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

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”.