Denison does it right! Steve Beck is a reliable, informative yacht broker. If you are looking for a vessel, toss YachtWorld and pick up the Denison website. As for their brokers, I have dealt with Steve Beck with my last two yacht transactions; he made my transactions very seamless. He kept me informed and handled all the details very professionally. Steve assisted me in returning my new vessel to its home port, including operational handling lessons; all above and beyond the call of duty. If you are looking to purchase a vessel, it makes sense to have a good broker look for you. Denison and Steve were magic – a five-star team!

Buying a new sailboat can be a daunting project, especially if it is your first one. I am an intermediate sailor and had been looking at Jeanneau, Beneteau, and Dufour sailboats for some time when I first came to Denison Yachting in Marina del Rey, California.

I met Jean-Marie Cabri, a yacht broker with Denison. He spent a great deal of time with me discussing my needs and interests related to the purchase of a boat. We finally settled on a Dufour 43 Grand Large. Jean-Marie stayed with me throughout the process, taking me out on the boat prior to purchasing it a number of times. It is a beautiful vessel with remarkable equipment and technology. After I bought the boat, Jean-Marie continued to spend time teaching me how to manage the boat and the general principles of sailing. It has been a great pleasure to have such a competent sailor share his knowledge with me. He is most attentive to details and has great patience explaining things.

Will Petersen, also a yacht consultant and manager at Denison Yachting, has been most helpful with issues during the "break in” period of the boat. Chris Jahn, the overall boat specialist with expertise in the systems and boat mechanics, is remarkably competent in helping learn and manage all aspects of the boat.

Overall, I feel quite lucky that I found Denison and purchased the Dufour 43 Grand Large sailing yacht. It is a wonderful boat and the staff at Denison Yachts Sales is terrific. 

I am a first-time boat buyer so knew very little about the boat purchasing process. Benjamin Morse was very helpful in guiding me through the process. He was very patient with answering all my questions, flexible in allowing me to see the boat multiple times, and very knowledgeable about boats and boating in general. He is a kind and honest person, so having someone that I trust through this process was invaluable. Even after I purchased the boat, Ben followed up to make sure that I was happy and enjoying the boat. If I decide to upgrade to a bigger boat, Ben will be my person! 

There was initially a lot of uncertainty and many stress points in looking for and buying our first blue water sailing yacht. Benjamin Morse of Denison Yachts went above and beyond to reduce the stress and make the buying process enjoyable. His easy-going manner was calming throughout the process and his expert knowledge of the boat, as well as the industry overall, was extremely helpful.  After the sale, he helped with finding a wet slip as well as graciously handling many first-time buyer questions. We would highly recommend working with Ben.

Our experiences with Jean-Marie Cabri over the last 15 years have been phenomenal. He sold us a new Beneteau 46 in 2008 and brokered the sale of it in the summer of 2022.

He sailed with us to Mexico back when California had the 91-day yacht club legislation. I was blown away by a broker who would spend four days with a buyer to close a deal. His knowledge and sailing experiences on this overnight passage turned into a sailing friendship since. He’s always available to share his life and advice.

Recently he sold the same boat for us. As with any 15-year-old boat, there will be a laundry list of items to fix, even with a diligent owner. Jean-Marie was on top of it all. We were out of the country as Jean-Marie chipped away at the list. We were so relieved to know our boat was in such capable hands.

Jean-Marie turned a business transaction 15 years ago into a lifelong friendship. We know we will see Jean-Marie on the water somewhere.

Additionally, our experiences with Denison Yacht Services and their escrow services with Marlin Szarf were so easy and professional.