20 years ago, multihull mage Russell Brown had 2 spare Tornado hulls, a 15hp Honda long shaft, some carbon mast leftovers, and an outside-the-box mind for building efficient boats.

With these recycled parts, he built Grasshopper.

Russell used Grasshopper to camp cruise all over the Salish Sea and to commute from Port Townsend to Anacortes and Seattle even in truly nasty weather.

His favorite trip was PT to Desolation Sound – a total of 2 days/200 miles, taking 14 hours and using just 14 gallons of gas to reach cruising heaven.

For how wild it looks, Grasshopper is one of the smoothest, most mild-mannered motorboats of all time. It loves rough water and the main trick is doing 15 knots at 1 gal/hr in calm or up to 3-foot seas.

In 2018, R2AK veterans Nate Rooks and Ted Sweeney bought Grasshopper as a maritime media platform, efficient camp cruiser, and “cheat code” dinghy behind their cruising sailboats. Russell has subsequently launched a second version.

For a full video on Grasshopper and its offspring, visit www.OffCenterHarbor.com

For information about Russell Brown’s boats, visit www.PTWatercraft.com