Hunter Yachts Stand Above the Rest...

The sport of sailing unto itself tends to bring out the nuances of someone's true character and personality not only during the time of ownership and operation but far before that during the first involvement to learn the science and ongoing stages of wanting to purchase. From my perspective the process never changes regardless of your age or the size of boat with the absolute constant being that you are a boat person with all the associated idiosyncrasies that were the primal reason you took up the sport.

True neurosis, I've come to understand having just bought a 2000 Hunter 340 last spring from Allan Mestel is common among all of us that evidently spend hundreds of hours surfing all the listings on the net searching for the boat of our dreams. Allan thought that my collation of research may have gone to extreme as in our first meeting I presented him with my 100+ boat Excel spreadsheet of viable considerations, sorted and indexed on 8 sheets relative to brand, size, cost, and features. In my defense I'd waited 20 years to do this and spending serious money elicits serious consideration. I became as so many of you out there have as well — an expert, knowing as much about the brands and models as well as the differences from year to year. The bad news was that as much as I thought I had it down I still felt I was ill-prepared to commit to one. The good news is that everything that I needed to know Allan brought forth in a calm and logical package. The overlooked subtle details that he found in my pile of data. That pragmatic process of narrowing down too many choices. The intermediate position of trust so necessarily assumed in a large purchase by someone you don't know. He did all that and that was before we even closed the deal.

Allan's connections with associates and services throughout Southern Ontario were critical in getting the boat launched effortlessly despite some tough time and transport issues. That said the third stage of new boat owner trauma — leaving the launch dock and feeling prepared, a similar anxiety I can only equate to leaving the hospital with a new baby, he minimized to us feeling comfortable and confident.

I'm far from being a casual customer on purchasing anything large or small as I'm in sales for a living. A good sales representative makes all the difference. A great one like Allan takes the experience to a whole new level. Assuming the common thread of concern that anyone buying a boat processes I'd strongly suggest reducing that with getting Allan involved at the onset of your quest. The only regret I currently feel is that as Allan found us the boat of our dreams that will last us a long time, I'm not sure I'll get the pleasure of having him sell me another one.

But then that old disease we also all share, “two-foot-itis” could crop back up and I'll be looking for a bigger Hunter which by the way is another absolute given. Boats are like sales guys, lots to choose from but few are exceptional. After all the research is said and done, Hunter yachts in a similar way to Allan stand above the others from every point of consideration.

Bill Coons
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