WITH A BULLET

Billy Blair is a man with a lot going on. He owns a pool building company that brings in a serious amount of business in Southern California and that allows him to play around with some other fun things like cable TV shows and, well, performance boats. We’ve seen a few of his boats over the years and they are always extremely well appointed and often understated in many ways.

Take this Howard Custom Boats 28-foot Bullet, for example. The boat is called “Color Blind” and there are no bright, splashy colors to attract undue attention. With shades of gray as the design theme one might, at first glance, think there is not much for the eye to linger on. That would be a very wrong interpretation. The reality is that this boat is akin to a high-end black Mercedes with tinted windows. The more you look, the more you find high quality pieces and the sum adds up to much more than the parts: Custom pewter grab handles, gray Berber carpet, billet seat stands and more point to the kind of luxurious appointments this boat enjoys. Once you actually get in the boat and drive it, the Mercedes analogy becomes even more apparent. 

The boat is equipped with a Mercury Racing HP525EFI engine and a Bravo XR drive with a lab-finished Bravo One stainless steel prop. Auto Meter Pro Comp Marine gauges dominate the helm while accessory switches are mounted in silver panels. A Livorsi Marine throttle and shift is mounted on the gunwale. The gunwales are covered with extra padding so the driver and co-pilot can be very comfortable no matter how rough the water. Seat bottoms drop out for the two in the front of the boat so standing while underway is possible. The rear bench seat has stowage underneath and the engine hatch opens on Dana hydraulic hinges. The sun pad on top of the hatch is nicely padded and features a drain to allow excess water to head down into the bilge.

The open bow design allows for a lot of passengers and plenty of sun, but the mid-cabin affords a place to get out of the rays and maybe catch a short nap. A built-in ice chest keeps the refreshments cold.

Blair runs the boat mostly at Nevada’s Lake Mead when he has time between his work and other pla things. If you see it at the docks, make sure to take a closer look.