Sonic USA Boats

PRESS RELEASE FROM SONIC BOATS USA.

First Derivative Technologies LLC in conjunction with Doller Offshore Marine is pleased to announce the April 15, 2004 opening of the Super Sonic Sales and Service Center located in South Florida (Hollywood). The 82,000 square foot facility conveniently located one block west of I-95; 5 minutes south of the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will offer a national "mega-center" focused on high-performance boating.

The SUPER SONIC SALES AND SERVICE CENTER will offer a full complement of new and pre-owned Sonic performance boats and the new exciting Sonic Dakota high performance center console craft. The Center will provide, "under a single roof", in excess of 100+ performance boats available for sale plus full retrofit, accessory, customization and Platinum Mercury service capabilities. The CENTER is designed to finally answer the nationwide high performance boater's need for a quality one-stop location (all-season/tropical!!) for all purchases, service-repairs, storage, retrofit, customization, and accessories. Professional brokerage services will also be made available exclusively to Center customers. The Center is designed to complement and to work in conjunction with its existing nationwide Sonic and Sonic Dakota dealer network.

The new CENTER will also serve as the upholstery, graphic design/painting, finishing and quality control point for all new Sonics and Sonic Dakotas. As such, these factory services will be made available for all performance boaters. Through Doller Offshore Marine's well known "White Glove" service capabilities, high performance boaters will also have the opportunity of storing their boats in a fully secured, covered facility offering complete service including high performance custom rigging, drive assembly rebuilding and retrofit engine/drive installation on all makes and models.

Doller Offshore Marinehas been a "locus" for the serious high-performance boater for more than 20 years offering comprehensive professional services and accessories. Weaned in the marine race environment, Doller has a proven and enviable track-record throughout the world. Anchoring Doller is the innovative and creative Mindi Doller, whose professionalism and service orientation is well known in offshore racing circles.

The marine division of First Derivative Technologies LLC encompassing both Sonic USA and Sonic Dakota will be providing in addition to its innovatively designed f'(x) technology high performance boats, composite fabrication R&D capabilities and access to its 80,000square foot high-tech metal and materials fabrication center. Additional creative accessory and rigging products will be jointly developed and marketed by Sonic USA and Doller Offshore Marine.

The Super Sonic Sales and Service Center is located at 3600 N 29th Avenue, Hollywood, Florida 33020 and can be reached via telephone at 800-454-4245 or by email at [email protected] Doller Offshore Marine¹s website provides a complete Mercury/MerCruiser parts look up and on line ordering access of its extensive parts inventory. Visit www.performanceboatcenter.com or call us direct 954-463-9988 or 800-376-1616

PRESS RELEASE FROM SONIC BOATS USA.

Sonic USA Inc and Florida Boat Works are proud to announce a formal combination to be known as First Derivative Technologies LLC (First Derivative). First Derivative will have an effective manufacturing capacity of more than 150,000 square feet for not only it's marine products division but also for it's OEM composite services division and R&D divisions. First Derivative will also have a direct alliance with a full service CAD based "high tech" metal fabrication entity to further pursue vertical integration and manufacturing capabilities

Sonic USA Inc. is a manufacturer of high performance power boats with a brand lineage of more than 28 years and the only composite performance boat manufacturer in the country which has obtained full compliance with or exemption from the EPA MACT regulations through the use of it's patented f(x') process. This technology effectively eliminates release of HAPS (hazardous materials) into the atmosphere and at the same time affords a cost effective manner to integrate aero-space technology including the use of hybrid materials into marine and other consumer composite (fiberglass) markets.

Florida Boats Works Inc. builds five based models of high performance center-console boats with capabilities for SKA Tournament fishing , consumer cruising and as a result of GSA vendor approval, military/governmental patrol and enforcement. Known as DAKOTA M, military/governmental models have already been delivered to the U.S. Border Patrol. As a result of the combination all DAKOTA and SONIC DAKOTA consumer models will incorporate vacuum infused technology resulting in greater strength, greater stiffness, lighter weight and in the case of the DAKOTA M models small-arms ballistic protection.

First Derivative will focus its consumer production facilities in Stuart, Florida and its sales and service activities in Hollywood, Florida.

Molds ready to spray

Cut out and assembly

Custom paint job

80,000+ Sq. Ft Manufacturing Facility

Engine installation

Final assembly line

Prep-ready for delivery

Since 1976 Sonic USA has continually combined an optimal blend of “scalding” top performance, a ride that can only be described as spectacular and up to the minute aesthetics and amenities that actually work in the performance powerboat environment. Sonic USA boats are world renown as being top performers… but rock solid. Sonic USA boats have never had a structural hull failure or integrity warranty claim and all of us at our 80,000 square foot manufacturing facility located in Hollywood, Florida have a personal commitment to assure that you will be problem free with your new Sonic USA and have many years of enjoyable boating.

Since 2002 all Sonic USA boats have utilized the copywrited and patented Sonic F’(x) production methodology which has resulted in stiffer, stronger and lighter high-tech structural parts. Sonic USA is the only production performance powerboat company utilizing this aerospace developed technology. Sonic USA's structural design safety standards mirror those utilized in U.S. military aircraft production.

