“YACHT BROKERS”

THEY ALL AREN’T BAD….JUST MOST OF THEM

18 Jul 2013

Kandahar, Afghanistan

Sunset on the Bahama Bank - 2006

Having gone through the boat shopping/buying process once before, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted in a cruising yacht.  A Beneteau, 2 cabins, 46 to 50 feet in length, excellent condition, classic mainsail, not a shoal draft, excellent condition, a low-time Yanmar engine, air conditioning, white hull vs. a blue one, excellent condition, etc……I think you get my drift; the boat had to be in excellent condition.  Since boats are depreciating assets, we never considered buying a new one…..let someone else take that huge depreciation hit, not us.

We had solicited the assistance of a broker, gave him our desires concerning what we were looking for in a boat, and then waited for him to work his magic….and waited……and waited.  Nothing.  In the meantime I am scouring Yachtworld’s website looking myself and I find several boats that could be possibilities.  Granted, over a period of 2 years there were only 2 or 3 boats that actually met our criteria, but he never called to let us know that they were out there as a possibility.  I stayed in monthly or bi-monthly contact with him through email and got very little/nothing out of him….his responses were slow, his real effort was virtually non-existent.  I don’t understand how someone who stands to make $10k to $30k (depending the price of the boat we buy, and if he is the listing or selling broker, or both) off of a sale can’t be slightly motivated to help you find a boat.

Anyway, ultimately we will find a boat on our own.  I have some pretty good leads at this point.

Edited Feb 2014:  We found a boat on our own and have been dealing with the listing broker.  The contract is signed, survey is complete, vessel acceptance document signed, now waiting on a May 25th closing.  Up to this point, Terry Freeman, of Cleveland, OH has been nothing but helpful.  We will update after closing.