New Sunsations Combining With One-Off Gigs For Boat Customs

The founder of Boat Customs in Caledonia, Mich., Chris Mills made his early reputation reimagining pre-owned go-fast rides through fiberglass and paint work. His memorable handiwork includes the 46-foot Freedom Skater catamaran, the 36-foot Unleashed Cigarette V-bottom and much, much more.

The Sunsation 34 CCX center console painted by Boat Customs went to Michigan-based dealer UNRIEHL Performance.

But three months ago, Boat Customs began painting new center consoles from Sunsation Boats in Algonac, Mich. The first one, a 34 CCX, has already been delivered, another will be done next Wednesday and another is currently in the paint booth. Mills and his crew have so far applied graphics and color schemes created by other designers.

“We have been working with Mitcher T on his designs, and Wes Jones (formerly with MTI) is going to do some designing for us,” said Mills. “Rob Rich did a design for us. It’s really interesting to work with all these designers and paint their designs.”

Ryan Wenk, Sunsation’s national sales and marketing manager, said everyone at the company is delighted to be working with Mills and company.

The Boat Customs paint booth is rarely empty.

“Chris has been on our radar for quite some time, and we finally found an opportunity to work with him on some 34 and 40 CCX builds,” Wenk explained. “As our production has increased, we’ve streamlined our paint process. Chris has been a big part of helping us keep production smooth as we gear up for a record year in 2025.

Mills also has been designing and painting Buell motorcycles. Since starting with the company in 2019, he has “probably painted 150 bikes so far,” he said.

“And they are talking about going even bigger with production and adding models,” he added.

But Boat Customs hasn’t abandoned its specialized one-off renovation roots. The company’s more recent projects include pre-owned 40- and 50-foot Skater catamarans.

Said Mills, “We’ll always maintain a good balance of the old-school stuff.”