My career as a yacht saleswoman was brief, instructive and exhausting. Although I was only on the job for less than 10 months, it seemed like a lifetime.
During that time I showed hundreds of boats to prospective buyers, made thousands of calls and fired off what seemed like a zillion letters soliciting business. I was cried on, yelled at and called at all hours of the night by demanding buyers and sellers alike.
I leaned new math, new bargaining techniques, and developed a flair for the you-must-buy-this mantra. I made good friends, lost others and had front-row seats for more than one personal drama. If the seller’s marriage was solid, I knew it. If his life was hanging by a thread, I knew that too.
Ultimately, I sold four boats, earning a fraction of the standard 10 percent commission paid to yacht brokerages and learning the hard way that the business simply was not for me.
If only I’d earned as much as I learned.
THE GAME
My foray into brokerage started when my husband and I decided to sell the sailboat that we had lived on in the San Francisco Bay for 20 years. Winter was drawing close and we didn’t relish the idea of sitting outside in the cockpit for another wet season. We wanted a vessel we could enjoy year-round.
We contacted McGrath Yachts, a reputable broker in Sausalito recommended by friends. Ed McGrath, a charming, curly-haired Irishman who loves his single malt, showed us trawlers in our price range. My husband instantly fell in love with the PT 38, probably because of the carved dragons that seemed to litter every surface below decks. Our sailboat was called the Dancing Dragon. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that he liked the layout of the boat and saw that we could comfortably pilot her well into in our later years. 
Kim HaworthThe author, who survived almost a year as a yacht broker.
For his part, McGrath is a likeable guy with a great sense of humor, one of those people who can charm the hard off a rock. During our dealings he discovered that I too was blessed with the gift of gab and suggested that I try my hand at the brokerage business.
Unlike boat dealers who purchase their inventories new from manufacturers like Nordhavn or Catalina, yacht brokers only sell used boats and get their stock from private boat owners. It’s an immensely difficult task.
Brokers have to know the market inside and out, understand the nuances of all kinds of boats—both sail and power—and be willing to drop everything to drive half way across the state to pick up a listing that may or may not be worthwhile.
A broker will write hundreds of letters and place thousands of calls before being rewarded with a single listing. For example, I sent out letters to every registered owner of a Catalina sailboat in Northern California—there are thousands of them—before getting a solitary bite.
