What Cape Yachts does

Cape Yachts is a privately held New England yacht dealership founded in 1986 by Dave Nolan that operates an integrated marine sales, brokerage, service, marina, and storage platform from its headquarters at the South Wharf Yacht Yard & Marina in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, with a second sales office at Newport Shipyard in Rhode Island. The company represents a portfolio of new yacht brands spanning BENETEAU (inboard power, outboard power, and sail lines), Hatteras Yachts, Jupiter Marine center consoles, MJM Yachts, True North downeast boats, Wellcraft, AB Inflatables, and Four Winns, while also brokering pre-owned vessels through a co-brokerage network exposing more than 8,218 vessels. The underlying technology and infrastructure assets include the owned South Wharf yard with 90-100 protected marina slips for vessels up to 130-150 feet, a 40,000 sq ft indoor heated storage facility, factory-trained technicians certified across Volvo IPS, Cummins, Yanmar, Mercury, Yamaha, Raymarine, SIMRAD, B&G, and Garmin systems (with 5-Star Master Class Yamaha certification), and proprietary brand-specific offerings such as the MJM C5 closed, compressed, clean, oven-cured composite construction.

The business operates four revenue streams: commission-based new yacht sales (one-time transactions of vessels ranging approximately $105,000 to over $2.4 million), brokerage commissions on pre-owned sales, referral fees from marine financing arrangements (including 2.99% APR promotional rates and 20-year loan terms), and professional service revenue from the owned boat yard, marina slips, and indoor heated storage. The go-to-market model is a traditional enterprise field-sales approach combining showroom traffic at the two locations, participation in regional and international boat shows (Newport, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Cannes, Genoa, etc.), targeted direct mail and email campaigns to a 30,000-prospect centralized CRM database, and SEO/SEM on MLS listing platforms such as YachtWorld and BoatTrader.

Cape Yachts serves three primary customer segments: affluent New England boating enthusiasts using vessels for coastal cruising, offshore fishing, family recreation, and racing; luxury yacht buyers purchasing $100,000-plus vessels for long-range cruising and liveaboard use; and brokerage clients seeking to buy or sell pre-owned yachts. Recurring relationships anchored by service, storage, and marina contracts produce a multi-touch revenue model that supplements episodic boat sales, with customer satisfaction metrics (96% NMMA CSI, 100% Yamaha CSI for seven years) and 18 consecutive Beneteau President's Awards evidencing durable retention within the regional market.

Name

Cape Yachts

Legal name

Cape Yachts

Website

https://capeyachts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cape Yachts is a 40-year-old New England yacht dealership representing Beneteau, Hatteras, MJM, Jupiter, Wellcraft, and other premium brands, operating from South Dartmouth, MA and Newport, RI with owned marina, service yard, and indoor storage facilities serving affluent recreational boaters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

South Dartmouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. New Yacht Sales: Revenue from selling new vessels from manufacturer brands including BENETEAU, Hatteras, Jupiter, MJM Yachts, True North, Wellcraft, and AB Inflatables. Sales involve commission-based transactions with manufacturer partners.
2. Yacht Brokerage: Brokerage commissions on pre-owned yacht sales. The company matches buyers and sellers of vessels, earning fees typically calculated as a percentage of the sale price. Extensive network enables co-brokerage arrangements across the industry.
3. Marine Financing Assistance: Referral fees from connecting customers with trusted marine lenders who specialize in boat financing
4. Service, Marina & Storage: Revenue from full-service boat yard operations including mechanical services, electronics, refinishing, rigging, sail services, marina slips, and indoor heated storage. The company owns South Wharf Yacht Yard & Marina.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Cape Yachts is a New England yacht dealership and brokerage founded in 1986 that sells new motor and sail yachts from multiple premium brands (Beneteau, Hatteras, Jupiter, MJM, True North, Wellcraft, AB Inflatables, Four Winns), brokers pre-owned vessels through its co-brokerage network, and operates an owned full-service boat yard, marina, and indoor heated storage facility at South Wharf in South Dartmouth, MA. The company also connects buyers to marine financing partners and provides factory-trained mechanical, electronics, rigging, and refinishing service for vessels up to 80+ feet.

