“I have planned on buying a boat as part of my retirement for many years. I attended the Baltimore Trawlerfest event in September 2022. The event had several sessions on buying used boats and input from a Surveyor.  I talked to several people there as to how they bought their boat or were planning to buy a boat. Several  said they used a boat broker they knew and had used before. In October 2022 ,I contacted a broker from an ad and found the process very unsatisfying, it felt like it was just a transaction for him.  I knew Zimmerman Marine offered a boat buying service and in December I contacted them. I had about a 1 - hour phone conversation with Haywood May and decided that I liked this approach and decided to use Zimmerman for my boat search. I was then directed to Bob Arrington whom I had seen present at the Baltimore Trawlerfest event. My wife and I both thought Bob was a very experienced boater. Prior to contacting Zimmerman, I was not aware Bob was involved with their boat purchase program.

 Starting in January 2023, Bob had me define what I wanted to do with a boat and once that was stated covered several boats he thought would meet my criteria. I just closed on a boat I am happy with and am looking forward to spending time on it. I found the boat buying process as having a lot of potential trouble spots and having a seasoned boat owner who has done this process for others like me to be very comfortable. At every step of the way, Bob stepped in and got involved. I was happy with the Surveyors used as well as the boat purchase negotiations Bob provided. I felt Bob really wanted to see me get into boating and be happy with the boat I bought.”

— Greg K. (Medford, Oregon)