Hesperia, a community of roughly 99,000 residents, sits in California’s so-called “high desert” at about 3,200 feet above sea level. An hour and a half from the bustle of the San Bernardino Valley and Los Angeles, the landscape is dominated by Joshua trees, cactus and sparse, sunburnt scrub that runs to the foothills. In summer the surrounding terrain traps hot air, and temperatures routinely climb past 110 degrees.
Those harsh conditions make Hesperia an unlikely location for a premium boatbuilder. Yet it is here that father and son Mike and Barrett Howarth run Mag Bay Yachts, a boutique builder specializing in high-performance center console and express sportfishing boats. Mag Bay’s yachts are recognized for thoughtful hull design, exceptional fishability and a level of fit-and-finish born from decades of hands-on experience.
Mike’s career began far from the high desert, inside a high-school woodshop in Anaheim. “I liked woodshop,” he says. After school he landed a $2-an-hour job at Harbor Yachts in Westminster and within months was foreman of the woodshop. He later moved to Islander Yachts, where he transitioned into tooling—lofting molds on the shop floor and sanding through long runs of high-build primer. The first tooling he helped create was for the Islander 36, a sailboat that became widely popular.
When a new boatbuilder set up next door, many Islander employees transferred to the new firm, Pacific Trawlers. Mike eventually became plant manager there. It was at Pacific Trawlers that he met naval architect Henry Mohrschladt. Mohrschladt proposed building a 25-foot sailboat and convinced Mike to build the tooling in his father’s mechanical shop. Working around the clock, Mike and Henry launched the Orion 25—the seed that grew into Pacific Seacraft.
Pacific Seacraft built hundreds of well-regarded cruising sailboats before selling to Singmarine in 1988. After the sale and a noncompete period, Mike and Henry returned to their shared ambition to build a sportfishing boat. They founded Cat Harbor Boats and began searching for a suitable production site, only to find Orange County regulations made fiberglass manufacturing impractical.
An HVAC associate suggested relocating to the high desert. The partners found a parcel in Adelanto, deposited on five acres and planned a 12,000-square-foot concrete tilt-up building. While waiting for construction, they rented space behind a restaurant to start tooling. Around that time they acquired molds and the name from a struggling center-console builder in Corona, changing their company name to Cabo Yachts. Though liens on the molds later reclaimed some assets, Cabo took off—its 35-foot sportfisher and subsequent models attracted attention and eventually drew acquisition by Brunswick Corp. in 2006.
Mike left after Brunswick changed production methods he disagreed with. In 2014 he and his son Barrett launched Mag Bay Yachts. Barrett grew up in the shop, learning basic and advanced trades from longtime craftsmen. He rebuilt Boston Whalers and Chris-Craft boats in his teens and, after finishing college at his father’s insistence, returned to boatbuilding full time.
Mag Bay’s name honors Magdalena Bay in Baja California, a famed fishing ground. The company commissioned Michael Peters Yacht Design for its first hull: a 33-foot center console using Peters’ stepped-V ventilated-tunnel hull. That design channels water aft to prevent the “sliding out” that earlier stepped hulls could experience. Mag Bay launched its first 33 on May 11, 2015; subsequent models include the 42 Express, a 43 center console and the 38 center console.
Over the last decade Mag Bay has built more than 100 hulls and now runs a four-model lineup with capacity to produce roughly 20 boats per year. The brand competes with established builders like Valhalla, SeaVee, Scout, Intrepid and Regulator, and stands out for craftsmanship, seaworthy hulls and systems engineered with care.
A factory tour reveals why quality matters to Mag Bay. Outside the plant sits the Orion 25—the original boat Mike and Henry built—reminding visitors of the company’s roots. Inside, a conference table made from a single varnished plank demonstrates the shop’s finish standards: perfectly level, mirror-smooth and free of dust. “Mike made this,” says sales manager Mark Barish. “His attention to detail is relentless. Barrett applies the same standards.”
Mag Bay performs most metalwork in-house. T-top frames and fittings are stainless steel, not powder-coated aluminum, and weld seams are filled and polished to a jewelry-like finish. The company manufactures many hardware components—hinges, dive-door fittings and more—that other builders typically buy from suppliers. Wiring is labeled, routed and secured with the same precision applied to every system on the boat.
More than 70 craftsmen staff the Hesperia facility; many worked with Mike at Cabo and remain part of the family-like culture. On the shop floor I saw tooling for a new 32-foot center console designed by Steve Matthews of Ocean Yacht Design, intended to replace the current 33. Its hull uses a stepped, variable-deadrise concept so ventilated surfaces run fore to aft for predictable handling and efficient performance.
Mag Bay favors traditional hand-lamination rather than resin infusion. “If you know what you’re doing, infusion is unnecessary,” Mike explains. Their lamination schedules aim for slightly heavier, stronger layups intended to last. The metal shop is busy with two-step welding and days of polishing to achieve seamless stainless assemblies. Final assembly demonstrates the company’s systems work: hose clamps capped and booted, wiring routed and identified, mounting screws aligned—an engineering-grade approach to fit and finish.
One hull in the shop—a seafoam 42 Express—was being finished for Mike and his family. It will be the last 42 Express the company produces and is described as a fully custom boat named Carlo, a playful nod to Barrett’s mother’s social-media handle. At a sea trial in Newport Beach, a customer’s 42 Express demonstrated the quiet, smooth ride and composure in chop that Mag Bay’s Peters-designed hull promises, cruising comfortably at 30 knots.
More than five decades after first picking up woodworking tools, Mike’s pursuit of perfection continues, and Barrett brings the same exacting standards. Mag Bay Yachts is a concentrated example of how traditional craftsmanship, considered engineering and in-house manufacturing can create boats that emphasize seakeeping, durability and finish.
This article was originally published in the October 2026 issue.