Seven Builders. One Lake. A Half-Century of Hand-Built Speed.
The Havasu Seven are the seven performance-boat builders that put down roots in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and turned a desert town into one of the capitals of the American go-fast boat: Nordic, Advantage, Conquest, Cheetah (which builds today as Wildcat Custom Marine), Ultra, Magic, and Sleekcraft. Five of them still build boats. Two — Magic and Sleekcraft — closed their doors in 2009, and their boats are still hunted on this lake to this day.
The Boat Broker has worked this water since 1986. Over four decades on the same lake these boats were built on, we’ve made it our business to know every one of the Seven — how they were built, what a good one really is, and where it belongs when it’s time to sell.
What’s My Boat Worth? Sell With Us
Own one of the Seven? 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.
What “the Havasu Seven” Means
Seven boat builders put down roots in one desert town. In Lake Havasu City — a place better known to most people for a relocated London bridge than for industry — Nordic started shaping hulls in 1962. Over the next half-century, six more followed: Advantage, Conquest, Cheetah, Ultra, Magic, and Sleekcraft.
None of them were volume factories. Most built ten or twenty boats a year, by hand, a few miles from the water those boats were made for. Their stories run into each other. Bruce Nescher founded Sleekcraft in Southern California, then came to Havasu and founded Conquest — two of the Seven trace back to one builder. Magic and Sleekcraft shared a single plant, and they closed it the same month in 2009.
Two of the Seven are gone now. Their boats are still chased on this lake, because a hand-built Havasu boat doesn’t stop being what it is when the factory goes dark. That is the Havasu Seven: the builders that made a desert lake a home of the go-fast boat — and the reason The Boat Broker exists on the corner it does.
The Seven, One by One
Nordic Boats — The Elder (Founded 1962 · Building today)
Nordic is the oldest of the Seven and the one that has outlasted every trend on the lake. It started shaping hulls in 1962 and is still building on Lake Havasu Avenue today — more than sixty years on the same water. The line runs the whole range, from vintage V-hulls to modern deck boats to big offshore catamarans like the 43 Enforcer.
What an owner should know: a Nordic’s value lives in the specific hull and the engine build, not in the model year. A vintage Nordic and a late-model Enforcer are two different worlds, and no single pricebook covers six decades of a hand-built line. What yours is worth takes a broker who actually knows the marque.
Advantage Boats — The Hometown Class of 1986 (Founded 1986 · Building today)
Advantage opened its doors in 1986 — the same year The Boat Broker started working this lake. We grew up on this water together. Advantage is best known for its Party Cat catamarans, the X-Flight line, and its Victory V-hulls.
What an owner should know: on an Advantage cat, the engine setup — single versus twin — drives what the boat is worth more than the model year ever will. A national listing tool doesn’t know that. A broker who has actually sold them does.
Conquest Boats — The Bloodline (Founded late 1980s · Building today)
Conquest was founded by Bruce Nescher — the same man who founded Sleekcraft years earlier in Southern California. Two of the Havasu Seven trace back to one builder, and Conquest is the second half of that bloodline. It’s known for its Top Cat and Boss Cat catamarans.
What an owner should know: as with the rest of the tier, the engine build drives the spread on a Conquest more than the year does. Condition and rigging tell the real story.
Cheetah Powerboats / Wildcat Custom Marine (Building today)
Cheetah claims a lineage dating to 1963, which would make it nearly as old as Nordic. Today the company builds on London Bridge Road under the name Wildcat Custom Marine — the Cheetah name lives on in its boats and its following. It’s known for the Wildcat catamarans and the 24 Stiletto.
What an owner should know: the Stiletto has a devoted following as an entry point into hand-built Havasu performance, and a Wildcat cat is a different animal entirely. On either one, condition and the way it’s rigged carry the value.
Ultra Custom Boats — The Adopted Marque (Founded ~1995 in California · Came home to Havasu 2013 · Building today)
Ultra is the adopted son of the Seven. It was founded around 1995 in El Cajon, California, and it came home to Havasu in 2013, when production moved to London Bridge Road. It’s best known for the Shadow line, in both deck-boat and catamaran variants.
What an owner should know — the honest part every Ultra owner should hear: Ultras built from 2013 onward were built here in Lake Havasu City. Earlier hulls were built in California, when the company was based there. Both are true Ultras — but if provenance matters to you (and on a boat like this, it does), the build year tells you where your specific hull was made. A broker who knows Ultra checks the hull; they don’t guess.
Magic Powerboats — Closed 2009, Still Chased (Defunct, April 2009)
Magic Powerboats closed its doors in April 2009. It is gone — and its boats are still hunted on this lake all these years later. Magic is best known for the Sorcerer (the 34 and 39) and the Wizard. The Sorcerer hulls are said to carry Aronow lineage — the design bloodline of one of offshore powerboating’s legendary names.
