In this section we share our yachting knowledge that is otherwise so closely guarded by insecure short term thinking Captains and Brokers. While understandable in the USA due to the liability risk inherent to providing advice or doing good deed the phenomenon exists surprisingly around world in the yachting and boating industry. From what I have seen among professional skippers is that they doubt their own knowledge and fear being exposed by anyone in ear shot with the “Google”.
However the internet is not nearly as useful for the yachting industry as it is for other motorized industries and the the first thing to understand that in such a niche industry there is not enough online participation by experts to come to any conclusions by reading online forums and whitepapers. When using the internet to solve a problem or perform research it could take hours of research before coming to any type of conclusion. The right answer may not lie on the first, second or even third page of search engine results and few if any of the leading companies or service providers will show up.
The Yacht Broker:
The commissions paid to brokers is so high that even a single deal can pay a years salary for simply filling out some documents and disclosing the legal minimum of information about the vessel only when asked directly. Unlike in real estate a broker generally has no knowledge of the yacht he is selling or even any boating experience at all. In its current state the big players are running the show in a Sinatra style old school way that has historically shown to eventually be replaced when the truth becomes common knowledge. The YachtTruth.com was founded out of a disgust felt when witnessing common practices to maximize commissions that undermine the buyers interests.
The Right Boat:
Getting information and non-biased reviews when choosing a yacht can be nearly impossible. A significant percentage of even seasoned owners will never acquire enough yachting knowledge to ever have their ideal yacht setup. If any of the yachting publications are to be trusted every boat performs better than expected and is revolutionizing the industry with its technological advancements. Unlike with car critics that have “track days” or formal releases that are open to the press, boat builders choose their reviewers carefully and any critical journalists are quickly weeded out from the mainstream publications. The truth is that every boat is a compromise in one way or another and choosing the right vessel requires knowledge that sadly very few people have. Next time someone tells you how great a certain boat rides or how much better brand X is than brand Y, no matter how convinced they are, assume that their opinion was formed purely by emotion and propaganda and not about any real world, back to back torture testing or significant enough seat time to form any valid conclusions.