You owe it to yourself to experience a Sonic USA in its element-the open seas. Only then will you be able to understand why nothing less than the best will do for Sonic USA boats. Step aboard a Sonic USA and experience the unique sensation of being aboard one of the world’s finest powerboats. Witness the exhilarating performance…the unmatched luxury…cutting edge technology…

THEN ASK YOURSELF IF ANYTHING ELSE WILL DO FOR YOU.

Sonic USA the 26-year builder of high performance powerboats, was purchased in March 1999 by a boating and aviation enthusiast. The company, which currently produces the Sonic's f'(x) Technology in six different model types of "go fast" mono hulls has never had any hull delaminating issues with its boats despite the fact that all models (ranging from a 22 foot Sportster to the 45 foot f'(x) First Derivative) are capable of speeds in excess of 80 MPH.

Upon purchase of the company, which was building a modest 70 boats per year in an over 80,000 square foot facility in South Florida. Sonic's new production team embarked on an industry divergent strategy of turning to new technology (actually proven aviation-industry technology) to overcome production and marketing hurdles facing Sonic USA. Sadly, the American high performance market could best be described as "technology-wise being lost in the sixties". Customers of that era now are not the same age or mind set as they were at that time. USA and European customers drive automobiles that are light-years in terms of technology ahead of the so-called "performance boats" that they have had to choose from.

In the USA, higher tech consumers are no longer enticed into the market with stale design offerings with "quickie" design tricks and ever higher stressed gasoline engines and traditional drives. The former has resulted in dramatically decreased handling and control and hence occupant safety and the latter has resulted in almost routine major component breakdown during the first 300 hours of boat ownership. For today's consumer this is an unacceptable combination.

Sonic USA decided to take this divergent path by not embracing a hull design regimen that purposely undermined handling and hull stability for a few extra calm water miles per hour and instead embarked on a higher technology approach to gaining performance. This approach not only avoided the problem of making a trade-off decision between speed and customer safety but also resulted in the ability to utilize higher technology, which in turn ensued more consistent and dependable production. Sonic USA approach has been accomplished both logically and reliability through technologies that were not available even three years ago to the marine market. (An illustration of this, Sonic USA was the first USA commercial user of Reichhold's breakthrough HYDREX 100HF infusion resin in September 2001).

Beginning nearly two years ago, Sonic USA entered a technology consortium consisting of Reichhold, the maker of the newly released HYDREX 100HF infusion resin, Baltek, the world's largest infusion core manufacturer and 3Tex, the sole USA manufacturer of three-dimensional woven composites. Sonic USA being the first performance boat manufacturer in the USA to adopt the f'(x) methodology made possible by the research and product design capabilities of these entities, was thus able to completely revamp its production procedures and introduce a totally new design perspective in the high performance market. The Sonic USA technology partners on the other side of the equation had a manufacturer with 26-year "optimal" quality reputation introducing their product in a market niche where hull strength, stiffness, stability and integrity must matter. It was much more then a "win win" for everyone involved and the support received from theses high-tech companies was nothing short of spectacular.

The result of this technology transformation at Sonic USA was the introduction at the Miami International Boat Show in February 2002 of the entire f'(x) series of Sonic USA boats with it's totally infused balsa-cured 45 footer aptly named "First Derivative". This series leader sported a dramatic departure from the typical American offering with twin 820Plus HP Seatek (Italian) diesels, ZF twin-speed transmissions and France Helices surface drives. Through the use of the infusion technology thereby enabling a stiffer, stronger and as a "bonus" lighter hull, racing-heritage diesels coupled with surface drives could be mounted. This offering has resulted in a dependable warranted hull and propulsion package with more torque, dramatically longer overhaul times (2000 hours for Seatek diesels), 30-40% less fuel costs, explosion-resistance and dramatically longer recommended maintenance intervals. Such a novel propulsion package was not possible previously!

From a technical Standpoint, the new f'(x) series of Sonics utilize a Reichhold polyester gel faced with a mat-veil combination followed by successive layers of kitted 3Tex three dimensionally woven glass and in selected areas, Kevlar and carbon-fibre. Following is a layer of kitted Baltek GPS infusion balsa core, topped with more layers of 3Tex three dimensional glass/carbon fibre. The dry placed laminate is infused with Reichhold's HYDREX HF 100 resin, which was specifically designed for infusion under a mold pressure in Sonic's case of up to 225,000 lbs. depending on part/mold length. The result is an incredibly uniform stronger, stiffer and lighter laminate offering minimum safety factor of 14, which is equivalent to USA military aviation standards. It is the goal at Sonic USA to go another 26 years without a hull structural problem. So---by all means please ask us how we build our boats and better yet contact us for a factory tour so that you can see for yourself. Sonic USA is one boat company that is proud to show you how we build our boat.

SonicUSA, Inc.

3600 North 29th Ave. Hollywood, Fla 33020

Telephone: 954.922.5535 Fax: 954.922.0578

Toll Free: 1.800.454.4245

Email us at [email protected]