (252) 220-5119.

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