WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Magic Deck Boats

Warlock1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
3,005
Reaction score
2,375
Who has the molds for these boats? Back in the day there was reports that unfinished hulls in various stages of builds were just laying around in storage lots in California. Anyone remember where these were at?
 

fmo24

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
6,280
Reaction score
4,373
I think all the pre built boas got sold. Long Beach Yacht sales handled a bunch of them. Believe Horizon Motorsports has the molds now and is working towards building new ones
 

ONE-A-DAY

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
18,098
Reaction score
25,629
Horizon Motorsports in Havasu has the molds and has a few in production. They will be opening a Magic showroom eventually next to Havasu MVD. I saw one in production a few months back, Saleen Fiberglass was doing the full cap on one of them that was fresh from the mold.
 

gqchris

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
8,301
Reaction score
13,093
Yes we sold all the decks at LBYS when I worked there. We had about 130 or so. All sold.

With that being said. May I ask why everyone loves these things? Lol. They are slow and the rigging back then was Kachina’esque if you ask me. Yes, the swim step echos the exhaust. But what else?
 

monkeyswrench

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
26,077
Reaction score
71,741
Yes we sold all the decks at LBYS when I worked there. We had about 130 or so. All sold.

With that being said. May I ask why everyone loves these things? Lol. They are slow and the rigging back then was Kachina’esque if you ask me. Yes, the swim step echos the exhaust. But what else?
Pretty much the swim step boom box...makes a 496HO sound pretty badass :p

I like them, for the utility. I have kids and the landing craft front entry is nice when racked up. Even the old beat ones with horrible colors are beyond my means. So, as long as other people like them that much, I'll stick to my old junk.
 

riverroyal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
13,893
Reaction score
18,371
I saw roughly 4 boats out of the mold at ultra last week. Baking in the sun dusty. Those should be ready 2023.
Not to be a dick but, the gel design on all of them looked 15 years old.
Theres a ton of boats at ultra in different forms of repair. Yard is full.

Crossing fingers for saleen and the H hull
 

ToMorrow44

27 Advantage TCM 800efi
Joined
Sep 2, 2008
Messages
2,733
Reaction score
2,827
Yes we sold all the decks at LBYS when I worked there. We had about 130 or so. All sold.

With that being said. May I ask why everyone loves these things? Lol. They are slow and the rigging back then was Kachina’esque if you ask me. Yes, the swim step echos the exhaust. But what else?
I always wonder the same thing, LBYS sold them off real cheap, now everyone wants $80k for one with a 496...🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m not in the market for one, maybe I’m just jealous my boat hasn’t appreciated like that lol
 

fmo24

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
6,280
Reaction score
4,373
I always wonder the same thing, LBYS sold them off real cheap, now everyone wants $80k for one with a 496...🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m not in the market for one, maybe I’m just jealous my boat hasn’t appreciated like that lol
Not so sure about cheap. Many were not rigged as no engine or drives. Had interiors and stereos though.
 

riverroyal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
13,893
Reaction score
18,371
Yes we sold all the decks at LBYS when I worked there. We had about 130 or so. All sold.

With that being said. May I ask why everyone loves these things? Lol. They are slow and the rigging back then was Kachina’esque if you ask me. Yes, the swim step echos the exhaust. But what else?
They were liked because they ride good and during magics boom times you could get one in 3 weeks.
After time has passed structurally they are sound.
Few cracks in the same places on everyone but not cracks to be concerned about.

The H with the right improvements horizon is doing could be a hit.

In my opinion of 20 years in havasu, owning a magic and seeing what the deck boat market is like now....horizon better be cheaper and less than a 6 week build or it wont work

I hope the pull it off. Id buy another from them if the business model works and is solid.

They need to have gel like the latest DCB and eliminators. Not like the magics of the passed. Bold straight lines.
 

riverroyal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
13,893
Reaction score
18,371
I always wonder the same thing, LBYS sold them off real cheap, now everyone wants $80k for one with a 496...🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m not in the market for one, maybe I’m just jealous my boat hasn’t appreciated like that lol
I bought mine brand new in 2005 Walked in to magic, picked 1 of 3 in sanding. 2 weeks later i picked it up. 100% done, audio and all. $97500 OTD. 10 years later and 250 hours i sold it for 65k. That person sold it one year later for 72. Now its prob 80.
 

