Customer: Vincent & Renee Oliver
My Wife and I started looking for a used sailboat in the 2015 new year, going through the motions of looking at the various sites (Massey, Boattrader etc.) but never really got any further. We were visiting friends in Florida at the time and they suggested we go look at one as they had never been on a boat before. We scanned the sites and found the there was a boat for sail at the Massey location in Stuart so we called and the local Sales Representative, John Barr, answered and we made arrangements to go look at the boat. What impressed us was that he was at home at the time and was willing to meet us at the office and show us the boat even though it was new years day.
With me traveling weekly for work it took us another 6 months of looking around and making up our minds that we really wanted a sailboat and seriously started looking. Not having a lot of money available and only having owned one boat prior to this we agree we needed to work with a reputable company that could lead and guide us through the process which led me to contact John (based on the previous experience we had with him) and he was more than willing to help us. With his easy going nature he supported us with all the listing we wanted to look at and he contacted the brokers on our behalf and worked with them to determine if the listings were worth looking at, in some cases due to his feedback we decided not to pursue some. In 5 cases we did look at the boat and had lengthy discussion with John. He was very honest in his reviews/feedback and not only gave us very good advice about the boats we were looking at but also longer term what we should take into account. He is a very knowledgable sailor that is willing to share his experience and is also very willing to help you through the sailboat buying process.
With his help and advice we found a boat slightly large than we initially thought of in Charleston, SC. He came all the way up from Florida to assist us with the Marine surveying also looked the boat over in person. Based on the good report both he and the surveyor gave the boat be proceeded to purchase her. We have sailed her back to her new homeport in North Carolina, Matthews Point Marina, without any major incident and have already spent a couple of great weekends getting used to her. I am happy to say we finally have a Beneteau 41 foot sailboat that we were both happy with and that we believe we can cleanup and update to enjoy for a number of years to come.
Based on this experience I have no issue recommending John for anyone who is interested in buying a sailboat. Thank you John for your support and patience.
