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Powerboat Goes Airborne! Wild Crash At Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout Boat Races [WATCH]

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Editor's Note

Our original story stated Slug Hefner was throttling Dirty Duck when it crashed. While Mr. Hefner owns the boat and has throttled in years past, this year Rusty Williams was at the throttles, when the boat crashed. The article has been edited and we apologize for the error.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — For the Dirty Duck powerboat team, being the fastest boat of the day came at a steep cost: the 438 Skater catamaran went airborne after hitting 213 mph at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026.

Video of the crash shows the boat making a 1-1/4 rotation and beginning to spin before landing and — mercifully — coming to rest right-side-up.

Driver Adam Seraphine and throttleman Rusty Williams were reportedly conscious and escaped the incident without serious injuries.

The Shootout takes place on the Glaize Arm of Lake of the Ozarks, where thousands of boaters form a massive flotilla to watch powerboats run a 3/4-mile stretch, one at a time. A radar gun at the finish line tells who's the fastest. The boat with the top speed by the end of the two-day race earns the title of Top Gun.

Catamaran powerboats like Dirty Duck attain high speeds thanks to the dual-hull design, which funnels air between the hulls and — as the boat gains speed — lifts the boat out of the water. The aim is for the boat to operate at a mostly-level plane but just barely in the water — "skating" across the surface. The thrust from the engines keeps the nose down. But at high speeds, slowing the boat down can be the trickiest part: the throttleman has to gradually ease off the throttles, allowing the boat to decelerate without gaining too much air at the nose. Many things can cause the type of catamaran crash called a "blowover" — from a rogue gust of wind to water conditions to throttle error. It's not clear what precipitated the Dirty Duck crash on Saturday. But it was not a question of driver skill: Williams and Seraphine are no strangers to boat racing.

Dirty Duck - 2025 Shootout

Dirty Duck at the 2025 Shootout

Dirty Duck has been a familiar presence on the race course for years. And in 2016, the boat's owner Slug Hefner helped pilot another boat — American Ethanol — to Top Gun glory, hitting 217 mph in the Mystic catamaran with co-pilot John Cosker.

American Ethanol - the 10-time Shootout Top Gun boat - tests its engines at the Dog Days docks, at Shootout 2026.

American Ethanol held the Top Gun title in an unbroken streak for a decade, before losing it in 2025 to Darana Hybrid — another Mystic with an interesting history at the Shootout. Darana didn't make the Shootout this year. And as of this writing, American Ethanol had made two runs on Saturday, Aug. 29, but at 198 mph and 204 mph, that boat's team of John Cosker and Tony Battiato will need to muster more speed in order to regain the title.

American Ethanol at Dog Days Docks

Last year, Hefner and Seraphine hit 215 mph with Dirty Duck. With Williams on the throttle this year, the boat returned with plans to take the cake. By the end of Saturday, they were still on top of the heap — but a bit banged up, and with the Dirty Duck in need of repair.

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