Advantage 1

#2569
Joined
Dec 31, 2008
Messages
11,964
Reaction score
7,700
I always wonder the same thing, LBYS sold them off real cheap, now everyone wants $80k for one with a 496...🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m not in the market for one, maybe I’m just jealous my boat hasn’t appreciated like that lol

I like your Advantage 👍 👍
 

FlyByWire

I just work here
Joined
Aug 13, 2016
Messages
2,429
Reaction score
6,903
In my opinion of 20 years in havasu, owning a magic and seeing what the deck boat market is like now....horizon better be cheaper and less than a 6 week build or it wont work

This is our hope too. We’ve been kicking around the idea of getting out of the pontoon and into a bigger deck boat. The smaller companies are priced just as high as the Nordic’s are. My wife’s thinking is why pay that kind of money and NOT get a Nordic. Yes, I know they all ride different and everyone has their likes and dislikes.

I really liked the new magic that Horizon had at the last Havasu show. They hadn’t worked out final pricing at the time but the number they threw out was 150k w/ a 520. That was 2 years ago now though. Things obviously changed or were put on hold.

IMG_5981.jpg
IMG_5979.jpg
IMG_5980.jpg
 

Maw

Dont re Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2008
Messages
1,609
Reaction score
1,646
Yes we sold all the decks at LBYS when I worked there. We had about 130 or so. All sold.

With that being said. May I ask why everyone loves these things? Lol. They are slow and the rigging back then was Kachina’esque if you ask me. Yes, the swim step echos the exhaust. But what else?

I bought mine from Chris and took it directly over to Paul Pfaff's to be rigged. After 8 or more years now (I've lost track) zero problems and this thing runs low 100's with a light load. Maybe the boats rigged at Magic had issue, don't know. Thanks Chris!
 

Hydroman55

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2018
Messages
1,294
Reaction score
3,149
Yes we sold all the decks at LBYS when I worked there. We had about 130 or so. All sold.

With that being said. May I ask why everyone loves these things? Lol. They are slow and the rigging back then was Kachina’esque if you ask me. Yes, the swim step echos the exhaust. But what else?
I have the same question, what is the attraction?
 

BUDMAN

HAVASU BOUND
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
11,136
Reaction score
12,153
Who has the molds for these boats? Back in the day there was reports that unfinished hulls in various stages of builds were just laying around in storage lots in California. Anyone remember where these were at?
You thinking of getting into one, or what’s your plans?
 

ElAzul

Well-Known RDP Inmate #211
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
4,891
Reaction score
12,656
Thought we weren't allowed to talk about the Magic's till Preston has everything ready to roll
 

702sandman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2019
Messages
816
Reaction score
1,855
I’m in the market if anyone has a hidden one that’s not listed 🙂🙂 trying to stay around $75k
 

socalrzr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
175
Reaction score
228
I agree that they are not the fastest, but they ride smooth. I havent been fortunate enough to have a ton of different boat designs to test but I sure like mine. Still want to upgrade to a baller boat once the wife is done inviting everyone!!
 

socalrzr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
175
Reaction score
228
P.S. Covid-19 is helping me on the faster boat with less seats!! LOL!!
 

gqchris

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
8,301
Reaction score
13,093
I bought mine from Chris and took it directly over to Paul Pfaff's to be rigged. After 8 or more years now (I've lost track) zero problems and this thing runs low 100's with a light load. Maybe the boats rigged at Magic had issue, don't know. Thanks Chris!

Hell yes. Thats the way to do it. Thanks again sir. I miss those days selling boats. Life was much simpler. That would have had to been 10 or so years ago? At least 9!

I love seeing the boats I sold on the water. Drives my wife crazy. I jump up and am like “ i sold that boat”!

On that note. I have met so many cool rdp peeps from back then.

I also get a little nostalgic as Danny Donahue was my best “rigger” and I loved chatting with him just about anything boats. RIP Buddy.
 

