There’s an ancient Latin proverb that says, “audentes Fortuna iuvat:” fortune favors the bold—an idiom engraved on my watch. While not the most daring trip, it takes some serious planning, preparation, and gall to cross any amount of open water (as in non-protected) in a single-engine, planing-hull powerboat. Nonetheless, the trip in question was conducted over Labor Day weekend when my wife, Hannah, and I crossed from Manistique (in the Upper Peninsula of Northern Michigan) to the Beaver Island Archipelago in Lake Michigan.
I have owned my vessel, dubbed Soul Rebel—a 1995 Chaparral 2550 SX that I have painstakingly restored, upgraded, and otherwise modernized over the last five years—since 2020, and have now made a number of significant trips on her. In 2022, she was towed to the Florida Keys from Annapolis, MD; in 2023, she was towed from Annapolis to Pictured Rocks on the shores of Lake Superior in Munising, MI; after being retrieved from Munising, she was then launched in Escanaba, MI, to cross Green Bay to Washington Island in Door County, WI. The trip now in question, crossing the northern section of Lake Michigan to Beaver Island, was to be our longest open-water transit yet!
Why Northern Michigan?
The story about how a pair of Chesapeake boaters ended up boating on the northwest quadrant of Lake Michigan is a roundabout voyage in its own right—and a convoluted one, at that. My wife, Hannah, and I moved from Annapolis to my home in South Florida at the end of 2023. As a casualty of such a move, Soul Rebel had been left behind in Maryland until the summer of 2024, when she was shipped to Hannah’s parent’s property in Rapid River, MI, to be used during summers on the Great Lakes.
The transit was uneventful and was carried out by a professional shipper named Kevin, that I had originally “met” on UShip, before vetting him and his business thoroughly; all things considered, Kevin did a fantastic job—and the only casualty was Soul Rebel’s mooring cover, which had ripped in the stern section due to a detached and flapping rubrail. I had attempted to secure the rubrail with string and tape before wrapping it with bubble wrap, but the whole apparatus came apart along the 1000-mile journey at high speed. Nonetheless, the cover was under warranty, and I was able to have it replaced free of charge: all’s well that ends well!
Soul Rebel actually beat us to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and work on her began within a few days of our arrival. The rubrail repair—which may be the subject of a later article—was so involved and intensive that it ultimately prevented Soul Rebel’s launch in 2024. Our wedding, its preparations and aftereffects, on the first of September of the same year (in Marquette, MI), did not help matters either.
After the season, we left (Northern Michigan) in October before coming back for Christmas and leaving in January. Soul Rebel would rest over the winter months, until we arrived again around August 1 to pick up where we had left off—finishing the rubrail repair and launching the boat for the first time in two years, to head off towards Beaver Island and beyond.
Why Beaver Island?
Beaver Island, the only inhabited island in the archipelago bearing the same name, lies about 35 nautical miles from Manistique, MI. It is a large island at 55.8 square (statutory) miles in total surface area. The island’s only town, St. James, lies situated in the northeastern quadrant of the island, sporting a natural harbor named Paradise Bay. In its development, Beaver Island grew up around its natural harbor—once boasting a fishing industry that was one of the most illustrious and profitable in the entire nation (including saltwater fisheries).
Beaver Island has a mostly tranquil history which I will not bore the reader with, but of note is that it once boasted a large colony of devout Mormons. Today, Beaver Island remains the largest island in Lake Michigan with an economy based on eco-tourism: a fitting reality owing to the island’s natural beauty, pristine wilderness, and quaint island charm. One of seven islands, Beaver Island is a natural stopping off point for boaters transiting the northern section of Lake Michigan. In our case, our plan was to stop off at Beaver Island for two nights, before continuing onwards through the Straits of Mackinac to the renowned Mackinac Island, a pricy tourist “utopia” interlaced between two Great Lakes. If I were to make it to Mackinac, Soul Rebel’s bottom would have graced the waters of three of the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, the Chesapeake Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and Florida Bay: a mighty accomplishment for a 25-foot production powerboat!
Preparation, Planning—and More Preparation!
To undertake such a trip, I knew I had to have the utmost confidence in my vessel. To achieve such a state of trust, everything had to be in order—and to do so, took a great deal of time and arduous labor. I won’t bore the reader with a complete enumeration of tasks, except to note a few that I did during the summers of 2024 and 2025:
- A substantial repair/resealing to the vessel’s hull to deck joint—which was shoddily constructed at the factory—including numerous substantial gelcoat repairs.
- Resealing of the vessel’s transom stern eyes, used during towing, which were leaking ever-so-slightly.
- A full engine service—including oil and filter change(s), spark plug replacement, raw water/fuel pump oil change, and more; afterwards I tested and checked the engine for leaks or other issues.
- Testing of (all of) the vessel’s equipment, including the single-burner alcohol stove we would need for sustenance on the remote Beaver Island.
- Replacement of burnt-out incandescent cabin light bulbs.
