sonny crockett sailboat

Crockett's SCARAB

" Burnett and Cooper" mooring Crockett's SCARAB at a drug dealer's mansion.

James "Sonny" Crockett used a silver, blue and black 1986 Wellcraft SCARAB 38' KV for any water-borne activities his job may require throughout the majority of Miami Vice 's run, usually pursuing criminals on Miami's numerous waterways. It replaced his Chris Craft Stinger from season 1 .

While no explanation was given in the show for the change in Crockett’s powerboat between season 1 and season 2 , the reality was the show’s producers wanted a boat with a racier look and feel. Chris Craft, the manufacturers of the Stinger, were originally set to provide the replacement powerboats, however they pressured Universal to purchase the new boats instead of leasing them, as they had done for season 1. The studio refused and as a result they moved to Wellcraft and the SCARAB.

1 Notable Appearances
2 Storyline
3 Real Boats

Notable Appearances [ ]

As with the cars of Miami Vice , several popular music scenes in the show featured the SCARAB, including:

" Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) " -- Crockett and Tubbs go to see Newton Windsor Blade on his yacht in " The Prodigal Son ", marking the SCARAB's first appearance.
" Eminence Front " -- a night time drug deal in " Killshot ".
" Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man " -- being chased by Francesco Cruz in " God's Work ".
" Running on the Rocks " -- Crockett pursuing an arms-dealing diplomat in " Baseballs of Death ".

Storyline [ ]

Crockett's SCARAB is first seen briefly when Crockett and Tubbs go to see drug dealer Newton Windsor Blade in the second season premiere " The Prodigal Son ", but its first major appearance was not until the shootout at Stiltsville in " Out Where the Buses Don't Run ", two episodes later. While the SCARAB would remain Crockett's primary means of aquatic transportation for the remainder of the series, he would occasionally use other boats when a specific situation called for it, most notably in " Lend Me an Ear ". The actual SCARAB used in the series was for sale for about $55k in Miami in the mid 1980s.

Real Boats [ ]

As with the Stinger before it, several different SCARABs were used to portray Crockett's offshore boat. Initially two boats were used on the show; boats one and two were virtually identical in appearance, with only very slight differences regarding the engine cover and cabin doorway, and as such distinguishing between the two is virtually impossible when watching the show. Starting with season 4 , a third boat was introduced that had several more obvious differences when compared to boats one and two, namely a silver hull below the waterline (as opposed to white) and a pair of double searchlights fitted on top of the arch.

A fourth and final boat appeared only in the episode " Miami Squeeze ", and was on-screen for just 4 seconds. However, even in this brief time it can be seen that this boat had no arch (akin to the original boat used in the pilot episode ). Owing to its incredibly brief appearance, little is known about boat four.

Wellcraft produced and sold a copy of the boat used on the show, the SCARAB 38' KV Miami Vice Edition. Only 33 were made, although the unique color scheme could be ordered on other boat's in the company's range.
In real life, Don Johnson is a powerboat enthusiast. As a result of the significant sales increase Wellcraft enjoyed following their boat's use on Miami Vice , the company gave Johnson an exact replica of the main boat he used while filming; afterwards, he would often be seen arriving to work in it.
Johnson also worked with Wellcraft to design the 43' SCARAB Excel Don Johnson Signature Series, which was powered by twin 650-hp Lamborghini V-12 engines. He went on to race professionally for a few years in the OPT Tour (Offshore Powerboat Tour) in a 50 foot Revenge catamaran for Team USA.
2 "In the Air Tonight" Scene

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World’s coolest boats: Miami Vice Wellcraft Scarab is the definitive 80s muscleboat

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Each month Nick Burnham picks out an iconic boat that can lay claim to the title of world’s coolest boat. This month, he takes a closer look at the Wellcraft Scarab that starred in Miami Vice…

In a move that rivalled Decca famously turning down the Beatles (its executives apparently citing that guitar bands were on their way out), Wellcraft said no to Universal Studios’ request to supply a boat for a new cop show called Miami Vice.

So for series one of a show that quickly became the biggest hit of the 1980s, a Chris-Craft Stinger 39 was the power boat of choice for fictional undercover law enforcers, Crockett and Tubbs.

Quickly realising the monumental mistake they’d made, Wellcraft execs made Universal Studios an offer they couldn’t refuse and from Season Two onwards, a Scarab graced the dock at Bayside Marina in Miami alongside the boat Sonny Crockett lived aboard, an Endeavour 42 sailboat called St Vitus Dance .

In fact there were far more than just one boat, Wellcraft supplied two vessels per season, painted with eye-catching pastel hull stripes.

Keen boat geeks (ahem) enjoyed spotting continuity errors, such as deck colours and the radar arch changing from teal to silver over the passing years, but most people probably didn’t notice.

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The look was matched by the sound – four storm drain-sized exhausts poking through the transom, mated to a pair of 440hp V8 Mercruiser petrol engines for the authentic ‘rolling thunder’ American muscleboat noise.

Wellcraft boat sales went up 20% right across the board, and the company even released a Scarab 38KV Miami Vice Edition that looked almost identical to the show’s boat – only those eagle-eyed boat geeks spotting that the lower hull side stripe reached the transom rather than hitting the waterline level with the windscreen.

One was loaned to keen powerboat enthusiast (he later took up powerboat racing with some success) and star of the show, Don Johnson, who played Sonny Crockett. When the show was filming at the docks, he would often commute to the set aboard it.

Several of the boats have been lovingly restored by Miami Vice enthusiasts – men of a certain age who grew up in the 1980s and who are ensuring that the legends these boats became live on.

Miami Vice Wellcraft Scarab specifications

Built: 1985 LOA: 38ft 0in Beam: 8ft 0in Power: Twin 440hp V8 Mercruiser petrol Top speed: 52 knots (approx) Price: $130,000 (when new)

To submit your suggestion for the world’s coolest boat, head over to the MBY forum .

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