2008-08-27T22:58:44Z http://blog.kniffinmarine.com/atom.aspx Quick Blog tag:blog.kniffinmarine.com,2007-06-08:6628b530-3d5e-4988-98a9-cecde9bbc680 Capt Jay Cohen 2007-06-08T09:52:35Z 2007-06-08T09:16:00Z

Your most important decision to make when deciding which boat is right for you is how are you planning to use your boat? Don't let perceived boat prices make your choice. There are many great small sport fisherman models like a 33' Bertram, 38' Viking, or 41 Hatteras that are priced better than todays large outboard center console boat.  Are you planning to use your boat for just a few hours locally, or all day offshore, and weekend over night trips to the islands?

The reliability of twin diesels, stability, and comfort of the small sports fisherman are just some of their best qualities.  Not many of us plan to leave the dock when the seas are 6'-8' , although most of use have had to make the long and hard trip home after the weather in the Gulf Steam blows up unexpectedly.  The ability to get out of the weather, or just cool off in the summer make these boats an easy sell to the family.

Lets get down to the real dirt.  The reason you want a Sports Fisherman is to go FISHING! How will a sport fisherman make me a better fisherman? There are lots of advantages, although my favorite is height.  The flying bridge or tower will help you CATCH fish.  Trolling a Ballyhoo past a 35lb Bull Dolphin working under a frigate bird or pitching a live bait to tailing sails, the tower of bridge will help you to see that fish.  Keep your eyes on it and, get your bait in front of it.  Your eyes will catch you more fish than ever thought possible. 

I spend all summer in my tower and my catches reflect it.  Just yesterday I was working a green to purple edge with a trickle of weed mixed in.  There were more than a half a dozen other small boats working the area with little success.  We were able to catch a limit right in front of them.  My tower was the key to our success. The fish were a little spooky and not responding to the troll.  I was able to spot a school of fish swimming a little deep.  From the tower I was able to keep my eyes on the prize and instruct my angler how to place a jig in front of the deep swimming dolphin.  Working the jig up to the surface my angler was able to hook up and bring the entire school to the surface.  Chumming a few "live baits" made the dolphin go crazy! In less than two hours off shore we were able to find two schools and catch plenty of fish.  The tower lets spent more time CATCHING and less time looking. 

After we finished with that school of fish, I was able to direct a small center console boat to a few fish scattered off my port side, and get there anglers hooked up.  He had fish 20 yards a head and off shore of him and had no idea they were there. 

The right equipment and a few charter boat tricks will help you become a GREAT fisherman and have amazing catches.  To learn a few more tricks just stay tuned, or contact me and I would be glad to help.  Until next time, see you on the rip!

Cap. Jay Cohen]]> tag:blog.kniffinmarine.com,2007-06-06:ba59975f-3af2-4bac-9f30-4ef1d43e0a86 Andy Kniffin CPYB 2007-06-06T14:15:00Z 2007-06-06T14:15:00Z                          

This spring was an exciting month for selling.  I was contacted by Henry C. Chambers, of Beaufort, South Carolina  (retired from being its mayor for around 30 years) to help him to find a suitable yacht.  He planned to sell his long-time home and move aboard, basing out of Beaufort.  Henry flew down to Fort Lauderdale, the boating capitol of the world, and we looked at a number of brokerage Hatteras's that were configured and priced to his needs.  We eventually found a pristine 1989 68' Hatteras "Argonauta" located right in his backyard - Hilton Head.  I co-brokered the purchase with Larry Jordan of Lighthouse Yacht Sales (very professional and great to deal with!).  Henry soon had the boat to start living the dream!  If you ever get to the City Marina next to the Henry C. Chambers park in Beaufort, stop by to say hello!

This year I have had more than a few people want to move aboard a yacht full-time.  It's a great lifestyle that let's you travel with your home to many destinations not reachable otherwise.  Neighbors also tend to be quite friendly. 

"Argonauta" had everything that is important in a Hatteras, including stabilizers; but needed a bow thruster.  Steve Owens from US Thrusters  in Fort Lauderdale drove up with his team to install one and did a great job at a great price.  Palmetto Bay Yacht Center  in Hilton Head was also very helpful.  ]]> tag:blog.kniffinmarine.com,2007-05-29:b8dca637-2aa6-4aed-a7aa-39f8ac13a9f4 Andy Kniffin CPYB 2007-06-05T22:13:34Z 2007-05-29T11:06:00Z        '

Andy Kniffin CPYB

I specialize in yacht brokerage (acquisitions and trading) - primarily pilothouse and cockpit motoryachts in the 50-120' range.  I dedicate my services to selct customers who have a passion for yachting.  Many of my customers are hands-on types who prefer to be owner/operators; while others prefer crew. All benefit from my in-depth industry knowledge, contacts and resources.  Most have become life-long friends.

As a native born and raised in South Florida, I was a professional captain for over twenty years; delivering yachts of all types throughout the Caribbean, as well as film, salvage and celebrity work (read discretion and confidentiallity skills).  Of particular interest was my position for three seasons as the boat fleet manager for the Miami Vice TV series and seven years as personal captain to Mr. Julio Iglesias.  Challenging and satisfying work that was of the stuff that good stories are made of.  And of course, like every competent captain, I spent a whole lot time participating and directing countless yacht refits and repairs.

I began brokering around 11 years ago as a natural extension to my career.  Actually, I started with larger yachts (100' plus) with Offer and Associates, then with Atlantic Yacht & Ship and Heart Marine.  I accumulated a bunch of experience handling all types of motoryacht sales - from express boats like Sunseekers, Sea Rays, etc to sportfishermen, to larger yachts such as Broward, Westbay, etc.  Recently I acheived the Certified Professional Yacht Broker status - a relatively new program that will be industry standard in the future.  Comparable to other professional certifications, one has to possess and maintain excellent working knowledge of domestic and international maritime law, transaction issues, yacht knowledge and sublime ethic issues in order to become certified.

My sales record and statisfied customers (see the Testimonial link on my website) speak for themselves.  Thus whether selling or buying a yacht - I can handle all your yachting needs.  And since I only work with a few, select clients at any given time, you can be assured the best possible service!]]> tag:blog.kniffinmarine.com,2007-05-28:618e4a7e-6d6e-4b15-bfe5-eafffd96ec0a Andy Kniffin CPYB 2007-06-05T22:20:41Z 2007-05-28T20:31:00Z
The photo shows this boat being hauled for a pre-seatrial inspection during the course of a hull survey.  It is a good idea to ensure that the bottom and propellors are clean so that the speeds measured during the sea trial are not adversely affected by poor performance due to fouling. 

  

An English Buyer plans to ship the boat to Turkey via transport.  He is adding a hardtop (locally constructed of fiberglass over foam coring).  These are very light, offer great insulation, lighting and are a good foundation for more rigid enclosures (using panels such as EZ2CY or Barrett glass for instance).  He is also making some modifications to the flybridge seating area to move it further aft.  Note:  Europeans are finding our low dollar and readily available yachts quite a bargain in reverse to the European yachts. 

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