The Butcher of Catalina Yachts

by Joe Fletcher, Teak & Steel
In my years at Microsoft and as a fractional COO, I’ve seen my share of “visionaries” who forget that a business must be built to weather a gale, not just look good in the showroom.

When I first heard the “Butcher of Catalina Yachts” moniker applied to Michael Reardon, my mind went immediately to the structural integrity of the deal itself.

The timeline tells you everything you need to know: Reardon acquired Catalina Yachts in May 2025, promising to create “America’s largest recreational boatbuilding network.” By June, he had defaulted on rent. By October, he’d been evicted from the factory, workers had gone weeks without paychecks, and court documents revealed he owed more than $1 million to the company he’d bought just months earlier.

Five months from savior to eviction. – Full report