“…he gets things done without any drama or fanfare.”

We first contacted our yacht broker Alex Wilkes when we were still in California, planning to search for a boat to buy in Florida. We had contacted several boat brokers, but Alex was the first one to respond. Art had checked out several boats on line and told Alex that he wanted to make a trip to Florida to look at them and other boats. Alex quickly learned the type of boat Art was looking for (42 to 50 feet long, twin diesel engines, trawler body) and started lining up other boats and yachts for sale that fit this profile. And so, when Art made his first trip to Florida in March, 2012, Alex provided him a list of prospects that kept Art busy the entire time of his visit.

It turns out that Art decided to purchase the first boat he had seen. Alex helped him make the appropriate offer, and it was accepted, subject to the boat survey. Alex located a surveyor for Art. The surveyor did a thorough job finding the major items that needed repair. The surveyor’s findings led to a lower offer on the boat, which was accepted.

Art had to return to California, and so Alex represented his interests regarding the boat, when Art left Florida. For example, Alex suggested a repair yard capable of doing the work needed on the boat and Alex arranged for a captain to relocate the boat to a repair yard once the closing was done on the sale. Alex also arranged for the acquisition of the yacht documentation. When it turned out we needed to extend the 90 day period to leave Florida, Alex assisted us in getting an extension of 90 more days.

The boat repair yard was very busy, and our repairs were not being completed by the target dates set by the repair supervisor, nor was he giving us any accounting for what had been done and the expense of the work. We turned to Alex for assistance and he helped us tremendously in resolving some of the repair issues.

When we finally got our boat out of the repair yard, we needed a place to stay to complete some additional improvements. Alex offered us the marina used by Denison Yacht Sales, and he made the arrangements for us to take our boat there and to stay there. He was even on the dock to help us bring our boat into the slip he had reserved for us.

In sum, Alex has been instrumental in helping us realize our dream of becoming boat owners and preparing to cruise cruise the Atlantic Coast and the Bahamas. He has been very responsive to all of our inquiries and requests, and he has been extremely resourceful in helping us “navigate” around and through the obstacles that appear in the path of new boat owners. He is unflappable, when faced with challenging situations. His personality and temperament are both so pleasant that he gets things done without any drama or fanfare. He is very knowledgeable about boats and boat sales.

He doesn’t flaunt this knowledge. He just uses it to help his customer wherever possible. We recommend Alex Wilkes without reservation for anyone who wants to buy a boat. His professionalism is unparalleled.

- Art & Ann Schiller