Magic Powerboats: Closed in 2009. Still Chased on Havasu.
Magic Powerboats was a Lake Havasu City performance-boat builder that hand-built offshore V-hulls — most famously the Sorcerer (the 34 and the 39) and the Wizard 29 — from the early 1990s until it closed its doors in April 2009. Magic is gone. But its boats are still hunted on this lake more than fifteen years later, because a hand-built Magic doesn’t stop being what it is when the factory goes dark.
The Boat Broker has worked this water since 1986 — the same lake Magic built its boats on. This is the honest story of the builder, the boats, and what every Magic owner should know when it’s time to sell.
What’s My Magic Worth? Sell With Us
Own a Sorcerer or a Wizard? Get a free, no-obligation estimate from a broker who knows the marque. Thinking about selling? Bring it home to the lot that knows what it is.
Who Magic Powerboats Was
Magic was born the way most of the Havasu builders were: small, hands-on, and a few miles from the water its boats were made for. In the very early 1990s, Ken Brown started building 34- and 39-foot offshore V-hulls in Lake Havasu City, and the boats caught on like wildfire through the mid-1990s. It was never a volume factory — a small crew, building by hand, turning out a kind of boat the big production lines never made.
That’s the first thing to understand about a Magic: it was hand-built in the desert, for the desert. The name fit the lake it was made for.
The Boats: Sorcerer, Wizard, and the Aronow Question
Magic’s best-known boat is the Sorcerer — a 34-foot offshore V-hull, with a 39 above it — and the Wizard 29 below it. The lineup also ran the Scepter 28, one of the most popular Magics of its era, and the Magic Deck boats.
The Sorcerer hulls are said to carry Aronow lineage — the design bloodline of Don Aronow, one of the legendary names in offshore powerboating. That’s the lore that follows these boats, told by longtime owners and the marine press. We pass it along the honest way: it’s what’s said about the hull, not a factory-stamped certificate. If Aronow provenance matters to a buyer — and on a boat like this it often does — that’s exactly the kind of thing a broker who knows the marque runs down instead of guessing at.
April 2009: The Doors Closed, Told Straight
Magic closed in April 2009. The downsizing had started the previous fall, and when the end came the owner said it plainly — that the company wasn’t going bankrupt, it was just closing its doors. About twenty people worked there at the end. The molds were later reported to have been bought out of foreclosure by a Havasu-area builder, Cougar Powerboats — though what’s been built from them since isn’t something we’ll claim to know.
Magic didn’t close alone. In its Havasu era it shared a single plant, and the same owner, with Sleekcraft — and the two builders closed that plant the same month. If you own one of these, you own a piece of that story.
What Every Magic Owner Should Know
Here’s the honest part, and it’s the whole reason this page exists. Because Magic no longer exists, there is no factory, no pricebook, and no national valuation website that actually knows what a good Sorcerer is. The tools built for production boats — the ones that roll off a line by the thousands — either don’t list Magic at all or don’t understand it. A boat a small crew built by hand doesn’t slot into a spreadsheet made for one that ten thousand people built.
So what actually decides what a Magic is worth? The same three things, every time: the specific hull, the engine build, and the condition. A tired original and a rebuilt big-block in the same model are not the same boat, and only someone who has seen a lot of these can tell you where yours really lands.
That the doors closed isn’t something to hide from. It’s part of why these boats are still wanted — and it’s exactly why owners bring them to a broker who knows the marque instead of a website that’s guessing.
Find Out What Your Magic Is Worth
Free, no obligation, and read by a broker who actually knows these boats.
Selling a Magic? Bring It Home.
When it’s time to sell a Magic, here’s the choice in front of you. You can list it on a national site that treats a hand-built Sorcerer like a used pontoon — same template, same generic “make an offer” button, no idea what the engine build means or why a Magic is still chased fifteen years after the factory closed. Or you can bring it to the lot in the town where it was built.
The town that built your boat is the town best equipped to sell it. We know the marque. We know the buyers who are already looking for one. And we handle the whole sale so your only job is deciding it’s time.
Your Magic was born on this lake. When it’s time to sell, bring it home.
Sell Your Magic With The Boat Broker
Bring your Havasu-built boat home to the lot that knows what it is. Or call a broker at (928) 453-8833.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Magic Powerboats still in business?
No. Magic Powerboats closed its doors in Lake Havasu City in April 2009. It shared a plant with Sleekcraft, and the two builders closed the same month. There is no active Magic factory today — but Magic boats are still sought after on Lake Havasu.
What boats did Magic Powerboats build?
Magic is best known for the Sorcerer (the 34 and the 39) and the Wizard 29, along with the Scepter 28 and the Magic Deck boats. They were hand-built offshore V-hulls made in Lake Havasu City from the early 1990s until 2009.
Are the Sorcerer’s hulls really Aronow designs?
The Sorcerer hulls are said to carry Aronow lineage — the design bloodline of Don Aronow, a legendary name in offshore powerboating. That’s what longtime owners and the marine press report; it’s the lore that follows the boat rather than a factory-certified fact. If it matters for your sale, it’s the kind of thing a broker who knows the marque can help you run down.
How do I find out what my Magic is worth?
Because Magic no longer exists, there’s no factory pricebook and no national valuation tool that fits these boats. What a Magic is worth comes down to the specific hull, the engine build, and the condition — not the model year. The Boat Broker gives free, no-obligation estimates on any Magic, from someone who actually knows the marque. You can start one at /value-estimate/.
Can The Boat Broker sell my Magic?
Yes — selling a hand-built Havasu boat is exactly what we do. The town that built your boat is the town best equipped to sell it: we know the marque, we know the buyers who want one, and we handle the whole sale. Start at /consign-with-us/ or call a broker at (928) 453-8833.
By The Boat Broker — on this lake since 1986.
The Boat Broker is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by any manufacturer named above. “The Havasu Seven” is our own descriptive term, not an official designation.
