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Dear Kent,
I just want to thank you and Sea Lake Yachts for helping Lynn & I find our perfect sailing yacht to fulfill our retirement dreams. This process began when we sold our Catalina 250 and bought a Catalina 30 from you almost 5 years ago. The C30 was a good boat but most of all it was what Lynn called our “Hop boat”. I worked on the C30 to make it like brand new and in the process learned about the all the systems on a beginning level cruising boat. It took two years of working on the C30 2-3 times a week to get her in Bristol condition. During the last two years however, I started researching the internet for our next boat which I determined would be a 38-44’ cruising boat that would be safe, comfortable, and fun to sail. I compiled a list of over 60 sailboats that might be the one and created a spreadsheet so I could compare their specifications, design ratios, and market prices. Every time one of the boats on the list showed up in the Kemah area for sale I called you up and asked to see the boat/s. You always accommodated our time schedule and patiently showed us every boat that was of any interest to us and even some that I am sure you knew was not the right boat for us. I am not sure how many weekends we came to the Kemah area to look at boats but I know you must have showed us no less than 25 different yachts in the 38-44’ range.
I remember coming down to look at a couple of boats and as we were about to leave the docks and head home you suggested that we look at this Endeavour 42 you had just sold. I was not that interested in the boat since it was not on my list but Lynn wanted to board the boat and look around. Sure enough the boat was impressive enough to make it to the top ten on the list, and to make this long story short the boat came up for sale two years later and with your help we are now the proud owners of that very same E42.
Your ability to personalize the experience and be on call all the time to answer questions/concerns made, what could have been an overwhelming experience, a great experience. Your support after the sale is priceless as we learn how to navigate the Kemah area to find a boat yard, marina, and who to turn to for any service that we need for the boat. We found our boat with and made a great friend,
Thank you,
Lynn & Steve Steakley
Endeavour 42 S/V Wond’rin Star
WILLIAM H. CHOICE
March 18, 2008
Mr. Kent Little
Sea Lake Yachts
1500 Marina Bay Dr
Watergate Yachting Center
Kemah, TX 77565
Dear Kent:
I want to thank you for an outstanding job in helping me sell my sailboat, First Choice (Wauquiez 47). After sitting with another broker for over a year, you had an offer on First Choice in 30 days and we closed shortly thereafter. You did a very skillful job in this currently slow market.
I also have great respect for the way you handled the final negotiations. Not only was the buyer from another state, he was often hesitant to move forward and concerned about minute details. Every time it appeared he might back off, your experience and creativity saved the day. And you are now going the extra mile to supervise shipping the boat to California for the buyer as a part of the closing negotiations.
I would be pleased to recommend you and Sea Lake Yachts to anyone wanting to sell a boat. I can surely assure them that you and your team will work smart and hard on their behalf, which is what any seller would be seeking first and foremost.
Thanks again for all of your hard work.
Sincerely,
William H. Choice
Jan 2008
Hi Kent,
After all the months of waiting we unloaded Moonlight Shadow (2003 Beneteau 42CC) in Brisbane and to say that we were delighted is an understatement. Purchasing a yacht is a very personal matter and to do so sight unseen requires a great deal of trust. You have done us proud. She is everything you promised she’d be and all that we hoped for.
I have attached some pics of the unloading in Brisbane from the semi-submersible yacht transporter, Super Servant 4. As Ric Dillman put it, it was like being on Discovery channel. We also got to meet Jim Logan whose BNT 46 was our neighbour onboard. Moonlight Shadow was dwarfed by some of the power yachts onboard.
Gary Nicholas, Brisbane Australia
( I sold this boat to the Nicholas’s sight unseen and helped them ship it to Australia. From the level of detail I gave them they felt they didn’t need to travel to the US to see the boat)
Feb 2008
Thanks again. I received an email from Lin. I was so pleased she took the time to say congratulations. I am still very excited. It was just all meant to be. We are going to coordinate a day to meet and share info about Trillium the next time she comes to Houston/Kemah.
I clicked on your website and was impressed again about the resume and professionalism. This has been a great experience and thank you for your expertise and patience.
Judy Siefert
New owner 1989 C&C 27
A testimonial received via sail mail from a new Beneteau 423 client:
Kent, We are in Naples, FL getting ready to head for the Dry Tortugas, around the Keys, across to Bimini, and follow the “Thornless Passage South” to Trinidad and Bonaire. I don’t know if I can put into words the THANKS that Sandy and I owe you for your patience while we looked and looked at boats and tried to pick out the perfect one. The 423 is just the right size and with everything that came with it and the equipment we had put on, makes a very comfortable and great sailing machine. The Sea Lake crew also has to be commended for the great job they did for commissioning and the follow-up work. We have been out one month now and all the systems work great. The water maker is giving us fresh water, the generator works well and is quiet. I’ve already used the air compressor to fill five dive tanks but I am going to have to tighten the belt before the next fill up. Speaking of fill ups, this 55hp Volvo is great. We run between 1500 and 2000rpm’s and use .74 gallons per hour. The winds have not been good to us and about half the time we were in the ICW so we had to motor most of the time. The engine has had a good work out and it does great. We have been able to sail a little and this boat is fast and steady. I must commend your installer for the work he did on installing all the systems. He did it so the end user had the least trouble using them and the ease of getting to them for the maintenance checks is great. He did a great job and I recommend him for all your boat work. The work North Canvas did on the Bimini and the side curtains was very good and I am glad you recommended that we go with them. It has been cold and they are set up so you can motor or sail all buttoned
This was one of the most beneficial afternoons sailing and I’d recommend it
to any sailor, no matter your skill level. We expected that John would show
us just how far Kaleo could heel (the way a sailboat leans when sailing)
while going faster but it was quite the opposite. He coached us on how to
sail the boat with less heel, while going faster, making us more efficient
sailors. We were also challenged to point higher into the wind than we’ve
ever been able to. We even got to fly our (very bright) spinnaker and ran
wing-on-wing back to port. We really enjoyed having John aboard as he has a
wealth of knowledge and generously shares it. If you sail in the Galveston
Bay area, we suggest you book a lesson with him.
Matt and Christie
Hi John,
I also want to express my appreciation. You did a great job and you were a pleasure to deal with. We are very happy with the boat and looking forward to fixing her up and sailing her. You made a big difference in making the transaction happen and in getting us a good price.
D. Farmer
Thanks for doing such a great job of mediating this deal.
As I think I said before, we’ve felt like we were in very good hands working
with you, and now that the process has worked it’s way to a conclusion, our
feelings have been validated.
Thanks again for all your diligent work.
C. Langton
I want to again thank you for all the time and attention with the boat, it
is truly appreciated.
J Pearson
Dear John,
We have just moved aboard our beautiful 36′ Cascade cutter, “Bettie,” and we
wanted to thank you for helping us navigate the boat buying process. You
answered all of our questions, helped us work through any issues we had, and
generally outshone all the other boat brokers we met! Thank you for your
attentiveness and dedication and for helping us purchase a boat we truly
love.
All the best,
Attila and Vlad
John helped me to fulfill one of my life long goals: Learning to “single
hand” a large sail boat. Currently i own a 42′ Beneteau which is great for
sailing along the Texas coast. When i get comfortable sailing off shore,
I’ll be looking at similar size Lagoon or Leopard.
George Hazzard, lawyer
