Our Story

In 1985, a young Scott Deal decided to partner with his brother to start a company dedicated to manufacturing the best shallow water boats on the planet. After acquiring the legendary hull and deck tooling of the Maverick 18, Deal traveled the state of Florida introducing people to the versatility of this shallow water skiff that was custom built-to-order. It was not long before Maverick Boat Company had established a name for itself.

In response to this growing demand, Maverick Boat Company acquired Hewes Boats, the other leading name in shallow water fishing boats in 1989 from original owner Bob Hewes. Armed with vision, talent, and a passion for light tackle fishing, the MBC design team pushed the envelope of Maverick skiff and Hewes backcountry boats to new limits.

While on a trip to Texas, where anglers regularly were forced to cross large stretches of open water in heavy wind conditions, Deal came up with the idea for the Pathfinder bay boat, drawing the original concept on the back of an envelope during dinner one night. Part flats boat and part center console, the Pathfinder’s ability to run in bigger water with more capacity for crew, storage, fuel, and horsepower allowed the MBC team to incorporate never before seen fishability features into a family-friendly bay boat. With more freeboard, range and unparalleled performance, today’s Pathfinders remain the standard in bay boats, a distinction the Pathfinder brand has held since its introduction in 1998.

In 2005, MBC purchased the venerable Cobia brand from Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA. Immediately the MBC team stepped up to the challenge to bring this respected 50-year-old name in recreational boating into a new age of design, technology, and fishing experience. Larger, more efficient livewells, stronger transoms, metal backing plates, larger storage compartments, and overall quality improvement helped “Maverick Up” the Cobia models. Since 2017, Cobias have been the top selling center consoles in the country between 26’ and 34’.