Yacht.com Blog

This blog post was supposed to be about a beautiful wooden yacht that is on the brokerage market up in Lake George.  That’s all fantastic to hear about (and you can still find the story here), but I suspect many of you might find more use in the back story of how the presence of a boat like this on the web can be influenced and enhanced by all of our new social media tools.

Two days ago, an very Internet savvy marine entrepreneur, Guy Mitriano, who is one of the founders of Burlington Boatyard started following YachtDotCom on Twitter.  He sent us a message about this particular Windsor Craft 36 that is being sold through Boats by George that he has offered to help ‘get out there’ in some new and atypical ways in terms of the brokerage world.  I looked into it, found Guys’ blog article about the boat, also found an interview on YouTube about the boat and then was able to find the broker and Burlington Boatyards website.  I could have simply blogged here about it, or pointed a link to Guys’ post about it, but knowing the appeal of these types of unique stunners in the yachting world, I figured this yacht might benefit a larger and more suited audience.  I sent along the information to my friend John Burnham, who is the editor of Yachtworld.com and Boats.com and happens to also pen their blog.  [John and I are also LinekdIn... in case you wanted to know another useful tool we use on the internet to pass along information.]

As luck would have it, John found the story interesting to their readers and it appears today on the boats.com blog.  Who would have guessed that a little Twitter message from Guy to Yacht.com could have generated a whole little write up on Boats.com.  John and Guy have spoken and now more Lake Champlain-related content might be appearing there (as well as here) as they celebrate their 400th year of boating on the lake.

As our Yacht.com community develops, this is just one small example of how a boats have a life on the web – and how we can use the tools out there to help promote and highlight them.  The moral of the story is don’t be afraid to use these social media tools, get out here and find creative ways your boat might reach more eyes on the Internet – you never know who might be paying attention.  Look for more inter-activity here in the coming months and years!

The United States largest boat show has already been underway for the hundreds of industry professionals who have set up their booths and staged their yachts to welcome the VIPs today at the 3 major locations that comprise the 2009 Miami Boat Show.  Just like in every industry hosting shows this year, there is a lot of positive outlook on the new products being rolled out, and a lot of speculation about who is showing up to buy.

We at Yacht.com  are here to talk to everyone, from boaters checking out new products on the dock, to dealers hoping to generate strong leads and sales in a challenging economic year for boating.  We want to find out what the manufacturers are saying about their new models, what’s the hottest new development we are seeing with engineers and what kinds of deals are out there right now – when we all are looking for the best deals.

In our own web world, we are enthusiastic that in this time, it seems we all need a place to gather, virtually as it may be.  Some great experts within their fields will be contributing to this blog on topics like marine finance, buying and selling your boat and the vast topics of marine insurance.  We’re talking to service mangers who will be offering tips as we roll into spring and we all begin to draw the boats out of winter storage.

If you are attending the Miami Boat Show this year – let us know how you are finding it.  Anything we should check out before the show closes on Monday?  With multiple locations, everyone needs a direct link to the good stuff. (pun intended)

We hereby christen, the Yacht.com blog – a place to come for news, stories, expert opinions and a community of boating enthusiasts to share collectively with.

So who are we?

Just as our mission statement says; we are a group developing Yacht.Com as the most fun and useful gathering place for boaters: the site that provides a permanent and secure identity for boat enthusiasts, most completely connects the people, culture, lifestyle and business of yachting.

We are in the development stages of the full-featured Yacht.com site, currently offering our @yacht.com e-mail forwarding service and a sophisticated news service.  Try out one of the topics we have been following for you.  Whether it’s the marine industry, blue water cruising or global yacht racing, we have a rich source of information collected – live and growing delivered straight to our site.

That being said – this blog is an open place for communication.  If there is a topic you would like to see covered; by us or an industry expert, let us know.  You need to register with yacht.com to be a commenting reader of this blog, but signup is easy.

So let us know who you are, what you want out of your online boating community and check back often.