4Friend Peter Swanson: Catalina Yachts Owner Evicted from Factory
If you want the unvarnished (unless varnish is a part of the reporting) truth, our Best4Boats 4Friend partner Peter Swanson is a muckraking boating journalist who knows how to get a scoop. We published an article recently about the closure of the Catalina production yard in Largo, Florida and Swanson has been staying on the beat. He published a piece on his Substack Loose Cannon titled Catalina Yachts Owner Evicted from Factory that outlines several of the more recently developments in the ongoing Catalina Yachts drama. From the piece:
“A Florida court last week evicted the new owner of Catalina Yachts from its manufacturing plant in Largo.
Documents filed in that lawsuit allege that Michael Alexander Reardon, who bought up Catalina’s assets in May, had begun reneging on his purchase agreement almost immediately thereafter…
…Florida Catalina had been leasing the Largo plant from California Catalina. Florida Catalina stopped making monthly rent after the first payment. By falling behind on rent, Reardon defaulted on an “asset purchase agreement” with California Catalina, causing the $1 million deferred purchase price to come due immediately.”
Bottom line, it looks as if the Catalina Yachts woes are only just beginning. You can read the whole article here on the Loose Cannon Substack. The facts Peter presents paint a disturbing picture of what may be the final chapters of this venerable American sailboat builder. As someone whose first boat was a Catalina 27, it’d be a shame if future generations of sailors were deprived of the positive experience I enjoyed.