ONE-A-DAY

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
18,098
Reaction score
25,629
I saw roughly 4 boats out of the mold at ultra last week. Baking in the sun dusty. Those should be ready 2023.
Not to be a dick but, the gel design on all of them looked 15 years old.
Theres a ton of boats at ultra in different forms of repair. Yard is full.

Crossing fingers for saleen and the H hull

Does ultra actually finish boats?
 

Hardly Satisfied

Riverside, CA & Havasu
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Messages
7,397
Reaction score
2,101
I’m in the market if anyone has a hidden one that’s not listed 🙂🙂 trying to stay around $75k
A buddy is selling his not sure if he still has it
 

Attachments

  • AB425A84-45B0-45D4-A333-54B9F3D2A991.png
    AB425A84-45B0-45D4-A333-54B9F3D2A991.png
    624.1 KB · Views: 303

Hardly Satisfied

Riverside, CA & Havasu
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Messages
7,397
Reaction score
2,101
I had a 2010 Magic H series that I bought from Preston and Mike when they first came to Havasu. It was one that had not been rigged yet so I got a sweet deal on it. Wish I still had it
 

Warlock1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
3,005
Reaction score
2,375
I like them because I always thought they had great lines to them. Functional swim platform, nice layout, lots of cubic space to move around, they rode good, and were affordable. That's the issue now days with Nordic, Howard and anyone else building a deck boat of that size is your paying a premium. This is just my gut feel as I haven't done any comparison shopping though. Not everyone wants a Bugatti, when a Camaro gets the job done.

I think if they price these right, it will be a hot market once again. However I would add small windshields instead of those crappy deflectors, at least as an option.
 

JFMFG

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2018
Messages
2,783
Reaction score
4,233
Affordability compares to other boats on the used market. Plus I hear nothing but good things about Magic’s
 

Warlock1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
3,005
Reaction score
2,375
You thinking of getting into one, or what’s your plans?
First thing is to get into a house, whether we build or buy, but were stuck in a lease until December. Then you know me I love boats. And after owning quite a few and building some high end boats for a while I think we finally know what style we want. It always comes back to the functionality of a deck boat. Easy to clean and move around on. Easy getting into and out of on the water or the beach. I don't need to go triple digits anymore just an easy 70-80mph and I'm all good.
 

ToMorrow44

27 Advantage TCM 800efi
Joined
Sep 2, 2008
Messages
2,733
Reaction score
2,827
Not so sure about cheap. Many were not rigged as no engine or drives. Had interiors and stereos though.
If they unloaded 130 boats in 08-09-10, then they were fairly cheap. People were able to piece the boats together for pennies on the dollar I bet.

I bought mine brand new in 2005 Walked in to magic, picked 1 of 3 in sanding. 2 weeks later i picked it up. 100% done, audio and all. $97500 OTD. 10 years later and 250 hours i sold it for 65k. That person sold it one year later for 72. Now its prob 80.

Perfect example. Hell, even $30k in depreciation over 10 years when you sold it is nothing for a new boat, much less the subsequent appreciation since you sold it lol.
 

Singleton

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
18,131
Reaction score
23,512
Does ultra actually finish boats?

They did, when JW was running everything in SD :)

I used Rusty twice for some repairs, if it was not for my personal relationship with JW and checking in on Rusty weekly in person or requiring pics, not sure what would of occurred. Both times, he was under budget and finished early. Both, I credit to knowing JW who still has ownership to the molds.
 

HB2Havasu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2015
Messages
4,433
Reaction score
9,631
I had a 2010 Magic H series that I bought from Preston and Mike when they first came to Havasu. It was one that had not been rigged yet so I got a sweet deal on it. Wish I still had it

Is anybody still making the "H" series? I always thought that design was great!
 

