Feel the need for speed? Late president’s 75-mph speedboat is up for auction

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — It seems former President George HW Bush felt the need for speed in the waters off Maine, where he had a nearly 1,000-horsepower speedboat. And for the right price, someone else can experience the thrill of it.

The ship will be auctioned Thursday during the 2024 Presidential Salute auction in Houston, said Hutton Higgins, a spokesman for the George & Barbara Bush Foundation.

Proceeds from the sale of the 37-foot speedboat ‘Fidelity V’ will be used to expand offerings at the George HW Bush Presidential Library & Museum and the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Bush purchased the 2011 Fountain 38CC model after both he and his son, former President George W. Bush, left office.

The watercraft bears a presidential seal and has three Mercury outboard engines that can propel the vessel up to a speed of 120 km/h. The boat was used in North Atlantic waters near Kennebunkport, where the Texas family has a summer home on the coast of Maine.

It is the fifth speedboat of George HW Bush to bear the name Fidelity. The first is on display at the Bush Library and Museum, and the fourth is still in use in Kennebunkport, Higgins said.