Gus Morales, the Miami aviation counsel and pilot whose 1,300-horsepower 38KV Miami Vice Edition Vicious Lewis Hamilton drove for his “Vice City Run” reel in May 2026, has acquired Lady Vice, a 1986 Wellcraft Scarab 377 linked to Don Johnson.
Morales announced the purchase in a post shared by his own Instagram account and @vicious.miami, the boat’s social media account. He described her as a Scarab 377, the model later known as the 38KV. She is believed to have been loaned to Don Johnson for his personal use during the filming of Miami Vice Season 2.
Morales wrote:
“We brought Lady Vice back to Miami, where she will be safely stored and pampered.”
She came from Sarasota, Florida, where a former Wellcraft sales vice-president had kept her in storage since 2018.
The Plaque
A shield-shaped plaque, which Morales says was made by Copper Kettle Marine, an Ohio Wellcraft dealer in the 1980s, names her as “Lady Vice 1986” and the model as a “Wellcraft Scarab 377”.
It describes her as one of the four original boats used in the production of the series.
Johnson’s Loaners
Miami Vice dropped the Chris-Craft Stinger after its first season. The Scarab arrived for Season 2, which premiered on September 27, 1985, and the first two filming boats were known on set as Star 1 and Star 2.
Figures from the 38 Scarab KV registry put the total at 103 Scarab 38KVs built over five years, only 42 of them in Miami Vice colours. Nine went to Universal Studios: six for filming, and three lent to Johnson over the series’ filming period. The remaining 33 “Miami Vice Edition” boats were sold to the public, Vicious among them.
According to Morales, Lady Vice is the first loaner given to Johnson, as shown in the July 1987 edition of Popular Mechanics magazine.
Morales said:
“Her special characteristics on the deck hatches, arch paint scheme and the white coloured deck provide us and other Scarab experts with historical assurances.”
Morales says the first boats Wellcraft produced were technically 377s by cabin layout and deck hatch position. The model was renamed the 38KV after the show gave it the nod, the “K” honouring Betty Cook’s KAAMA team and the “V” standing for Vice. The plaque’s 377 designation fits a boat from that early run.
Two Scarabs
Lady Vice joins Vicious in Miami, and we asked Morales about his plans for her.
“We are currently assessing her overall condition and cleaning her up, so we may plan a future for her. We are fortunate to be based in Florida, where we receive great support from our mechanics, vendors and suppliers.”
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
