Where We Are
Another View
From Another Time
Click to see a full-size view of this
historic photo of Commercial Wharf
|
Who We Are
|
 |
|
David Hooks
dhooks@aldenboats.com |
 |
|
Allen Schiller
aschiller@aldenboats.com |
 |
|
Linda Warren CPYB
lwarren@aldenboats.com |
|
Click here to view bios |
Today, the three divisions of the original John G. Alden Company are located at 89 Commercial Wharf, overlooking the historic Boston harbor waterfront. Together with the Naval Architect and Marine Insurance divisions of the company, the Yacht Brokerage is located in Alden’s stand-alone building on Commercial Wharf.
Run your pointer over the photo to see where we are
Visiting our Office?
LIke most of Boston (and especially the North End), parking is at a premium. However, a limited number of visitor parking spaces are available at our offices. (If you will be visiting our offices, it’s not a bad idea to call ahead for directions and parking information.)
The view of the Boston harbor from Alden is terrific.
It presents a changing scene of pleasure craft coming and going into the local marina, and all kinds of harbor traffic in the commercial channel beyond. It’s a great place for our yacht brokerage – within sight of John G. Alden’s original office at 148 State Street – and close to many of Boston’s historic landmarks.
Alden Yacht Brokerage serves an international clientele of yachtsmen from its Boston location, providing personal assistance and expertise relating to the purchase of sail and power yachts. We assist our clients in the proper pricing of a yacht and provide multi-media marketing support for our central listings. Alden yacht brokers are experts in all aspects of the financial transactions used to purchase a large yacht. They can advise you on virtually every aspect of buying, selling or donating a yacht, including letters of credit, international wire transfers, escrow accounts, yacht documentation and more.
What Kind of Yachts We Offer
Alden Yacht Brokerage offers pre-owned sail and power yachts for sale. At any given time, you're likely to find a mix of high quality power and sail in our inventory, ranging from 40-ft to +100-ft. Occasionally, you'll find some yachts that are smaller or larger (recently we've sold a number of +120-ft sailboats), but for the most part, the yachts we sell generally fall into this range.
Whether you are looking to move up to a larger vessel or perhaps make the switch from sail to power, give Alden a call at 1-617-227-9480. Our yacht brokers are specialists at finding the "perfect" yacht for you. For over 90 years, yachtsmen all over the world have put their trust in Alden. You can expect the same high level of confidentiality, service and expertise from today's Alden Yacht Brokerage.
| David J. Hooks |
 ALDEN YACHT BROKER |
 TRADE WIND, Alden Schooner under sail  David Hooks, Alden Yacht Broker dhooks@aldenboats.com  Click to see more of photo |
David Hooks is a sailor’s sailor, and one of those lucky people who has been able to fashion a lifelong career based on his love of being in and around boats. His love of boating started early, at the tender age of 3 months, the very first time his parents took him sailing. He grew up in Salem, MA and at the age of 11 years, he was allowed to sail the family’s 30-ft boat within the confines of the Salem harbor. At 12, he could sail single-handed between Marblehead and Manchester. By the time David was 16, he was skipper aboard BONANZA, a William Hand Motorsailer berthed at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. After earning a degree in business administration from Salem State College and serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, David came back to his true vocation. He worked as the captain of a 60-ft. Alden Schooner, TRADE WIND (See photo at left). In the years that followed, David would go on to captain several other substantial sailboats David’s career as a professional yacht captain gives him the background to be a knowledgeable yacht broker, as does his extensive racing experience. He has nine Bermuda races, eleven Halifax races, eight SORCs and five Annapolis/Newport races in his logbook. He continues to participate in selected ocean racing events but spends more time these days cruising the coast of Maine. David started with Alden in 1981. Since that time, his philosophy as a yacht broker has been a simple one. "I’ll do whatever it takes to find the right boat for a particular owner, and turn them into a customer for life." His large number of repeat customers, some of whom have purchased as many as five yachts from him, shows how well this approach is working. In over two decades as an Alden yacht broker, David has seen a lot. He has seen fads come and go, and the market go through upturns and downturns. However, one thing remains constant. "I always come down on the side of quality", David explains. "It’s the best investment an owner can make – and the best insurance for a strong re-sale value." While David has sold many, many power yachts, his first love remains sailing and sailboats. Not only does his yacht broker career keep him involved with boats on a daily basis, it also has taken him places few others have experienced. For instance, when David helped to steer a yacht donation to the USCG Academy Foundation, his reward (as part of his "commission"), was to sail aboard the USCG Bark EAGLE (See picture at left). And not only was he aboard, he was aloft – on the fore royal yardarm, hauling sail as the 295-ft square rigger made 18 knots. It was, he says, the the highlight of his sailing career. David is active in brokerage trade organizations and has served on the board of directors of the Yacht Brokers Association of America (YBAA) He lives in Marblehead, MA with his wife Cynthia. They have two children in college, Matthew (who is on the sailing team at Stanford) and Jennifer (who is attending Notre Dame). |