What an owner should know: because Magic no longer exists, there is no factory, no pricebook, and no national valuation tool that knows what a good Sorcerer really is. That’s exactly why owners bring them to a broker who does. The fact that the doors closed isn’t something to hide from — it’s part of why these boats are still wanted.
Sleekcraft — Closed 2009, Alongside Magic (Defunct, April 2009)
Sleekcraft’s roots go back to 1968 in Southern California, where Bruce Nescher started it before he ever came to Havasu. In its Havasu era, Sleekcraft shared a single plant with Magic — and the two builders closed that plant the same month, April 2009. It’s best known for the Heritage line (the 28, 30, and 34).
What an owner should know: like Magic, Sleekcraft is gone, so its boats live outside any pricebook. Value comes down to the hull, the engine build, and the condition — read by someone who knows the marque. And there’s the bloodline again: Nescher’s Sleekcraft and his Conquest bracket the whole Havasu Seven story, one gone and one still building.
What Is a Havasu-Built Boat Worth?
Here’s the honest answer, and it’s the same for all seven: there is no reliable pricebook for a hand-built Havasu boat. The national valuation tools were built for production boats that roll off a line by the thousands — they either don’t list these builders at all or don’t fit them. A boat that ten people built by hand in a year doesn’t slot into a spreadsheet made for one that ten thousand people built.
So what actually decides the number? On every one of the Seven, it’s the same three things: the specific hull, the engine build, and the condition. A rebuilt big-block and a tired original 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’s the whole reason it pays to ask someone who knows the marque instead of a website that’s guessing. The Boat Broker will give you a straight, no-obligation estimate on any of the Seven — from a broker who knows the difference.
Free, no obligation, and read by a broker who actually knows these boats.
Selling One of the Seven? Bring It Home.
When it’s time to sell a hand-built Havasu boat, here’s the choice in front of you. You can list it on a national site that treats a hand-built Nordic like a used pontoon — the same template, the same generic “make an offer” button, no idea what the engine build means or why a Sorcerer is still chased. 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 — pricing, marketing, the buyers, the paperwork — so your only job is deciding it’s time.
Your boat was born on this lake. When it’s time to sell, bring it home.
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
What are the Havasu Seven?
The Havasu Seven are the seven performance-boat builders that built go-fast boats in Lake Havasu City, Arizona: Nordic, Advantage, Conquest, Cheetah (which builds today as Wildcat Custom Marine), Ultra, Magic, and Sleekcraft. Five still build boats today. Two — Magic and Sleekcraft — closed in 2009. “The Havasu Seven” is The Boat Broker’s own term for these Lake Havasu City–built marques.
Which of the Havasu Seven are still in business?
Five are still building: Nordic, Advantage, Conquest, Cheetah (as Wildcat Custom Marine), and Ultra. Two — Magic Powerboats and Sleekcraft — closed their doors in April 2009.
Are Magic and Sleekcraft boats still worth owning?
Yes. Both are still sought after on Lake Havasu years after the factories closed. Because neither company still exists, there’s no factory pricebook for their boats, so what one is worth comes down to the hull, the engine build, and the condition — read by a broker who knows the marque.
How do I find out what my Havasu-built boat is worth?
There is no single pricebook that covers a hand-built boat. The value 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 of the Seven, from someone who actually knows these makes. You can start one at /value-estimate/.
Was my Ultra built in Havasu?
Ultra boats built from 2013 onward were built in Lake Havasu City. Earlier hulls were built in California, when the company was based there. Both are true Ultras — the build year tells you where your specific boat was made.
Is The Boat Broker affiliated with these builders?
No. The Boat Broker is an independent brokerage. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized dealer for any of the seven builders. We broker and consign these boats — we don’t manufacture them. “The Havasu Seven” is our own descriptive term for these Lake Havasu City–built marques, not an official designation.
Can The Boat Broker sell my Havasu-built boat?
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. You can start at /consign-with-us/ or call a broker at (928) 453-8833.
Why is Lake Havasu City a boat-building town?
A desert town better known for a relocated London bridge became one of the cradles of the American go-fast boat. Starting with Nordic in 1962, seven builders put down roots here over the next half-century, most of them building by hand a few miles from the water their boats were made for.
By The Boat Broker — on this lake since 1986.
The Boat Broker is an independent boat brokerage. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or an authorized dealer for Nordic Boats, Advantage Boats, Conquest Boats, Cheetah Powerboats/Wildcat Custom Marine, Ultra Custom Boats, Magic Powerboats, or Sleekcraft. All manufacturer and model names are used only to identify and describe the used boats we broker. “The Havasu Seven” is The Boat Broker’s own descriptive term for these Lake Havasu City–built marques — it is not a trademark, certification, or affiliation claim.
