The $3.8 million yacht at Lake St. Clair Metropark caught the attention of James Fore.
He just wasn’t sure the HCB 56 Suenos GIX would be in his budget, even if by some miracle it came into his possession.
“I couldn’t afford the gas in it,” said the 70-year-old from Wyandotte, thinking through the cost for a fill-up in a vessel with five 600 horsepower motors that can take 1,300 gallons of fuel.
Still, one can dream.
Dreaming is one part of what draws folks to an event like this, the Metro Boat Show, which runs Sept. 17-20 at this metropark in Harrison Township (tickets are $15 at the door or $10 online; 12 and younger are free with an adult). I went on Thursday to see not just the boats that are out of reach for most of us but whatever else might
be available, too.
Fore's friend, Mike Donovan, 71, of Riverview, also was impressed with the luxurious yacht.
“I love it. I can barely see the front end,” he said, standing a few feet away from its stern.
Briefly, the question of who would clean something measuring 56 ½ feet in length entered the discussion. That’s understandable given that this group, which includes another friend, Kip Terry, have all had boats of their own.
But then you realize that the concerns of someone who can afford a yacht like this aren’t perhaps the same as your concerns.
It was still early on my Thursday visit and the crowd was light. The sky was overcast but improving conditions on Friday and the draw of the weekend were likely to bump those numbers up considerably. Amanda Wendecker, vice president of marketing for the Michigan Boating Industries Association, which took over this now long-running show 17 years ago, said about 8,000 people were expected to attend.
She called it the largest in-water fall boat show in the region, with more than 300 boats both in the water and on land and almost 100 vendors. The association also has two indoor shows next year at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace in Novi. Those are the Detroit Boat Show, Feb. 4-7, and the Novi Boat Show, March 11-14.
I was told the Detroit Boat Show had been moved out of downtown because of scheduling for the Detroit Auto Show at Huntington Place in recent years.
Dan Hall, 76, a sales representative for Colony Marine, which has locations in St. Clair Shores and elsewhere in the area, said this time of year, as the season is changing, can be promising if you’re considering a boat purchase.
Sellers and dealers are looking ahead, thinking about the costs of storage, for instance.
“From a buying standpoint, it could be an opportunity that wouldn’t be there in the spring,” he said.
We were speaking near a 45-foot Fairline yacht, which he said would be in the $2.5 to $3 million range. Vessels this size, he said, tend to function like a home away from home.
This happened to be a new boat, but Hall, who works part-time now but has been in sales for 37 years, said about 30% of Colony’s business is in pre-owned boats. I asked if “used” was an acceptable term, and he suggested “lightly enjoyed,” with a laugh.
Not all of the boats on display were so massive or quite as expensive.
Jeff Riehl, general manager of Unriehl Performance, told me a little about a couple of boats his company had brought to the show, including a 32-foot sport boat called “Purple Reign.” He described it as a “Mopar color” and part of what gives the 85-mph boat, with its gray and purple scheme, its fun vibe. The other boat, in white, is called “Stormtrooper.”
The boats are built in Algonac, Michigan, by Sunsation.
“This is one of our latest creations, and it’s a pretty awesome boat,” he said of “Purple Reign,” which could be had for a boat show special price of $499,000.
Riehl said many of the designs are inspired by the automotive world.
Unriehl Performance is part of a family operation affiliated with Jim Riehl’s Friendly Automotive Group.
If you're in the market for something a little less expensive, the boat show had choices there, too.
Pontoon boats and tritoon boats (a pontoon-type boat with an extra “log” for stability and performance) were a few of the other options. I talked to Scott Cederwall of Wilson Marine and Jeremy Ramey, a regional sales rep, about a 23-foot Bennington M Series tritoon.
That particular boat was priced at $95,495.
Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press, and he also writes about recreational vehicles, boats and bikes. Send your tips and suggestions to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: $3.8M yacht not the only big boat at Lake St. Clair Metropark
