Sunsation 32 CCX, the Michigan Sportboat Builder's Best-Selling Center Console

The Sunsation boat that changed a sportboat company

Ask performance boaters about a Sunsation boat today and most will mention the 32 CCX. Sunsation was founded in 1982 by Wayne Schaldenbrand in a small garage near the original Chris-Craft factory in Algonac, Michigan, and with his brothers Joe and John built its name on fast V-bottom sportboats, starting with a 16-foot Sunburn. The company says it is now the only boat builder left in Algonac.

The 32 CCX was unveiled at the 2015 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as the middle model in Sunsation's Center Console Xtreme line, between existing 29 and 34-footers. Sunsation dropped its sportboat line in 2016, and Speed on the Water credits the first 32 CCX with beginning the company's center console era. It became Sunsation's top-selling model, and dealers reported selling boats before they reached the showroom.

Production pace tells the story. Hull number 100 was delivered to Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach, Missouri, which alone had sold more than 50 in four years, and the 200th 32 CCX was finished in time for the Detroit Boat Show. Sunsation said hulls 101 to 200 took a little more than 36 months, against close to 60 months for the first 100.

A Tres Martin stepped bottom at 24 degrees

The hull was designed by Tres Martin, the offshore racer and founder of the Tres Martin Performance Boat School, using what Sunsation called SS Taper Ventilation Technology. It is a stepped deep-V with 24 degrees of deadrise at the transom on a 32-foot hull with a 9-foot beam, a slim, fast shape that reflects Sunsation's sportboat heritage.

The hull was tuned for two engines. When Sunsation built a 32 with triple 400 hp Verados in 2016, Wayne Schaldenbrand said the boat was perfect with two outboards but unhappy at the top end with three, dipping and diving because of the shift in center of gravity. He and Martin relocated strakes by hand and reported 92 mph, but the production boat today is offered only with twin engines and a 1,000 hp maximum.

Current specifications list a length of 34 feet 6 inches including motors, 39 feet on the trailer, an 11-foot trailer height without radar, a 24-inch draft, 161 gallons of fuel, 13 gallons of water and a dry weight of 7,500 lb with twin engines, or about 9,000 lb wet. At launch Boating listed 175 gallons of fuel and 15 gallons of water.

• Length 32 feet, 34 feet 6 inches with motors
• Beam 9 feet, draft 24 inches
• Dry weight about 7,500 lb with twin engines
• Fuel 161 gallons, water 13 gallons
• Bridge clearance 7 feet 10 inches

Sunsation 32 CCX top speed by engine package

Top speed is the question buyers ask most, and it depends entirely on the engines. In 2016, Joe Schaldenbrand said about 90 percent of 32s were ordered with twin Mercury Verado 350s, a package good for about 72 mph. Hull number 100, rigged with twin Mercury Racing 450Rs, was reported at 85.4 mph and billed as the fastest 32 CCX to that point. An owner of a twin 450R boat said it would run 80 mph, though his family cruised at 45 to 50 mph all day.

Sunsation's current menu is all Mercury Racing: twin 300R V8s, twin 400R V10s or twin 500R V8s, with full-throttle ranges of 5,800 to 6,400 rpm. The 200th hull was the first with 500Rs, and the dealer that sold it said more were already on order. Sunsation has not published speeds for the 500R package, and we have not seen an independent instrumented test of any 32 CCX, so treat the figures above as builder, dealer and owner reports.

Economy is respectable for the speed. One owner of a twin 400R boat told Speed on the Water he sees about 2 mpg at 66 mph, an owner's display reading rather than a test figure. With 161 gallons aboard, a 32 CCX is built for poker runs, lake days and coastal hops more than long offshore fishing trips.

A center console built for people, not just rods

Boating's 2015 launch report described a boat meant to do it all: fast enough for a poker run, practical enough to tow tubers, with cockpit space for fishing. The console houses a private head and a small cabin, and Sunsation's standard list includes a cabin bed filler cushion, a cabin window, a toilet pump-out and a windlass.

Other standard equipment includes Sea-Dek flooring, LED custom lighting, a depth sounder, an Isotta steering wheel, Mercury VesselView, trim tab indicators, painted hardtop legs, a bow stereo control and a swim ladder. Options cover Garmin displays up to dual 16-inch units with radar, a deluxe JL Audio system, RGB color-changing and underwater lighting, a T-top light bar, rod holders and rocket launchers, a transom shower, washdown, full canvas and aluminum or painted steel trailers.

The 200th hull introduced a redesigned, more ergonomic dash, bow seating that can hold a Garmin display and a reworked rear lounge with extended seats on both sides of a center walk-through. Paint is a big part of ownership. Many boats wear custom Mitcher T graphics, and Sunsation offers painted engines in two stages.

Who buys a 32 CCX

The typical owner is a performance boater moving from a sportboat or catamaran into a center console, or a first-time buyer who wants speed with family seating. Speed on the Water profiles include a Florida couple who bought a 32 CCX as their very first boat, a Kentucky family stepping up from a 23-foot runabout, and a pilot who planned to keep his for a few years before moving to a catamaran.

Sunsation owners also have a social calendar. The builder's annual Sun Run drew more than 180 registered boats in 2024, and 32 CCXs are fixtures at Florida Powerboat Club and other poker runs. Serious offshore anglers usually look elsewhere; the 32 CCX fishes casually but its fuel capacity, livewell options and layout favor cruising.

Used Sunsation 32 CCX prices from real listings

Dealer listings published by Speed on the Water give a clear picture of the market. A 2021 boat with twin Verado 400S engines and a trailer asked $309,950; a 2021 with twin Verado 350s and 260 hours asked $359,950; a 2021 with twin 450Rs and 46 hours asked $379,950 with a trailer; and a 2022 with twin 400Rs, 202 hours and a bow thruster asked $359,995 with a trailer.

Newer boats sit higher. A new 2023 with twin 300Rs listed at $375,950, 2024 boats with 400 hp V10s listed at $444,950 to $469,950, and a 2025 with twin 400Rs and 44 hours asked $449,950 including a triple-axle trailer. Early 2016 to 2018 boats on original Verado or 350R power should trade well below those figures; we estimate roughly $180,000 to $280,000 depending on hours and paint.

Running costs are mostly engines and storage. Mercury Racing outboards need diligent service, and a 32-foot boat on a triple-axle trailer needs a capable tow vehicle. Expect roughly $15,000 to $35,000 a year for service, insurance, storage and winterization in northern markets, before fuel.