The 46-foot Wellcraft Scarab that carried Don Johnson to the 1988 APBA Superboat Class World Championship is heading to the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction in April, selling with No Reserve.
The boat, known as the Gentry Turbo Eagle and racing under number 99, was originally commissioned by Hawaiian developer and offshore racing champion Tom Gentry in 1985. It was built to compete in the Miami to New York Endurance Race, with a narrow-beam deep-V hull designed by Larry Smith for speed and wave-cutting capability over long distances.
Gentry later loaned the boat to actor and racer Don Johnson for the 1988 APBA Offshore World Cup season. Johnson drove, with experienced throttleman Bill Sirois and Wellcraft’s Gus Anastasi navigating. At the Key West finale in November 1988, Johnson and his crew won the middle race of the three-day series on accumulated points, just ahead of Gentry’s own 50-foot catamaran. Gentry won the Saturday finale race but Johnson had enough to take the series title.
1988 APBA Superboat Class World Championship: Driver Don Johnson, Throttleman Bill Sirois, Navigator Gus Anastasi. Racing number 99. Key West, Florida, November 1988.
The Boat
The 46-foot hull is powered by three turbocharged 555ci V-8 engines, each rated at 1,200hp, giving a combined output of 3,600hp through original Mercury Racing No. 6 drives. The engines have been restored to 1988 World Championship specifications as part of a comprehensive professional restoration carried out by Team Archer Marine at a cost of $1.3 million over multiple years. Driveline components were fully refurbished as part of the same programme.
The boat returned to the water in 2017 for the first time in more than two decades. Speedboat Magazine marked the occasion with a feature titled “The Eagle Has Landed” published in July 2018.
The restored white, gold and red livery replicates the No. 99 racing appearance from the 1988 championship season. The three-man cockpit retains the period-correct configuration for pilot, throttleman and navigator, with a fourth seat positioned behind the driver. The original instrumentation and controls are intact. A fourth seat positioned behind the driver and a refreshed trailer, updated in February 2025 with new paint, air lines and wiring, complete the package.
Tom Gentry
Tom Gentry was one of the most significant figures in offshore racing during the 1980s and early 1990s. Born in Berkeley, California in 1930, he relocated to Hawaii where he built a substantial property development business before turning seriously to offshore competition in the early 1970s. His programme was built around turbocharged engines and surface drives, technologies that gave his boats a consistent performance advantage.
Gentry won the UIM World Championship in 1976 and went on to claim five UIM world titles in total, along with four US national championships. In 1987, racing his catamaran, he set the world offshore speed record at 148.238mph on Florida’s measured mile. In 1989, he set the transatlantic Blue Riband record with a crossing time of 62 hours, 7 minutes and 47 seconds.
He suffered a serious crash at the 1994 Key West World Championship that left him in a coma. He died in Honolulu on January 15, 1998, at the age of 67.
The Auction
The boat is listed in Barrett-Jackson’s 2026 Palm Beach Auction, held April 16-18 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. It carries No Reserve status, meaning the highest bid on the day takes the lot regardless of price. The VIN is SQE101060185.
For offshore racing historians and serious collectors, few boats available in any auction carry a more direct connection to the sport’s peak era in North America. The combination of Gentry provenance, documented championship history, celebrity association and a seven-figure restoration makes this a notable lot.
Auction details: Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach, April 16-18, 2026. South Florida Fairgrounds. Selling No Reserve. Lot details at barrett-jackson.com.
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.
