BoatFools Sailing & Captain Kew (yes, that one!)
Yacht Consultation Services
Real Boats. Real People. Real Experience
WHy
Consultation?
Captain Alan Kew (aka Captain Q) and the BoatFools Sailing team — Tristram Coburn, Canadian Ken Chipman, and Joshua Ledwith — bring over 200 years of combined boating experience to help you navigate the often tricky waters of boat buying.
Whether you're looking for your first daysailer, a coastal cruiser, or a serious bluewater voyager, we’ll help you find the right boat for your dreams — and avoid the wrong one.
Our ultimate goal? To get you out on the water — safely, smartly, and cost-effectively — experiencing the unbridled joy of sailing
Initial Consultation
A 30-minute phone or video call to discuss your goals, experience, budget, and dream boat. We’ll see if we’re a good fit to work together before any commitment.
FREE
Ongoing Consultation
Includes:
Personalized boat search guidance
Review of listings and market comparables
Recommendations tailored to your intended use and skill level
Email and phone support throughout your search
Guidance on next steps toward making an offer or scheduling a survey
$500 for 6 Months
On-Site Consultation
This can be done with or without the buyer present.
We will inspect the vessel in detail, providing initial findings, our opinions, and an exhaustive set of photos documenting our observations.
You’ll receive an honest assessment — the kind of real-world insight that only comes from sailors who’ve been there, bought that, and sailed it hard.
(Note: this is not a professional survey.)
$500/day + Travel Expenses
Survey Review
You must retain a licensed marine surveyor for any purchase.
Once your survey is complete, we’ll review the findings with you — translating the jargon and helping you understand what it really means for your wallet, maintenance plan, and peace of mind.
$75/hour
Why BoatFools & Captain kew?
More than 200 years of collective experience sailing, racing, refitting, and living aboard classic and modern yachts
Real-world advice — practical, candid, and grounded in thousands of sea miles
Deep market insight from the team behind BoatFools Sailing and Captain Kew — they have reviewed/filmed 100s of sailboats
A shared passion for helping sailors at every stage of the journey
ABOUT THESE GUYS:
Captain Kew has been sailing since the early 1950s.
From the start, he’d crew—or take command of—anything that floated, just to feel wind on his face and a bow wave in his brain. He’s raced everything from Bermuda to Boston–Halifax to coastal classics between Nova Scotia and Annapolis. Along the way, he’s been a boatyard owner, new-boat salesman, and yacht broker. Though he once lived aboard with his family, Kew’s true passion has always been racing—not the NASCAR-on-water variety, but the timeless, gentlemanly contest of grace and grit aboard beautiful yachts. And yes, the cruise to and from the course counts as part of the fun. A lifelong student of yacht design and craftsmanship, he can often be found in his man cave surrounded by nautical tomes, pondering the mysteries of the sea. After three memorable years as Captain Q, he’s now charting new waters with BoatFools Sailing.
Tristram, Ken, and Josh have been around boats most of their lives. From racing dinghies to big boats along the coasts of Maine, Long Island Sound, and Annapolis — offshore to Halifax and Bermuda, deliveries to and from the Caribbean, and cruising the West Indies — they are complete BoatFools. They jointly own a Morgan 382 and recently added a Morgan 384 to the fleet. Their wives hate them.
