Unqualified Praise for True North & Hunter Yachts

"...the purchase and post-purchase experience from True North Yachts simply could not be improved on. Superlatives and accolades are richly, richly deserved."

Margaret & Brian Gaber were kind enough to share the highlights of their recent purchase of a Hunter 36...

"We purchased a new 2009 Hunter 36 from True North Yachts at the August in-water boat show in Port Credit and are absolutely delighted with both the boat and the purchase experience. I begin by saying that we had absolutely no intentions of buying a new boat this year. We had a 2000 Hunter 340 which we loved dearly and planned to keep for another 5 years until retirement and perhaps then move aboard a “cat” in the Caribbean." ...

How did we end up as proud new Hunter owners? I was at the marina just to buy  flares and ran into Allan Mestel and jokingly said “ I heard you are practically giving boats away this year”.  Allan smiled and replied “Let me run some numbers for you”. I was truly surprised at how good the numbers turned out to be. I should point out that I am a professional accountant and business professor so cost, pricing and profit margins are my area of expertise and I know a real deal when I see it. Since I had no intention of buying, I stress tested Allan’s numbers by showing him some web “deals”  I knew about on US boats that beat his numbers handily. To my further surprise, Allan called up Hunter and we jointly chased down every one of those deals and found they were not deals. Just as in cars, the base price and the fully loaded price were worlds apart. With True North’s boat being “loaded” Allan had actually beat the unbeatable deals from the US dealers. I took the quote home and expected to be laughed out of the house, which I was. To my utter shock, the next morning Marg said lets drive 70 miles (in a rainstorm) and use the passes to the boat show Allan had given me to have a look at the boat. To my even further shock within minutes of going aboard she had a strange smile on her face and when we left the boat we didn’t get 20 feet away when she said “Lets get it”. We sat down with Allan and he  sharpened his pencil even further than the initial quote and the rest is as they say…. history.

Note that there are actually three phases to the boat buying experience on which a dealer’s reputation is forged. In addition to the purchase, there is the delivery and finally post delivery service. Our experiences with True North on all facets of the purchase were just as enjoyable.

The boat was sparkling clean before delivery but somehow they made it shine even more before my PDI inspection. Jamie Crane and Patrick Lewis were assigned to be my mentors and when I told them I had a list of 500 questions they said they were at my disposal for as long as I needed. There is some serious technology in a 2009 Hunter compared to older boats and proper training is essential even to an old salt. They not only spent two full days demonstrating systems and responding to questions, but also invited to me to a seminar by an industry specialist. I left the boat with the wonderful feeling of being comfortable with its care and feeding requirements. The PDI experience was pure joy.

All boats need some post delivery tweaking and ours has been no different. I was invited to call whenever anything seemed less than perfect and I never got any feeling other than they wanted me to be 100% happy with my yacht. Patrick showed up within days and made things good as gold. For someone who can write a book on all the bad marine service experiences I have had, it seemed like a dream come true.

In summary, the purchase and post-purchase experience from True North Yachts simply could not be improved on. Superlatives and accolades are richly, richly deserved.

There is one further thing to add to our comments on True North….the outstanding character and unparalleled friendliness of the people who work there. We had the fortunate opportunity to spend a week with the owner (Rob Richardson) and Allan, Jamie, Che, and Sarah in the BVI this November aboard a Hunter 49 and a Hunter 45. You get to seriously know someone when you spend a week on a boat with them and these five people are just lovable. At the end of a week we felt like we had forged friendships that will last a lifetime.

As a reader you will also be interested to know that  as a business professor, I spent many hours chatting with Rob and Allan (over painkillers, of course) about their business strategy in buying a failed firm in a failing economy.  I can report that their business plan is rock solid and predicated not on quick profits but in building a long term relationship with the Ontario boating community based on quality products, quality service and word of mouth referrals. I see no flaws in their approach and I have the utmost admiration for the courage Rob has shown in starting down this path in tough economic times. If you ever get a chance to meet him, you will never forget the experience. He puts the Eveready Bunny to shame. I am absolutely convinced this is a firm that will be someday used as a role model for all Hunter dealers worldwide.

In closing, it would be proper to say a few words about Hunter sail boats.  I am a researcher by occupation and have read just about everything that has ever been written about sailboats. I have owned a Hunter for ten years (and other boats before) and the claims on the Hunter website are not just sales talk. Hunter has taken economies of production scale, bulk buying power and innovative technology to provide amazing value for your purchase dollar. In addition, their design team has built their boats for comfort as well as performance. They are a joy to sail and a joy to live aboard (which I did for three years). The B&R rig and in-mast furling makes other designs archaic and single handing is a snap. Some competitors pooh pooh Hunters as not serious ocean going craft, but I have survived knockdowns in my Hunter in ocean storms and  I truly feel the boat saved my life more than once.  Unless you are a hardcore racing purists who would rather use a bucket than a head, if you sail a Hunter you will smile. Take one out in heavy weather and you will grin. I thought my 340 sailed wonderfully but what Hunter designer Glen Anderson has done with the new hull configuration is remarkable. It cuts through the waves as if they didn’t exist.

We love our Hunter and we love the folks at True North."

Wishing all them the best!
Margaret and Brian Gaber