702sandman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2019
Messages
816
Reaction score
1,855
I'm hearing on RDP that some of my vids aren't opening for folks. It's a 29' Magic Wizard open bow vee similar to what you have in your signature profile. Not a deck boat. Email me if you'd be interested in pics.... [email protected]
My buddy just bought My open bow Hallett from me today so now we are in hot pursuit of a nice deck boat mainly for ease of loading and unloading at the beach Versus the open bow
 
  • Like
Reactions: DWC

ONE-A-DAY

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
18,098
Reaction score
25,629
Buddy has a 525 magic deck, its worth more now than what he paid for it new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DWC

DWC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
11,309
Reaction score
24,111
My buddy just bought My open bow Hallett from me today so now we are in hot pursuit of a nice deck boat mainly for ease of loading and unloading at the beach Versus the open bow
The easy on/off was the only reason i was allowed to get a deck boat to start with. I wanted more room and smoother ride. The Magic didn’t disappoint. Only problem was the wife kept bringing more stuff and more people ended up coming with us.
 
Last edited:

ONE-A-DAY

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
18,098
Reaction score
25,629
I have driven Howard and Elimnator deck boats and I feel the Magic rides the best out of all of them. I was at Saleen today and talking to Pedro. I guess the molds dont reflect alot of the changes they made over time so there was alot of custom work done after they came out of the mold. They are re-working the molds so the boats come out in their final shape.
 

Warlock1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
3,005
Reaction score
2,375
I have driven Howard and Elimnator deck boats and I feel the Magic rides the best out of all of them. I was at Saleen today and talking to Pedro. I guess the molds dont reflect alot of the changes they made over time so there was alot of custom work done after they came out of the mold. They are re-working the molds so the boats come out in their final shape.
This will save a tremendous amount of time. Along with this they could offer the boats in say 3 levels of trim or accessories if you will and then build wiring harnesses to reflect those levels. Saves time and money in materials and allows the boats to be built faster and with more quality control. Create jigs and templates for all the holes that need drilled so that their is very little measuring and double checking will save time and allow new riggers to be faster while staying accurate. Depending on the facility, if the suppliers and the other departments could keep up, these could be built fairly quickly and would keep the cost down.
 

Havasu Surfer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
774
Reaction score
795
I have driven Howard and Elimnator deck boats and I feel the Magic rides the best out of all of them. I was at Saleen today and talking to Pedro. I guess the molds dont reflect alot of the changes they made over time so there was alot of custom work done after they came out of the mold. They are re-working the molds so the boats come out in their final shape.

You must have been driving the best rigged heavy layers up Magic ever produced. I have ridden in 3 different Magic deck boats and although they road decent they rattled and banged like a dog shitten razor blades. Never rode in an Eliminator. Conquest was a really good ride and every Howard (I’ve rode in 4) beat them all hands down and I ended up buying the new Soortdeck because of the ride quality in 3+ chop and ability to corner at 70+ without loosing a beat. Opinions vary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ONE-A-DAY

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
18,098
Reaction score
25,629
You must have been driving the best rigged heavy layers up Magic ever produced. I have ridden in 3 different Magic deck boats and although they road decent they rattled and banged like a dog shitten razor blades. Never rode in an Eliminator. Conquest was a really good ride and every Howard (I’ve rode in 4) beat them all hands down and I ended up buying the new Soortdeck because of the ride quality in 3+ chop and ability to corner at 70+ without loosing a beat. Opinions vary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was talking about ride quality, I never said anything about rattles and doors that won’t stay closed :)
 

riverroyal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
13,893
Reaction score
18,371
doors? a screw driver and some double stick foam tape solves that. If a rattle on a door is the biggest issue sign me up
 

Englewood

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
3,626
Reaction score
5,622
You must have been driving the best rigged heavy layers up Magic ever produced. I have ridden in 3 different Magic deck boats and although they road decent they rattled and banged like a dog shitten razor blades. Never rode in an Eliminator. Conquest was a really good ride and every Howard (I’ve rode in 4) beat them all hands down and I ended up buying the new Soortdeck because of the ride quality in 3+ chop and ability to corner at 70+ without loosing a beat. Opinions vary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I may be in the minority here, but my Magic doesn't rattle or make a single sound whatsoever. Absolutely solid as a rock. When I had some speakers installed along the front step, the installer (Speed of Sound) said it was the thickest he had ever seen. Maybe I got lucky?

I've been so happy with ours that I would consider a new one, however, I can't get behind anything Ultra is involved in.
 

D19

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2018
Messages
2,296
Reaction score
4,489
Who has all the swag? I need to get someone b-day presents.
 
Top