We sent out an email to our clientele in April titled “Standing By” which was the best we could do at the time as we all waited patiently to see what was going to happen while the world stopped.
Trawlers Online
From the beginning, JMYS has been an internet brokerage. We have invested in our website and have shared a lot of what we know through our YouTube channel. Sellers like to see their boats marketed online and Buyers do their research on the web, so we have been prepared for an eventual change from brick and mortar to e-tail. You can view our latest YouTube videos here!
Trawler Marketing
For our sellers who have listed their boats with JMYS we will continue to have detailed and accurate write ups, dozens of photos, exposure online through MLS sites, promotions through e-newsletters sent out in-house and through Cruising Odyssey and PassageMaker magazine and, where possible, 360 tours and Talk-Through Videos. Many sellers do not want buyers to come aboard (we understand that the idea of strangers checking out your boat is not attractive). Whenever possible, our team will come to your boat and do a personal walk through with potential buyers using their smart phone to present your trawler. You can view our listings here or click the photos below. We are seeing increased interest of people wanting a trawler now, more than ever. We have some great boats available, please contact our listing brokers if you’d like to get away.
Trawler Communications
Our team is mobile, we communicate by phone, text, email, Messenger, What’s App, Skype, Zoom – you name it and we have become conversant. We view our role as advocates and consultants. We aren’t really selling as much as we are helping to connect people to the right boat and if that is a trawler, we know the trawler market as well as anyone. JMYS specializes in trawlers; we are focused and everyone on the team is immersed in the trawler lifestyle. Several of our brokers are former clients and their personal involvement of living in your shoes, has been transformative in helping owners market their trawlers for sale and buyers find the best value trawler for their cruising.
Trawler Interaction and Travel
Our trawler brokerage is based on relationships. We love people and like to interact with them, preferably in person – on board, on the docks, at a show, etc. For the immediate future this is not possible, so we have adjusted our thinking to adapt to a more practical approach and safer business practices during the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic. JMYS never closed, we just stopped traveling for obvious reasons, but we want you to know we are open for business. We are actively working and want our clients to know that your safety in buying or selling a trawler is just as important to us as your safety when you are on the water. Stepping aboard is the best way to see a boat, but is not always practical or convenient due to ever changing restrictions and current concerns. We have a new policy for getting onboard that requires everyone to wear masks and other safety precautions as we are concerned with minimizing interactions.
Trawler Transactions
For purchase transactions we have one of the best suite of forms in the industry, legally vetted and even emulated by some of the yacht broker associations. These forms are prepared to protect buyers, sellers and brokers and are designed to leave nothing to chance – nobody likes surprises. We can conduct the entire transaction paperwork requirements via email, from writing up offers through closing. We can offer electronic signature programs and do all of our banking via wire transfers (protecting deposits in our brokerage trust accounts). Our brokers are licensed where required and members of their local yacht broker associations to support our industry and to abide by honorable ethics codes.
Underway Again
Standing by was the right thing to do as we all waited to see what would happen. We took this break as an opportunity to refine our business before setting back out on the water. There are now many more “virtual boat shows” and “webinars” to share information. These are helpful, but it isn’t the same as meeting face-to-face. We want to meet you on the docks, but that may not be easy for a while, so we are underway with some new thinking. Jeff’s first air travel since mid-March (when he returned from a survey in Japan) occurred in late June when he flew from CA to FL. Jeff flew to Orlando to join Neil and Kathleen Donohoe, JMYS clients who own the Nordhavn 50 Granuaile. This was a scheduled post-sale training trip to travel north from Vero Beach to Southport, NC to comply with hurricane insurance requirements. There is an article and video in the works, it sure was great to be out at sea again. Our newest Trawler Adventure blog features Granuaile, please subscribe to learn more about their plans and enjoy Kathleen’s report about the delivery.
We are cautiously optimistic and expect that just like cruising, life will be filled with starts and stops, including detours and interruptions along the way. Be safe and please keep in touch.
Smooth Seas,
The JMYS Team
