Mag Bay 38 Center Console

Think about a center-console boat that would be at home in the Gulf Stream, but is built in the arid high desert of California, which isn’t exactly the epicenter of boat building. Yet, this remote locale is hallowed ground for anglers who gravitate to the highest quality saltwater fishing boats, because it’s the birthplace of Mag Bay Yachts.

Headed by Mike Howarth and his son Barrett Howarth, Mag Bay was founded 10 years ago with an unwavering commitment to quality. No model is more emblematic of this drive than the Mag Bay 38 Center Console, a model that earned the Best of Show Award for boats under 60 feet at its world debut during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in 2024. My test of the Mag Bay 38 CC reinforced for me that this boat is indeed deserving of high acclaim.

Mag Bay’s center consoles have a characteristic look. It shows in the 38’s aft tumblehome styling with a secondary rubrail about 8 inches above the chine that accents the stern quarters and protects the integrated stern platform. A sweeping shearline culminates in a wide flaring bow with an ever-so-subtle nose dip. A through-stem anchor roller (that feeds a hidden windlass) preserves the topside lines and keeps the bow area snag-free.

The 38 carries a California trademark—beefy yacht-quality stainless-steel pipework for the rakish fiberglass hardtop. Mag Bay has incorporated an elevated central pod into the hardtop. This adds headroom at the helm and creates extra height for the optional radar scanner. A wrap-around glass windshield protects the helm.

I appreciated that wind protection as the Mag Bay 38 CC vaulted to speed, powered by triple Mercury 400 Verado V-10 outboards (triple Merc 425s are now standard). The 38 features a patented Cross Step hull design. It proved impressive, leaping to plane in 3 seconds and 30 mph in 7 seconds—all without the trim tabs engaged. The ocean was choppy on test day, but we still achieved a top speed of 63 mph.

Best fuel efficiency occurred at 4,000 rpm and 35.4 mph, where the triple 400s drank 38.1 gallons per hour, for an mpg of 0.929. That equates to a cruising range of 497 miles based on 90 percent capacity of the 38’s three fuel tanks, which total 595 gallons. I throttled back to discover the 38 would stay on plane at 13.5 mph at 2,600 rpm.

The beauty of this 38 ½-foot boat is complemented by 100 percent vinylester-resin construction with Gurit-cored hullsides, a fiberglass molded one-piece stringer grid system, and a solid fiberglass bottom, as well as a unique unibody transom and triple-reinforced hull-to-deck liner joint throughout the entire boat. A premium proprietary gelcoat is used throughout.

That not only provides unrivaled durability, but also results in a remarkably quiet ride. Even while careening over big waves, all I heard was the whoosh of the wind and water and the growl of the outboards.

Quality continues topside, exemplified by features like the inward-opening starboard-side boarding door with polished stainless hardware so massive that you’d swear it belongs on a boat three times this size. Molded-in diamond nonskid and toe-kicks at the base of the inwales combine with the 11-foot beam to ensure crew security.

Live-bait fishing was perfected in California long before it became the go-to tactic in Florida and elsewhere. As such, this Cali boat boasts one of the coolest livewells I’ve seen. The pressurized 75-gallon transom well is fed by a Hooker seachest, with a Hooker variable speed pump contained in the immaculate lazarette. The livewell itself features a light-blue gelcoat interior with a large aquarium-style window for keeping an eye on your precious baits.

The optional and innovative clear-acrylic top functions as a lid within a lid: There’s a latching hatch with friction hinges to keep it open when needed to grab a bait. But you also can remove the entire acrylic top of the well to create more room to drop in and shake out a cast-net full of live pilchards.

Once you put those pilchards to good use, there are two insulated in-deck fish boxes aside the console and an oversized insulated in-deck forward fish box, equipped with macerator pumps to evacuate blood and gore.

Helm seating consists of three-across deluxe Release Marine captain’s chairs with flip-down bolsters and fold-down armrests, as well as a footrest at the base of the console. There are storage cabinets below and mezzanine seating abaft. At the dash, a yacht-style central steering pod features an Edson wheel with room on the dash for a pair of Garmin 22-inch MFDs, each with EmpireBus digital switching to control onboard systems, as part of an optional Garmin electronics package.

There’s an inviting lounge on the forward console with insulated storage underneath. Plus, you can add an optional flip-up transom bench seat or even wraparound aft seating (in lieu of a livewell). There’s also optional forward seating with Release Marine backrests. 

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Adding to the comfort factor is a cozy cabin accessed on the starboard side of the console. It features 6 feet, 10 inches of headroom; a 6-foot-long-by-4-foot-wide berth; and a head compartment with a Dometic MasterFlush electric toilet, a vessel sink and freshwater faucet; an overhead hatch; a window; and more.

The 38 has isolated starting battery and house battery systems. To power high-demand systems such as the optional cabin air conditioning, optional Seakeeper 3, or optional chiller plate under the mezzanine seating, the 38 features a Victron lithium battery bank with Victron Smart Controllers and a Victron 3,500-watt inverter/charger.

Mag Bay’s 38 CC incorporates so many great features, it’s impossible to cover them all here. Suffice to say, the accolades are well deserved. But you needn’t tell that to those who crowd Mag Bay boat-show exhibits to climb aboard this model and grab a selfie with one of the legendary Howarths.

Specifications

Mag Bay Yachts – Hesperia, California; magbayyachts.com