Mr. Mike Howarth
C/O Cabo Yachts
9780 Rancho Rd.
Adelanto, CA 92301

Dear Mike

In January of 2001 I took delivery of my Cabo 35 Flybridge. This date arrived after a year or so of reading everything I could find on sport fishing boats, attending boat shows and talking to fellow fisherman about pro’s and con’s of their boats. Having owned a 26 ft Flybridge in San Diego for several years I knew a fair amount about offshore fishing conditions out of San Diego, the distances to various fishing grounds, afternoon weather patterns and most importantly what the deficiencies of my current boat were.

As an Aeronautical Engineer I am knowledgeable of specifications, design, testing, manufacturing and quality and as a business owner I am well aware of the importance of customer care. I visited the Cabo facility in Adelanto, CA twice before finally deciding to buy. For those of you that haven’t had the opportunity to visit this facility you are missing out on what I believe is the essence of Cabo Yachts - Quality. The production line concept utilized is similar to an aircraft assembly line that can be found in any commercial aircraft facility. The yachts are manufactured and assembled as they move from position to position through the assembly process. What is clearly noticeable in each and every process is Quality.

I believe Cabo Yachts, Inc. is truly driven not only by design and resultant performance of their yachts but also by the quality of their product. When you typically fish 50 to 90 miles offshore as we do in San Diego you absolutely must have the highest possible quality in your boat. Since owning my Cabo “STRAY CAT” I have never felt safer in a boat of any size. This feeling comes not only operating the boat but from witnessing the quality of workmanship that goes into each Cabo Yacht. Yes, you pay for quality. Cabo is not the cheapest boat on the market, but when you review the resale value of a Cabo, you will find the cost of ownership to be significantly less than a cheaper boat as they hold their value exceptionally well. We all know the age old adage “you get what you pay for”.

If quality is built into each Cabo during the manufacturing process then Product Support is the keynote after delivery. I consider a boat such as my 35 Flybridge with 3208 435hp Caterpillar to be a fairly complex piece of machinery. Since taking delivery I have had three occasions to contact Cabo Yachts about a problem that I was experiencing. (A number that I consider to be extremely small considering the number of systems on board and the complexity of the components). On each occasion the reception I received was that of a friend with a problem. On each occasion Cabo stood behind their product and took whatever steps were necessary to fix my problem, no questions asked and never at an expense to me. On each occasion I was treated like a member of the Cabo family and not someone with a warranty claim. My problems were relatively minor but always solved in an expeditious manner at my schedule and always followed up with a phone call from Alan or Stan to check on my satisfaction. This type of product support is unheard of in the industry. 

Recently I returned to the facility in Adelanto with a friend to look at the newer models of my boat as well as the new 40’ Express and the 43’ Flybridge. Stan spent a few hours dragging us up and down the production line showing off the new boats. One of the first questions he asked me was how was my boat doing and was I having any problems. I told him the boat was perfect however, I recalled that when I drained the aft bait tank at the end of the day that on occasion dead bait would plug the drain line. He immediately walked off and returned with a PVC drain grate to solve the problem. Again, customer care.

As a business owner I know the importance of taking care of the customer. Cabo Yachts goes the extra mile when it comes to product support and customer care. My experience with Cabo Yachts, the company, and the product, has made me a customer for life.

Tom Drake
Stray Cat
San Diego, CA