Competitive Sportfishing Beast powered by Cummins and Onan

With the most prolific big game fishing on the planet, Costa Rica is a stunning destination for the avid angler. During peak season, the best sportfishing boats in the world migrate to Costa Rica’s Los Sueños South America Puntarenas. Whiskey Blues stands out in the fleet. This 2008 47 Convertible Maximus American Marine Boatworks sportfishing classic was a custom one-off created by hardcore fishermen.  

Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast boasts fish species such as the Roosterfish, Marlin, Snapper, Sailfish, Dorado Wahoo, Tuna and more, with the Caribbean Coast offering game including the Big Tarpon and Big Snook. With form following function, every feature of Whiskey Blues was premeditated to catch fish. 

“This was Maximus American Marine’s first custom boat for the boss,” said the build captain, adding “it’s the only 47 ever made.”      

She was spec’d and built with Cummins twin QSM11's and twin Onan 21.5 kW gensets with sound shields and sea strainers. As a seasoned boatbuilder, the captain prefers Onan generators because the sound shields don’t require opening for maintenance and engine service.  

As a professional fishing machine, Whiskey Blues provides all the comforts of home during an extended rodeo for seasoned anglers who appreciate style onboard.  

With a 16,000 Sea Keeper Gyro, an Indel Webasto 30-gallon stainless steel hot water heater, 240/120V AC power supply, Cruisair compressors, an Eskimo ice maker producing 600 pounds of ice daily and other luxuries, the Onan 21.5 kW gensets are real workhorses. 

“The sound shield is nicer looking in the boat,” said the captain.  “A lot of sportfishers have Onan generators with the power of Cummins backing them.”

Consistent fuel burn and economy

The captain also prefers the horsepower to weight ratio with clean-running, efficient QSM11 engines. 

The engines were so consistently efficient, that Whiskey Blues cruised 30 knots at the same RPM and fuel burn.  

“It was exact,” said the captain of the Cummins fuel stats and engine performance. “We would have 8 - 12 gallons of usable fuel when we got in. That’s how very consistent the fuel mileage was. The boat did everything the architect and Cummins said it would do and it never varied, running 300 miles roundtrip and burning 600 gallons of fuel every time over 12 hours.”