Cabo Yachts on hold

Production of Cabo Yachts, an iconic American brand with an exciting past and rich history, has been put on hold.

The brand, along with Hatteras, was sold by Brunswick Corporation to Navis HCY Acquisition, an affiliate of Versa Capital based in Philadelphia, mid-2014

Cabo issued a statement across its web and social-media pages today (September 30) about is future.

"As the boating industry grows and changes we are constantly looking for ways to improve our products and incorporate innovative design without jeopardising the fundamentals of the Cabo heritage in being a high quality, 'purpose-built' sportsfishing platform," said  John W. S. Ward, President/CEO of Hatteras Yachts/CABO Yachts.

"At this point in time, we will no longer be building the current Cabo models. While we work on the future of the Cabo brand, we will continue to service and support our existing customers and be a resource for those in the industry who rely on us.

"We thank you for your dedication and passion to the Cabo brand over the years and look forward to sharing our future plans," Ward said and signed off.

SCALED BACK PRODUCTION
Cabo Yachts has long been a force in flybridge and express-style game-fishing boats and made inroads in Australia. The brand started with a 32 Express and ranged up to a 52 Flybridge, using designer Michael Peters' hulls for the flybridge models.

But the American brand hasn’t built anything other than its 40 and 44 EH/HTX Express models in recent years. And since Cabo Yachts and Hatteras were sold, there’s been a rationalisation of the brands, with Hatteras using some of the IP to build its new models.

LOCAL CABO DEALER
Graham McCloy, the local Cabo and Hatteras dealer from Game and Leisure Boats on the Gold Coast, says Cabo is an iconic and high-quality brand and that the company is "setting it aside in these difficult times".

"They are finding it hard to put in the quality that’s expected and to get a positive return on the investment.

"They will likely bring back Cabo in a different form.

"It’s such a great name and they don’t want to compromise on the integrity of the brand," McCloy told BoatPoint and boatsales.

Meantime, we can only speculate on how future Cabo boats might look if indeed they relaunch. If you go to the website, the Cabos as we knew them are now listed under the 'Heritage Fleet' range.

"They will certainly bring the brand back in a  different form. Today’s outboards are just so reliable and fuel efficient," McCloy adds, before heading up to the Great Barrier Reef for some heavy-tackle marlin fishing.