Image Of The Week: A Head-Turning Sunsation Debuts On Lake St. Clair

Thanks to the likes of Dave Burgess, Ron Szolack, Chip Miller and others who call it home, the St. Clair Shores, Mich., area doesn’t lack for top-shelf performance boats of all kinds. Most recently—as in last Friday afternoon—Burgess took delivery of a new Sunsation 40 CCX painted by Stephen Miles Design in Owensboro, Ky., and powered by three Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines.

A first on at least two fronts, Dave Burgess’ new Sunsation 40 CCX stood out among classic powerboats on Lake St. Clair last Sunday. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix/speedonthewater.com.

Burgess already has logged 10 to 12 hours in the 40-footer including running among the vintage raceboats and pleasure boats in last Saturday’s annual Old School Raceboat Reunion on Lake St. Clair. The new is the first center console for Burgess, who has owned V-bottom sportboats from Cigarette and Outerlimits, as well as the first 40 CCX painted by Miles.

“It’s just a great boat,” Burgess said. “I love the way it drives, the way it handles, the way it rides and the way it looks. It feels so big and comfortable and solid—it is beyond my expectations. Everyone has been calling me about it. Everyone loves it.

“The hardware on the boat is just incredible,” he added. “Sunsation does more in-house fabrication than you can believe. You can’t compare it to a 46-foot Cigarette Maximus—that’s a Ferrari and this is a Cadillac—but the aura of sitting there at the helm station and driving the boat has me enthralled.”

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