Product overview

Cape Yachts is a yacht dealership providing new yacht sales and brokerage services, representing multiple premium boat brands including BENETEAU (inboard powerboats, outboard powerboats, and sailboats), Hatteras Yachts, Jupiter Marine center consoles, MJM Yachts, True North downeast boats, Wellcraft, AB Inflatables, and Four Winns. The company operates as a true all-in-one dealership with an owned full-service boatyard (South Wharf Yacht Yard & Marina) offering marine financing, service/maintenance, marina slips (100 slips up to 150 feet), and indoor heated boat storage (40,000 sq ft). Founded in 1986 and celebrating 40 years in business, Cape Yachts serves the New England boating market from locations in South Dartmouth, MA and Newport, RI.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Yacht Brokerage Pre-owned yacht buying and selling service for recreational boaters, including market valuation, professional MLS marketing, and access to Cape Yachts' co-brokerage network of 8,218+ vessels nationwide. Targeted at owners seeking to sell or trade up and at buyers looking for late-model or classic yachts.
• Marine Financing Assistance Financing referral service connecting boat buyers with trusted marine lenders for purchase of new or pre-owned vessels, with promotional APR options and multi-year loan terms (e.g., 2.99% APR for 24 months; up to 20-year terms).
• Boat Service & Maintenance Full-service boatyard providing commissioning, customization, repair, repowering, mechanical, electronics, electrical, refinishing, and rigging services for vessels from tenders to 80+ foot sailing and power yachts, with factory-trained technicians certified on Volvo IPS, Cummins, Yanmar, Mercury, Yamaha, Raymarine, SIMRAD, B&G, and Garmin systems.
• South Wharf Marina Full-service marina with around 100 protected slips accommodating vessels up to 150 feet, featuring 30/50/100 amp power, deepwater access, on-site security, upscale facilities, high-speed WiFi, and waterfront dining near Buzzards Bay.
• Boat Storage Indoor heated storage facility with 40,000 sq ft of secured space plus 3,000 sq ft for canvas and cushion storage; climate-controlled environment enables year-round servicing of vessels.
• BENETEAU Inboard Powerboats BENETEAU inboard powerboat lineup including Gran Turismo express cruisers, Swift Trawler long-range cruisers, and Grand Trawler luxury displacement trawlers for coastal and offshore cruising.
• BENETEAU Outboard Powerboats BENETEAU outboard-powered boat lineup including Flyer day boats with Air Step hulls, Antares pilothouse fisher-cruisers, and Gran Turismo outboard models, combining outboard performance with premium comfort.
• BENETEAU Sailboats Full BENETEAU sailing yacht range spanning 18 to 62 feet across Oceanis (bluewater cruising), Oceanis Yacht (luxury performance), First (daysailing/racing), and First SE (seascape racing/adventure) lines.
• Hatteras Yachts Hatteras premium American motor yacht lineup including GT45X, GT59, GT65 Carolina, and GT70 models, positioned as industry benchmarks for luxury, quality, and innovation.
• Jupiter Marine Center Consoles Jupiter Marine premium center console boats featuring exclusive Posi-Stern hull design, individually built with yacht-quality craftsmanship for offshore performance, in models from 26 to 43 feet.
• MJM Yachts MJM Yachts luxury Carolina Downeast yachts featuring proprietary C5 composite construction (half weight, twice strength of traditional builds), indoor/outdoor pilothouse flexibility, and planing at just 12 knots; models include 38x, 38R, 38RS, 47X, and 47R.
• True North Powerboats True North Downeast-style powerboats by Catalina featuring fiberglass hulls with sharp plumb bow and hard chine design, twin outboard power, and shallow draft; models include 34 OE and 39 OE.
• Wellcraft Powerboats Wellcraft high-performance American powerboats including the Explorer series, T-Top models, Fisherman center consoles, and Speedster performance boats, featuring deep-V hulls for offshore capability.
• AB Inflatables AB Inflatables premium rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) for leisure and professional markets, holding CE, NMMA, and ISO 9001 certifications; product lines include Alumina, Nautilus, and Oceanus.
• Four Winns Powerboats Four Winns luxury powerboats combining innovation and craftsmanship for premium boating experiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% Customer Satisfaction Index (NMMA CSI program)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• MarineMax: MarineMax is the largest recreational boat retailer in the U.S. (NYSE: HZO), operating a multi-brand dealership, brokerage, and marina service model across the country. Cape Yachts operates the same vertically integrated dealer-brokerage-service-yard playbook but at a regional New England scale, making MarineMax the closest scaled comparable.
• Hinckley Yachts: Hinckley Yachts is a storied Maine-based luxury yacht builder and dealer with Picnic Boat and Talaria lines plus brokerage and service. It is a higher-end brand and partial competitor for premium sail/power buyers, particularly in New England, and shares the integrated builder/broker/service model.
• Safe Harbor Marinas: Safe Harbor Marinas is the largest U.S. owner and operator of recreational marinas (a Sun Communities business) with 130+ properties. It directly parallels Cape Yachts' South Wharf Marina & Yard operations and represents the kind of scaled consolidator that could acquire or compete with the marina/yard side of Cape Yachts' business.

Direct peers

• Russo Marine: Russo Marine is a multi-brand New England yacht dealer (Hinckley, Sabre, Back Cove, Formula) headquartered in Medford, MA with locations on Boston Harbor and Cape Cod. It is the most direct regional competitor to Cape Yachts, serving an overlapping HNW customer base with overlapping premium brands and full brokerage services.
• Denison Yachting: Denison Yachting is a major U.S. yacht brokerage and new yacht dealer operating from Florida and California with a national network. Cape Yachts competes head-to-head for brokerage listings in the East Coast market and uses co-brokerage arrangements with brokers of Denison's caliber.
• HMY Yachts: HMY Yachts is a long-standing U.S. yacht sales and brokerage firm (notably one of the largest Hatteras dealers, alongside Viking, Princess, and Freedom lines) with offices across the Southeast. It is a direct comparable for multi-brand premium yacht sales, brokerage, and dealer-network operations.
• Allied Marine: Allied Marine is a national yacht brokerage focused on large motor yachts and sportfish (Hatteras, Viking, Sunseeker, Sanlorenzo), operating across the U.S. and globally. Comparable to Cape Yachts' brokerage arm in co-brokerage activity, brand portfolio overlap (Hatteras), and high-net-worth client focus.

Emerging players

• IGY Marinas: IGY Marinas is a global network of luxury yacht marinas and yacht club destinations operating premium slip berthing in Newport, St. Barths, Malta, and beyond. Relevant comparable for Cape Yachts' South Wharf marina operations, particularly the North/South seasonal migration pattern between Newport and the Caribbean.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/capeyachts
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC87hKUfaRs2wzMuOWVPJunA
• Facebookfacebook.com/capeyachts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cape-yachts
• Instagraminstagram.com/capeyachts

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cape Yachts