When a customer special orders a boat it usually makes a statement. The Team at Sunsation Powerboats just rolled out a brand new Black 34 CCX with the new 400R Mercury Racing Outboards that has already got a lot of attention.
Adam Carpenter has an impressive collection of water toys ranging from a hi-performance cat, Ski boat and a line up of personal watercraft. Adam likes speed, he enjoys performance and as I remember him from participating in the Performance Boat School, he is really good at taking things to the edge. .
Adam has a vacation home on the water and is always on the move, doing something, going somewhere. So, with his existing stable of water toys and other active machines to move him along how and why did he decide to build a very discreet looking 34 Sunsation CCX with Triple 400 Mercury Racing Outboards?
As Adam tells us… It was super cold day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and while sitting around with friends after snowmobiling they decided it would be a great idea to get warm and on the spur of the moment they bought tickets to go to the Miami Boat Show and get warm for awhile.
Getting to Miami and walking the show Adam had zero intention of buying a boat. He and his friends were enjoying the much warmer weather, having fun, and of course, looking at everything the Miami Boat Show had to offer. When they came upon the 34 CCX Sunsation demo boat in the water they related back to the knowledge of a great friend who has owned a Sunsation Sport Boat for over 20 years who enthusiastically tells us “the boat looks as good as new and has always performed above expectations, providing a couple of decades of great family fun and performance.” Then, when offered a invitation for a demo ride from one of the owners of Sunsation, Jared Morris, the now warm snowmobiling crowd all jumped aboard as Wayne Schaldenbrand ran them around Miami’s Biscayne Bay for a little joyride.
Adam said they all had a great time and went on their way around the show, again looking at everything outside and inside the Miami Convention Center. Inside the show hall they of course came upon the inside display from Sunsation and struck up a conversation with the other brother from Sunsation Powerboats, Joe Schaldenbrand. Joe talked all about the boats, life in Michigan, snowmobiling, and how great it was to be in Miami and be warm.
Adam and his crew continued to walk enjoying the show, Miami, and everything it had to offer, still not really even having the thought to buy a boat. Then Monday came and before flying back to cold Michigan, Adam thought the idea of being able to get out a few times a year every winter to go snowmobiling in the extreme cold should be balanced with going to Florida a few times a year every winter to go powerboating. So Adam made his way back over to the Sunsation Booth and ordered a brand new 34 CCX Sunsation Center Console Extreme, with triple 400R Outboards, and because all of his stuff is already black on black the boat would have to match.
Of course the boat order was taken by Joe and the excitement of Adam came down a little when told how long to wait. Sunsation is so very busy building boats it was going to be a few months… Nevertheless the boat was ordered and the process of the build would move on.
Well as fate would have it the next morning at the Miami Airport, Adam and Joe ran into each other for the flight home and Joe offered up the Demo Boat they were building that was just out of the mold. The boat could be painted black instead of blue and Adam could get the boat done sooner rather than later. But all black? Really? Though Joe tried to convince him of another color choice, the answer was final. To describe the motivation Adam simply said, “Women don’t wear high heels because they are comfortable, they wear heels because they look great and my boat is going to look great!”
The boat does look great. Mitcher T did an incredible job with the execution of Adam’s vision. Adam was invited to visit the shop and said it was great working with him. “A really cool experience working and collaborating with Mitcher T. The project came out 10 times better than expected. It was a goal to have the boat look all black from 50 feet away and as you get up closer the graphics come out. Mitcher killed it!”
A little over the top maybe. but this is one build where nothing was skipped and the decisions were simple. Adam asks how many LED lights normally go into the cockpit and whatever the standard answer is the number is doubled. Killer lighting, a Stereo System with 23 JL Speakers and a ultra modern looking cabin done in white with a black floor and black headliner. The 400’s are going to push the boat to that extra level of performance and the boat is also set up with FLIR Night Vision, Garmin Radar, all rigged to the Garmin 8215 displays.
The boat is special, as in Special Ops, and even before it got wet for the first time it brought on some heightened attention from Border Patrol agents working near the Sunsation Factory. The Border Patrol pulled up right before the first sea trail and with their windows rolled down asked Adam, “Nice boat, do you mind if we take some photos?” Adam replied, “Sure, as long as you don’t pull me over!” The agents followed them to the ramp and took pictures the whole way.
The boat is sure to bring a lot of attention wherever it goes. Adam plans to bring the boat to Fort Myers during the winter to have a chance to get out of cold Michigan during the summer and summer in Indiana. Look out for his new boat “Discrete” at a poker run somewhere this summer.
SUNSATION has always been a brand favorite that brings out a super loyal following of dedicated boat owners!
Photo Credits to Sunsation Powerboats
We can’t wait to get the performance results from this incredible looking boat.
Congratulations to SUNSATION and the new owner!
