How to Buy a Boat: Part III - Your Survival Guy

A view of boats in a marina in Provincetown, Massachusetts. By Chris Bradshaw @ Shutterstock.com

Once you decide to buy a boat you can’t wait.

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I was working out with Jane Beezer early one morning updating her on my boat search. I told her Becky and I had been to a couple of boat shows and looked at some new boats on Cape Cod. I told her we loved the boats but there was no way were paying a new boat price tag. And then Jane asked, “Have you talked to Skip?”

No, I had not talked to Skip. But the fact that Jane referred to him by his first name made me think: “I better talk to Skip”.

I met Skip Helme during my lunch break. I told him why I was there and he said “Let’s go look at some boats.” As we were walking around the yard what stood out to me was how serious Skip was when I asked about a boat: “Oh, she’s not for sale, that’s Tom Smith’s boat.” And then he gave me more information on that particular boat than I thought possible. I didn’t know who Tom was, and the boat wasn’t for sale, but I knew I wanted to work with Skip.

Skip didn’t sell me a boat that day. He gave me homework. He said go home, talk to Becky, and the two of you figure out the exact boat that you want. Come back and the three of us will talk. We’ll find out what that specific make and model has sold for in the last year, we’ll look at what’s for sale today, and we’ll compare them. He said, “Basically, we’ll attack the market for your specific make and model”. He was talking my language.

A few days later, Becky and I met with Skip. We studied the market and priced out our specific make and model for the entire country. Then we located around eight for sale in the Northeast.

And then Skip said, “It’s time for a road trip”.

Read the entire series here.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.