- Replacement of one of Soul Rebel’s AGM deep-cycle batteries (which died over the winter for some unknown reason); afterwards, I tested the 20 AMP dual-bank Pro Mariner battery charger to ensure proper charging.
- Replacement of Soul Rebel’s stereo system: the stereo itself with a Fusion RA-70 marine stereo and her cockpit speakers with two vastly superior six-by nine-inch Polk speakers. The previous set of six-and-a-half-inch Kenwood speakers (that I installed hastily in the summer of 2020) were woefully lacking and could not be heard over the vessel’s engine while underway. Such a modification required cutting the vinyl trim panels which adorn the cockpit; I also re-stapled the vinyl with proper stainless steel marine staples.
- Greasing of all Zerk fittings, including the engine coupler, gimbal bearing, and two fittings I installed on the Bravo 3’s steering pin (to seal it and prevent additional corrosion of the carbon steel steering pin).
- Tightening of many screws and bolts throughout the boat.
- Checking/retorquing of the gimbal ring to specifications: an annual maintenance task.
- The purchase and testing of much new equipment, including a three-gallon water tank with a rechargeable electric faucet to replace our cabin sink.
- The fabrication and installation of custom engine hatch protectors—and the widening of the existing fire port hole (on the engine box) to install a new, nicer one (after the aforementioned gelcoat repairs).
- The fitting of a stainless steel bayonet-style windshield wiper.
- Vacuuming, detailing, cleaning surfaces, and many other odds and ends!
Of note, many of the niceties I had previously installed came in handy on this trip (and the ones before). These include:
- Two cabin LED light fixtures—which are warm, have night lights, and USB charging ports for our phones and other devices.
- A Bodega 12-volt fridge—which runs 24/7 while the boat is in use to keep our food fresh and preserved. The fridge runs off one of our vessel’s two AGM batteries at any given time, which are charged by either the engine’s alternator or the dual-bank Pro Mariner 20-amp battery charger I installed. Since our boat didn’t have a shore power system, I wired the charger to a plug I installed on the transom. For safety, we use a 25-foot 15-amp extension cord with an integral GFCI breaker. I then plug the cord into a 30-amp dock outlet with an adapter. Since the cord has a built-in 15-amp breaker, the setup is a perfectly safe alternative to a factory-installed shore power system.
- A three-step stainless steel swim ladder with integrated rubber steps.
- Twelve-inch by nine-inch electric trim tabs made by Lectro Tab.
- A seven-inch Garmin GPS chartplotter/fishfinder combo.
- A fixed-mount Standard Horizon VHF radio with integrated GPS functionality.
- A custom ground tackle solution—consisting of an upsized alloy anchor, ample stainless steel chain (which does not ding the boat), and three-strand nylon rode; all of the preceding are housed by a sturdy anchor holder, built of marine-grade plastic, which occupies the inside of our (factory) anchor locker.
- Custom v-berth sheets.
All in all, a boat is never complete and is always a work in progress. For me, Soul Rebel is a canvas for the marriage of creativity, ingenuity, and skill; she will never be finished, so long as things can be improved—in such a vein, many future projects are already planned for the next few years, including:
- Replacing the aged trailer brakes and hitch coupler.
- Removing, inspecting, and servicing the outdrive before reinstalling.
- Painting the engine and outdrive (again) and replacing the worn Mercruiser decals.
- Templating, cutting, and installing Infinity Luxury Woven Vinyl flooring (which has sat in its packaging for nearly three years as life and necessity interfere).
- Patching up the 30-plus year old cockpit cover, and more!
And yet, all of the following says little about 2023: the year Soul Rebel’s windshield mysteriously burst and had to be replaced (more on the steps to remedy that saga in another article). With all of the necessary work, trips such as the one looming over the horizon must be worth it—right?
At Some Point, One Has To Leave Port
At this point in our narrative, you might think I was verging on simply converting Soul Rebel into a museum ship, but I assure you: she is still a real, working boat as well! At last, on the 29th of August, Soul Rebel splashed in Manistique, MI—where, in short order, she idled out of the harbor into the open waters of Lake Michigan, headed about 110 degrees true for the channel between Trout Island and Whiskey Island: two of the other islands west and northwest (respectively) of Beaver Island.
Because of all the preparations—including trailering, launching, parking, etc.—we got a late start to our journey. Nonetheless, we left Manistique just after 7 p.m.—and, resultantly, had to maintain a blazing 39 mph GPS en route to St. James Harbor on Beaver Island. We made harbor just before nightfall and are happy to report an uneventful, calm crossing. Seas were about one-foot, which was no problem for Soul Rebel.
Our first night on Beaver Island was non-remarkable, if filled with mundane tasks necessary to set up one’s vessel to inhabit for any number of days. To such an end, we set up fenders in our slip, plugged into shore power, set up our bimini top and isinglass canvas windows, before showering, cooking dinner, and relaxing in our berth together before bed.
By Drew Maglio