| Allen Schiller |
ALDEN YACHT BROKER |
Allen Schiller began sailing small boats as a youngster on Cape Cod. Over the years, he’s participated in most major ocean racing events on the east coast, including six Bermuda races, five SORCs, several Marblehead/Halifax and Annapolis/Newport races. A Massachusetts native, Allen grew up in Belmont, MA and has lived in Marblehead for 30 years. Following graduation from Bucknell University, he began a career in manufacturing plant operations, product development, and customer service. But it wasn’t long before his avocation of sailboat racing lead him to a career as a yacht broker. The year was 1978, Allen started working as a yacht broker for Ted Hood’s Little Harbor Yacht Sales. These were exciting times, when Ted and his organization were based in Marblehead. Innovations were tested and proven, then built for a new generation of yachtsmen and cruisers eagerly ready to adopt them. During those heady days in the boat business, Allen dove into his new career with gusto, racking up sales his first year surpassing the brokerage office’s previous year’s achievements. He continued to work at Little Harbor Yacht Sales until 1986, when the company relocated to Portsmouth, RI and came to Alden Yacht Brokerage in Boston, in lieu of moving. With a prodigious memory and impressive ability to remember names, faces – and boats, Allen is a walking storehouse of information, able to name every owner a particular boat had, selling price and last known location. Having been with Alden for 16 years, Allen has handled many major transactions involving some of the world’s best-known yachts and yachtsmen. Most recently, this included FREEDOM, a 125-ft Sparkman and Stephens design built by former Treasury Secretary William Simon, and sold to someone he had known for 20 years. That was followed by a custom Ray Hunt motoryacht on the west coast that had to end up on the east coast, for another 20 year client! When asked which yacht transaction stands out in his long career, Allen recalls one day in which he had not one, but two closings – a $2 million Burger Motoryacht and a 19-ft catboat that sold for $21,000. What he values most are the relationships he’s developed and maintained. Of increasing importance and enjoyment is Allen’s role in overseeing new construction. His contacts among the boat yards, marine industries vendors and crew (both here and abroad) make him well qualified to put those projects together. Allen enjoys the work he has put in serving on industry associations such as the Yacht Brokers Association of America (YBAA) and is a former member of the Board of Directors and spent many years sitting on YBAA’s Professional Standards and Ethics Committee. He was one of the first out of state yacht brokers to be licensed in Florida, first admitted to the Florida Yacht Brokers Association (FYBA) and has also been active on various industry technical and advisory committees, particularly relating to technology development. Allen lives with his wife, Barbara and son Jeffery, a college sophmore. He is a past Director and former Vice President and Treasurer of the Marblehead Youth Hockey Association. Until recently he also served as a Director of Friends of Marblehead Hockey, a fund-raising organization that operates several charitable events including a major golf tournament, with proceeds to benefit Marblehead youth. |
|
| Linda Warren |
ALDEN YACHT BROKER |
Linda Warren grew up in a sailing family and has been involved with boating all her life. Her grandfather raced IOR class boats in the SORC, back in the 60’s and 70’s. Her parents sailed the Great Lakes from their homeport of Erie, PA. Linda was a dinghy racer as a youth and has competed in several classes including Rhodes Bantam, Lightning and Flying Juniors. Today she keeps her racing skills sharp by sailing Pumpkin Seed class dinghies (a 13-ft, gaff-rigged dinghy) in club races sponsored by the Chetolah Yacht Club in Plymouth, MA. As a high school and college student, Linda worked as a sailing instructor, introducing people to the fun of sailing at both Erie, PA and Barnstable, MA. She has made numerous blue-water deliveries up and down the East Coast of the U.S. and to the Caribbean, most notably aboard the 61-ft. McCurdy Rhodes-designed/Palmer Johnson-built sloop, KAHILI. Linda has a well-developed eye for the esthetic, having earned her undergraduate degree in fine arts from Skidmore College. It wasn’t long after graduating that Linda was drawn back to her first love, and started working for Hood sailmakers in Marblehead, MA. From there, Linda went on to become a yacht broker. In 1978 she worked for a small yacht brokerage in the Boston area, and then went on to Little Harbor Yacht Sales in 1980. Here she really hit her stride and enjoyed eight years as part of the Little Harbor Yacht Sales organization, developing a keen appreciation for Little Harbor yachts. During a hiatus of some six years, from approximately ‘88 – ‘94, Linda was devoted to taking care of her young children. In 1994, Linda returned to yacht sales, joining Sailboats Northeast. From there, she went to Alden in 1998. Linda brings a woman’s perspective to the male-dominated world of yacht sales, and that has won her many friends and repeat customers. "I really enjoy working with families and helping them to find their dream boat", says LInda. She makes an extra effort to find out the family’s needs and expectations, realizing that the concerns of everyone in the family have to be addressed in order for a family boat to be successful. Linda is active in the industry trade association, Yacht Brokers Association of America (YBAA). She served on the board of directors for four years and was the treasurer for one year and the vice president for two years. During her tenure as vice president she spearheaded the rewriting of the YBAA Code of Ethics.
|
