Yo......

Seattle boater here.

More dialed into powerboating than sailing, but here's a few general answers to
your inquiries.

You're going to find fewer sailboat brokerages than you probably remember.
Of the brokerages that remain, there are even fewer than you might originally
think.
Signature Yachts, on Lake Union, has been acquiring most of the sailboat
brokerages as, one after another, they
get into trouble. I think they currently represent something like a dozen lines
of new sailboats, (operating in some cases under names of companies they have
acquired) in addition to their brokerage inventory of course. As far as I know,
they are probably very fine people to deal with. Never heard a bad word about
them, personally. You'd certainly want to include them among your
considerations.

Bob Ross, the J-boat dealer at Sail NW, is a friend of mine. I'm biased as a
result, but if I took leave of my senses and decided to forsake stink potting
in favor of sailing I'd trust Bob implicitly to give me good advice and find me
a good used boat. Bob is far more than just a "boat dealer" in the community,
he's the primary organizer of Whidbey Island Race Week, a supporter of
non-profit Sail Sand Point, and he owns a sailing school and sailing club in
addition to his J-boat dealership.

Max, over at Pacific Seacraft is a good egg, too. He has been serving as
president of the NW Yacht Brokers' Association. Well liked, well respected guy
with very high integrity.

Paul, over at Elliott Bay Yacht Sales, is a low key, easy going, straight
shooting sort of fellow and while he lists a mixed inventory he leans heavily
toward sail.

I'm sure there are other good sail brokers. Probably a lot of them. This list
doesn't preclude folks that aren't mentioned as somehow less than trustworthy
or what not. While there may be a crooked sailboat broker in town.....I
honestly do not know of one.

If you're going to consider pre-owned boats, it's almost as important to find
the right broker as to find the right boat. In fact, most brokers can sell you
a used boat out of another broker's inventory so the key is to find a broker
who you can trust and ultimately develop a strong level of personal comfort.

You might call a few of these folks on the phone and tell them that you're
"interviewing" potential brokers. See who gives you the time of day, and who
doesn't. One caveat, if you call around to a bunch of brokers to try to pick a
congenial person in advance, be reluctant to give your name and phone number
before you
find the broker who just feels right.
Not that you want to be a jerk about it, but if you are going to be asking
broker X to show you a boat out of broker Y's inventory, you don't want broker
Y trying to claim that you're "his" client because he got your name and number
during a recent phone call.........(trust me, that sort of thing goes on all
the time). *If* broker X and Y get in a tiff, you can be sure that listing
broker Y could be less than completely convincing when he presents your offer
(that came in through broker X) to his seller.

Final disclosu Some of the people mentioned in my response advertise in a
publication I am associated with. Others do not. Does not and would not effect
my recommendations.