Just wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been watching the messages for awhile now and wanted to post but have been a little tentative. This group seems very welcoming to new people which is great. That isn’t always the case on some message boards.
Well, I live in Surprise, AZ and have been dreaming about being a Nordhavn owner. My parents are live-a-boards on a 50’r in Ventura so I spend a lot of time on the water. I spent Memorial Day out at the channel islands and I must have stared at the N40 anchored aways North of us in smugglers for hours. It could have been an N43 since we were a decent ways away…
While it hadn’t registered with me, Ted picked up from Claudia that a flybridge was an important feature for her. In her mind, this would be a gathering place for family and friends, and Ted realized that for this to be a successful boat for us, a flybridge would be important. As it turned out, there were no N40’s with a flybridge that met our other specifications on the open market. Using his extensive contacts, Ted located an owner who at one time had expressed a possible interest in selling one day.
My goal is to retire like my parents on a boat and travel up and down the coast and hopefully even to Hawaii. I’ve seen several Nordhavns up close in the marina but only been inside the one at Aprils Lido boat show. That was one beautiful Nordie.
My experience at the boat show was outstanding. I’m in my 30s but look young. My families tour was given by Jeff Leishman’s son (whoops, maybe it was Jim’s son). Anyways, even though some people might not take me for a serious buyer, and some salesmen at the boat show were obviously snooty, Nordhavn sales never made me feel that way. I was given the CD about Nordhavn and issues of circumnavigator. I was put on the mailing list and really had a great experience. I doubt that I could ever afford the 4 million dollar yacht at the boat show, but an N40 to N52 is definitely possible in the future. Unfortunately, I was not treated as respectfully by Nordhavns main competitor at the show who not only didn’t have a yacht to tour, they didn’t want to give brochures out unless the person was seriously in the market that day. There is way more to that story but I’ll just say that even if a purchase is 5-10 years out, customer service from Nordhavn sales is excellent.
I will be at the open house in July. I can’t wait to see some of the more affordable models and to tour the 56MS. It would be great to get to meet some of the other Dreamers there.
Jay