PARKSVILLE – For sellers all over the Island, Pacific Boat Brokers is making it easier than ever to list both commercial and recreational boats.
Located in the French Creek Marina for over 20 years, Pacific Boat Brokers is attracting clients from all over North America with their free listing service. The brokerage has five office support staff and 10 independent brokers working from Mexico to Alaska with over 175 years of combined experience.
“It doesn’t cost anything to list your boat for sale with our company,” says Manager Garth Leighton. “You just contact one of our brokers or the head office, and a broker will get in touch to set up an appointment. Clients will want to make sure their vessel is cleaned and ready for a photo shoot before the broker comes, takes pictures, and fills out the specs of the vessel to publish on our website.”
“We have a vast knowledge of boats, especially in the commercial fishing industry. Our client list is currently over 8,500, and we have nearly 1,400 people who are subscribed to our weekly newsletter that includes the latest listings and price changes.”
Pacific Boat Brokers’ website sees nearly 20,000 monthly visitors, and they sell a boat about every four days. In addition to posting listing on their website, the company lists on boats.com, boatdealers.ca, used.com, Craigslist, and numerous magazines.
“We have many brokers who have experience in different areas including pleasure boats, tug boats, barges, fishing boats, and more,” says Leighton. “We’re currently the only brokerage in BC that represents the commercial fishing market. We also sell licenses, permits, and quotas.”
The company was founded in 1997 by Darryl Henry and Randy Grant. In 2002, Brian Mose purchased Grant’s half of the company, eventually becoming the sole owner.
“The founders started to meet a demand for a company to help fishermen sell boats and licences,” says Leighton. “French Creek is a commercial harbour, so a lot of the boats were already right here in the marina where our office is.”
The company, initially called French Creek Boat Sales, ended up purchasing a Prince Rupert company called Pacific Boat Brokers in 2002, and after its purchase of Paramount Marine in 2006, they amalgamated the companies in 2007, rebranding under the Pacific Boat Brokers name.
“Over the last 10 years, we’ve ended up diversifying, going beyond just the commercial and industrial sectors,” Leighton remarks. “We now have a pleasure boat section, which is a large part of what we do today.”
As a brokerage, the company represents private owners of vessels, and doesn’t sell any new manufactured vessels. While many brokerages tend to work out of their home marina, representing a single manufacturer and local sellers, Pacific Boat Brokers represents vessels all over the Pacific coast.
In addition to the brokers at the company’s head office in Parksville, B.C., they have brokers in Nanaimo, Victoria, Vancouver and as far as Washington state, Alaska, and Mexico Many of them have been with the company for over a decade. To date, the company has facilitated boat sales to international buyers from places like Australia, Croatia, and the Caribbean.
“We also facilitate the title transfers for people who buy boats through us,” says Leighton. “If somebody from Croatia buys one of our listed boats, we have access to many different services including captains for hire and shipping companies who can help complete the process.”
To find out more or to view the company’s listings, visit www.pacificboatbrokers.com.
