DREAMS CAN COME TRUE
We met Jeff Merrill over five years ago at the Lido Boat Show (Newport Beach, CA). John was hooked on the Nordhavn at the time and had heard that Jeff was the guy to work with. Jeff took us under his wing, educated us on all the variety of boats available in the trawler market and was happy to work with us over the long haul helping us make our plans – never pushing, always helping. John got busy doing his homework. Jeff communicated with us regularly and supplied us will all sorts of informative materials. Through this long time working together we became fast friends. It’s amazing now that we own the boat to look back having enjoyed a five year relationship with Jeff – JMYS.com – he is our broker and go-to guy! Couldn’t have done it without you, Jeff… Thank You ! ! !
We have both been boat owners our entire life, most of which was restricted to lakes and rivers. Along the way Jeff got us thinking about our individual marine resumes to help with insurance rates. We started working on that when John’s business had a serious buyer. We spent December 2014 seriously looking at trawlers for sale in the Pacific Northwest in preparation for making a buying decision in the spring. Jeff supplied all of the info and connections for us to look over ten Selene’s and one Seahorse over the holidays. We created boat reports with pictures at the end of each day. We narrowed 11 boats down to 4, a very complicated task and would not have been able to do it without him. Jeff’s knowledge, experience and dedication insured our wise decisions.
Upon returning to work in January, we learned there was a serious offer to purchase John’s business. Retirement was looming on the horizon! Time to make a decision…which 1 of 4?
With plans in place to attend TrawlerFest, Anacortes in May, it seemed logical to make an offer on “the boat” while in PNW. Our decision was made. It was the 2004 Selene 47 hull 14, in Portland. That Selene Yacht choice gave our budget some “wiggle room” to set her up as our own.
Our offer was accepted and the survey, haul out and sea trial was scheduled prior to attending TrawlerFest Anacortes to make the most of our time in the PNW. We arrived in Portland early to learn our way around and glance at the boat again. We could not board her until the seller’s broker was present. Jeff and his wife Pam arrived, we had a great dinner on the river and got to meet the ship that evening prior to the sea trial and survey to check out the systems and lights. She was more majestic than we had remembered! The owner had moved out and this whole thing felt very real!
Jeff and his wife Pam spent that entire next day with us going over every system while the surveys were underway. As part of our preparation, Jeff made sure we had all of the numerous USCG regulations, forms, links, lists, advice, etc. While the survey and sea trial were underway, Jeff gave me a list of mandatory things to find, a scavenger hunt for safety gear, GFI’s, HIN# locations, etc. We had to leave late afternoon to begin our drive to Anacortes for TrawlerFest classes. Before we left, Jeff handed us a flash drive with almost 500 pictures and he stayed over that night to make sure the surveys were complete.
It was very remarkable how well the timing worked! Everything was falling into place so perfectly. John was retired and the boat would be ours before the end of May. We had a great time making the most of the event. We stayed busy with 5 days of classes including Jeff’s, “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” and “Pride of Ownership”.
With a successful survey report it was time to get our documents in a row, lots of documents to get through the closing! Jeff gave us lists of records to duplicate and maintain on the boat…little stuff like checklists, waste plan and the bill of sale, etc.
Today we are the proud owners of MV Paradice, 4714. She is on the Columbia River at Salpare Bay Marina. We continue to go back and forth between Las Vegas and Portland making Paradice our own and outfitting her for blue water! Jeff is still by our side making blue water cruising a reality. JMYS is the BEST!
We will always cherish our relationship with Jeff and Pam…Thank You both!
Tracey and John Cerul – Selene 47 – Pairadice
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