Meet
Our Team
Steve James, General Manager
After receiving his B.A. in 1979 from Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA, Steve started his marine career as as USCG Captain for the Clipper Fleet out of Panama City, FL operating 120 ft. crew and 140 ft oil spill recovery vessels. He moved into administration as the Clipper Fleet Port Captain of the crew based operations in the Santa Barbara Channel. In 1984 Steve joined Jackson Offshore LTD in Ventura as Marine Manager and when the offshore business slowed he accepted the offer to become a Managing Partner at Ventura Harbor Boatyard in 1990 were he spent 8 years experiencing first hand all phases of ship maintenance and repair of commercial and recreational vessels. He supervised the weld and fabrications crews, machinists, electricians and shipwright services. He spent 1998 to 2001 as Rincon Marine, Inc.’s on-site contract and technical representative for the owner’s start up operations and construction of two USCG SOLAS 4000HP 190 ft Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels and supervised their delivery to the West Coast. Steve returned to Ventura Harbor Boatyard in 2001 as the General Manager.
Dale Morris, Manager/Paint Shop
Dale spent a number of years at several boatyards perfecting his craft and standards before coming to Ventura Harbor in 1982 when he started his own business at Ventura Quay Boatworks. He stayed on with Ventura Harbor Boatyard when it was purchased in 1986. Dale is an integral component in the growth of the business. Dale’s painting as well as his expert fiberglass fabrication and repair services are widely known for the quality and attention to detail he demands. Some of his customers come from as far north as Oregon and south as San Diego specifically for his service.
Mike Hanson, Customer Service Manager
Mike is a local who grew up on the water and has 24 years experience maintaining and repairing boats of every kind. He has lived on a boat, built boats, raced boats, and is an experienced rigger and woodworker. He was involved in the construction of the original Ventura Quay Boatworks in 1982 and worked for them in charge of haul outs and vessel repair. When Ventura Harbor Boatyard bought Ventura Quay Boatworks in 1986, Mike became our Yard Manager. He currently coordinates all haul outs in the large & small boat facilities, and estimates and supervises specific jobs. Mike’s knowledge & experience with all aspects of marine services puts boat owners in good hands from start to finish.
Brad Hawes, Service Manager
Brad was born and raised in Monterey County where he spent his young years building boats with his father in his garage and countless hours on the bay salmon fishing.
Brad has spent 30 years in the marine industry. He began at West Marine in their early years as a store manager in San Diego. Prior to joining the VHBY team, in 2015, Brad set up service centers for H&S Yacht Sales and was a project manager at Special Productions building theme park boats and maintaining the Disney boats. Brad also ran two boatyards before coming to Ventura Harbor Boatyard.
Tom Bowman, Mechanic Shop Foreman
Tom joined Ventura Harbor Boatyard in 2003 bringing with him an extensive background in mechanical engineering with a vast history of management projects including machine shop operations manager to president and manufacturing manager on NASA projects for JPL which have been installed in the Hubble Space Telescope. Tom graduated from CSU Northridge in 1993 with an MS in Automation Engineering and a BS in Business Administration. He also taught NC programming and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) at Northridge for 3 years to senior and graduate engineering students. Tom has owned and operated his own boat building business where he designed and built several boats including a 32’ off-shore power racer; the re-fit & design of a 75’ commercial dive charter boat & the design & fabrication of a 40’ ocean racing catamaran. Tom began sailing at the age of 12 in Marina Del Rey and has many years of local sailing/cruising around the Channels Islands.