Commentary: Decoding The Cult Of Sunsation

Within a few hours of opening registration, the third annual 2024 Sunsation Sun Run had more than 100 sign-ups. The current boat-count for the August 1-3 event stands at 130 entries. Ryan Wenk, the national sales and marketing manager for the Algonac, Mich.-headquartered center console brand, expects that number to climb to 150 boats before the weekend is out.

Wenk credits Sunsation’s solid social media reach for much of the immediate response to the event, and his explanation has a lot of merit. Thanks to the commitment of company president Joe Schaldenbrand and his team, the Scrapyard Media crew has raised Sunsation’s social media game to a level unmatched by most—if not all—high-performance powerboat builders.

The Sunsation Powerboats brand commands one of the most loyal followings in the performance powerboat world. Photo by Brad DiMaggio copyright Scrapyard Media

But that doesn’t fully explain the company’s cult-like following among performance boat owners across the country. And that got me thinking.

What makes the Sunsation faithful so damn faithful?

Being in business for 44 years certainly contributes to Sunsation’s widespread appeal, as Performance Boat Center, and the dealership’s co-owner Mark Waddington, who also has an ownership stake in the brand, noted.

“Sunsation has been around a lot years in a specific market,” Waddington said.

Another valid observation, for sure. And yet it still doesn’t quite account for the outright fanaticism that continues to propel the brand. The company hasn’t built sportboats, once its bread-and butter-products, since 2016 when it made the move to just offer its CCX line of center consoles.

And yet that move did nothing to dilute—much less detract from—Sunsation’s rabid following. In fact it got stronger.

Brett Manire, Waddington’s partner in the multi brand dealership based in Osage Beach, Mo., took the explanation a bit farther.

“For starters, they have been building boats forever under the same ownership,” he said. “Then you take the fact that Sunsation owners as a group are self-made, hard-working people who value their free time and believe in the boats they drive. They are mostly blue-collar workers who hit it hard during the week so they can relax on the water during the weekends.”

That, too, made great sense. The Sunsation picture was becoming clearer.

But Brad DiMaggio, the plain-spoken and ever-direct founder of Scrapyard Media, closed the loop, at least for this reporter, an admitted longtime Sunsation fan and would-be “honorary” cult member.

“It’s all about more than 40 years of giving a shit about every customer,” he said.