August 24, 2005

Mr. Michael Howarth

Cabo Yachts, Inc.
9780 Rancho Road
Adelanto, CA 92392

Dear Mike:

I'm sure you don't remember me although we met a couple of times during my effort to set a new all-time record for factory visits during the build of my boat.  I purchased a 35 Flybridge - Hull # 254 for which the dealer was Stan Miller Yachts and my salesman was Phil Lupton.

I wanted to drop you a line to tell you about my impressions of the entire process from ordering to taking delivery to rigging/commissioning.  Since taking delivery in May 2005, I have put approximately 120 hours on the boat fishing from locally to 80 miles offshore.  Even better, together  with my wife and two children, we have enjoyed several terrific weekends on the boat at Catalina. 

First off, I can't say enough about my experiences with Stan Miller Yachts.  Phil has been a good partner throughout the process from order to delivery.  Perhaps more importantly, Phil and SMY have been extremely responsive to any follow-up requests ( including coordinating with Steve Craig who helped me out with some follow-up work on very short notice).  Brad and John Buettner have built a terrific organization from top to bottom.  Every SMY employee I dealt with (from Caprice to Tracy to Doug to Phil and so on) has been an outstanding representative of both Stan Miller and Cabo Yachts.

For me (and I expect most of your customers), a decision to buy a Cabo Yacht derives from an aspiration to own the best production sportfisher in the market.  But, given that one can find immaculately cared for Cabo boats in the used market (typically from Cabo owners trading up to a new Cabo), a decision to buy a new Cabo yacht involves something much more: A desire to experience the new-build process in partnership with an organization committed to providing the highest quality of service to their customers. 

Every one of my 5 visits during the build process of my boat was a unique experience.  I must have interacted with at least 30 individual Cabo employees as I watched my "baby" move through the various phases.  Without exception, each Cabo team member was patient and gracious in taking the time to speak with me and answer my questions.  I could not have been more impressed with the quality of your team at Cabo.  Obviously, I spent quite a bit of time with Greg Bourque who was a wealth of knowledge for me.  But frankly, it's not suprising that someone with Greg's experience would be impressive.  What I found most interesting was the quality of my interactions with the many Cabo employees working throughout the facility in various production capacities.  Each person I spoke with was not only helpful with insights about their specific job but was also an enthusiastic proponent of Cabo Yachts as a Company.  In my profession I have toured many businesses and I can tell you that I have rarely experienced the kind of commitment to quality that I witnessed at your facility.  You are to be commended for the manner in which you have built and run your business.

In thinking about Hull #254 (now known as the Magellan), there is little I would change.  I did learn a tremendous amount about buying a new-build boat and, should I ever do it again (not for awhile...wink), I suspect that I would be an even more constant presence at the factory.  As you well know, Cabo builds an absolutely tremendous product.  I'm particularily pleased with my choice to go with the Cummins QSC 8.3's.  These engines are a perfect fit for this boat.  I should also add that, to date, Cummins Cal Pacific is doing a great job following through on their commitment to provide exceptional service.  I have ahd a couple of issues arise ( e.g. a bad sensor on an intake manifold)  and they have been extremely responsive to get me back on the water.  They have absolutely gone the extra mile to show their commitment thus far. 

While not formal Cabo partners, I want to also pass along some praise for Bill Jahn and Steve Degroote.  I can clearly see why they have each emerged as vendors of choice for Cabo buyers.  Both are first-class to deal with in every respect fromt the quality of their work to their timely and professional response on follow-up items.  In addition, Steve Phelps at Capt. Glass did superb work on the many fiberglass modifications required to accomodate my rigging choices.  Dave New and the Basin Marine Crew also handled a number of substantial modification projects which turned out really well.

You may recall that I brought my friend Mark Wisch of Pacific Edge up to Adelanto with me on one of my visits (he was also extremely impressed with his visit).  Mark put a 65g oval Pacific Edge bait tank in Magellan.  As a past owner of Mark's tanks, I knew I'd like the quality of the final product.  However, the primary reason I chose Mark was that, like Steve and Billy, I knew the quality of his installation work would be up to Cabo's exacting standards.  He built and installed a beautiful manifold system integrating your stock bait system with a second pump system providing me with full redundancy and the ability to run either or both tanks from either pump.  He also managed to match Cabo's gel coat perfectly.

Once you take on a new Cabo as an owner, it's hard to let just anybody work on it.  You really want to deal with people who will match Cabo's quality.  I have been fortunate to make good choices in that regard.

As rigging neared completion on my boat, I was contacted by a friend of mine: John King of Avalon.  John wears many hats in the boating and fishing world from operating charter trips on his 36' custom sportfisher to writing for Dockside magazine.  In any event, John wanted to review my boat, the Magellan, for Dockside.  I'm enclosing a copy of the issue which I thought came out really nice.

Lest I be accused of being a less than discriminating buyer, I want to emphasize that I can't recall ever sending letters of this type in the past.  While I have been blessed to purchase many things in my life, I have not found an experience as consistently positive as this one has been.  Accordingly, I was inspired to write to you about my impressions.

Lastly, I'm enclosing a few pictures of Magellan that I though you might like to see.  I'm sure that recieving pictures from happy Cabo owners is a fairly routine experience for you, I can't help but pass a few along given that I think Magellan is a bit special.

Very best regards,

Rob Webster