I wanted to drop you this missive about my experience purchasing a used boat.  Far too often people only make time to complain. I hope that one day EVERYONE can relate their positive experiences, as I just have had.

I subscribed to your website as part of my boat search. In the course of checking out several boats I met several of your yacht brokers.

David Hicks made several pitches to me of some boats in the size, particulars, and price range I was looking for, but all were saltwater boats. I had in my own mind that a lake boat would probably be in better shape.

I'm no genius, but that effort I made to involve David was GENIUS.  He eventually was able to convince the Seller's to a price more to my liking. He was on top of every detail by his due diligence and gave me direction on tasks I should perform or engage others in to make my purchase a success. Once the deal was made he assisted me with the yacht transport issue.

But that was not the end in David's mind. He had inquired about me personally and found out that my last boat was over 20 years ago and that I was 70 and doing dialysis 9 hours per day. When the boat arrived, my yacht broker, DAVID HICKS arrived! "I'm here to check out the boat with you and I want to help you get it in the water".

David advised me that he came to stay for 2 days and he just wanted me to be happy.  That two days ended up to 7 days because of issues both with the boat and the marina. The first night David stayed in a hotel. I have a fairly decent home, I offered but he did not want to impose. UNTIL my wife met David at the boat and insisted he stay as our guest.

I want you to know that I expect David to be our friend for as long as we are around, and that he is without a doubt a credit to the Denison Family.

I wish you continued success and health and I have already begun to recommend several potential boat buyers to David.

Ronnie Thomas

In view of our recent purchase of the 115′ Superyacht Texas Star II, it is our great honour to present this letter of recommendations in favour of Mr. David Johnson and his company – Denison Yacht Sales, Fort Lauderdale. In early August 2012 undersigned met Mr. Johnson where he facilitated our request to recommend to us a wide range of 100 foot and above super yachts. As a Captain for the buyer on his previously owned super yachts, my objective was to view, inspect and recommend super yachts to the buyer that were suitable for his needs in the pacific and SE Asia cruising grounds. After nearly 8 months of viewing listings and meeting brokers world wide, going through the different quality of service in the industry, we cannot describe how pleased we were with the services of Mr. Johnson. Precision of marketing and advertised listing was superb. All correspondence were instant, accurate and to the point. Knowledge base of listed assets was in-depth and accurate. Through out the bidding process, Mr. Johnson provided us with a outstanding assessment of sellers expectations and furthermore, a realist offer range that shorten the over all purchase time. August 17, 2012 a purchase agreement was signed and sale was finalized – asking price was 1.7 million dollars. All third party Escrow account requirements were handled by Mr. Johnson and Denison Yachts. It is with great honour that we recommend Mr. Johnson and his company Denison Yacht to any potential buyer and seller should they wish be effectively close their sale of purchase.

I have had the pleasure of working with David for more than 5 years. I owned two boats in the past prior to meeting David. When I decided to return to boating, I made the decision that I would not use a broker ever again because of my prior experiences. I would simply search and find the boat that I was interested in and call the listing broker directly. I diligently did my research and found 5 boats on my short list. It was a Friday morning, I started making phone calls to listing brokers to line up boats to preview.  I was surprised, not one broker answered, I left a voice mail for each. Now it's 5 pm and I wanted to see view boats that weekend, not one return call. I found one more boat, David was the listing agent. I called, he answered. We had a 30-minute conversation, I discussed what I was looking for, we made an appointment for Saturday. He showed me the boat I called him about along with 4 others. His honesty and knowledge were impressive, he listened to what I wanted and found the boats to show me. 5 Years and two boats (85' Azimut & 98' MCP) later David is a friend, I would not buy or sell a boat without him being in my corner.

Dear David,

I wanted to just say thank you again. I've always relied on your previous experience as a boat captain to steer me in the right direction. 

Because of your attention to detail, the latest boat you found for me is perfect for my life style.  From buying and selling my Viking Sportfish, to negotiating the purchase and the build of my Midnight Express; and most recently the purchase of the Jupiter, your negotiating skills have always left me ahead of the curve, even on occasions, making some money on my boats. 

Because of your experience and integrity, you have earned my business for life.