by Brett
Bayne photography by Keith Marchand and Dianne Tilocco-Bird
VICE SQUAD
This “Miami Vice” edition Wellcraft Scarab was built in the ‘80s, but thanks to owner Sammy Tamburrino, it looks brand-new.
O
f the 30 or so “Miami Vice Edition” Scarabs built by Wellcraft in the 1980s, one
has just received a major facelift. The boat has been completely overhauled by its owner, Sammy Tamburrino of Ohio-based Fine Line Auto Body and Collision. Although the shop’s specialty is insurance-related auto and marine body work, owner Tamburrino has the resources to perform major restorations on boats— and after dreaming of owning one of these Scarabs for decades, he finally got his chance in August 2016. It was the beginning of a 19-month odyssey that involved re-painting, re-glassing, re-rigging and plenty of other words starting with “re.” Tamburrino’s boat—the ninth Miami Vice entry, for those counting—was origi-
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nally owned by a gentleman in Monroe, MI, who had it for about 30 years. It was then sold to a buyer in Naples, FL, who then sold it to Tamburrino. From there, he totally disassembled the boat, installed new stringers and bulkheads, rebuilt the interior and cuddy cabin, updated all of the electronics, refreshed the engines, etc. The boat features 650-hp engines coupled to Mercury Racing XR Sportmaster drives. The boat may have been built in 1986, but it looks like a brand-new boat. Tamburrino’s passion for the Scarab began around the time the Miami Vice edition was released in the 1980s. “It was featured at the Cleveland Boat Show,” he recalls. “I walked in and there it was. I would liked to have bought it right there on the spot, but I couldn’t afford it at the
time—it was $140,000.” Ironically, about 10 years ago, he came face to face with the boat again in Monroe, MI. “There it sat on a trailer, at the same marina where I was attending a perch fry. I saw it and walked away…I didn’t even want to look at it. But ultimately, in the end, I wound up with it.” All of the work was done at Fine Line, which is located about an eighth of a mile from Lake Erie. The completely restored boat was shown off at the street parade during this year’s Offshore Grand Prix powerboat race in Mentor, OH. When the weather becomes more conducive, the folks at the shop plan to start some serious water-testing and dialing-in on the Wellcraft. The boat sits on the original Myco trailer that Tamburrino restored. speedboat.com
2/18/20 11:01 PM