Gallery Of The Week: Fair Chase Skater Paint Progression

When it comes to the progress of Fair Chase, his six-seat Skater Powerboats 368 catamaran currently in the hands of Steve Schulte, the Douglas, Mich., company’s longtime paint perfectionist, Steve Ahrenberg is as laidback as a Type-A human ever gets. Ahrenberg, who lives in the Phoenix suburbs with his wife, Lori, and their son, Brian, had expected to be on the water in his Mercury Racing 700 SCi engine-powered 36-footer a few months ago. But the company’s six-week, state-mandated COVID-19 shutdown earlier this year delayed all ongoing builds and the boat didn’t make it to the paint booth—where it will reside for the next three weeks—until late August.

Slated for a December delivery, Steve Ahrenberg’s Skater 368 catamaran will be in the company’s paint booth for another three weeks before it heads to rigging.

“Building a Skater isn’t for everybody, and I’m OK with that,” said Ahrenberg. “When I first went to Skater, they told me it would take 12 to 18 months and by the time it’s done it will have been a little more than 18 months.

“Honestly, I’m absolutely tickled to be building a Skater—I love the process,” he added. “I don’t need everyone I do business with to become my friend, but Tony Cutsuries (the company’s national sales manager) has turned into a pal. Throughout the process, he’s been very communicative—and sometimes he just calls to shoot the breeze.”

Likewise, Schulte has been in almost contact with Ahrenberg since the boat entered the paint booth. Their most recent exchange involved the color—emerald green or lime green—of a pinstripe. After telephone discussions on the topic, Schulte and the owner arrived at a fade involving both hues.

Check out the slideshow above to view the paint progression of Fair Chase.

“He was torturing himself over a pinstripe—an eighth-of-an-inch line,” Ahrenberg said, then laughed. “With the effort Steve is putting into it, this paintjob is going to be really special.”

Ahrenberg plans to pick up Fair Chase in December. He’ll handle hauling the boat from Michigan to Arizona himself. He plans to take his wife to Lake Pleasant, which isn’t far from their home, so they can practice launching and retrieving as a couple.

“I think I scared her the other day,” he said, then chuckled again. “I showed her a YouTube video of a couple launching and retrieving a boat and they did it perfectly. Then the video panned and it showed about 500 people watching them do it. I said, ‘Honey, that’s what it’s like.’”

Fair Chase will be on display during the 2021 Desert Storm Poker Run street party and exhibit.

Steve Schulte designed the graphics scheme for the 36-footer.

Gallery Of The Week: Fair Chase Skater Paint Progression

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