Fort Lauderdale · Buying and Selling
Twenty years running yachts before selling them. Seven of those inside Westport, America's leading production superyacht builder. More than $88,000,000 closed, from 35 feet to 164 feet.
If you are buying, the brokerage commission is paid by the seller. The brokerage commission is paid by the seller out of the sale, and it is split between the listing side and the buyer's side whether or not the buyer has anyone working for them. Going direct to a listing broker does not change that split. It just means the person negotiating has a contract with the other party.
If you are selling, the work is in the pricing and the exposure. An asking price set from live comparable listings and actual closings, rather than from hope, is what keeps a boat from sitting. Greg prices from the YATCO MLS and from his own recent closings, including the only Westport 125 to trade recently, which he closed at $19,000,000 in May 2026.
Greg Gaus spent more than two decades as a working captain before brokering, running vessels from sportfish to 164-foot superyachts, including years in command of Westport 112s and 130s. He then spent seven years as an in-house Westport broker. He has run the systems he is selling, which is a different conversation from reading a spec sheet.
Fort Lauderdale is where the American brokerage market clears. The yards, the surveyors, the captains and the buyers are all here, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show brings the market to one place each autumn, and a boat lying here sells faster than the same boat lying somewhere quiet.
It also means a broker here sees the inventory before it is listed. Greg works the South Florida dealer and broker network directly, so a buyer often hears about a boat before it reaches the portals, and a seller reaches the people who are actually shopping this week.
Double G works the whole coast and beyond, from Miami and Palm Beach up through the Northeast and out to the West Coast, but the desk is here.
What does a yacht broker charge? The industry standard is 10% of the sale price, paid by the seller and split between the listing broker and the buyer's broker. On larger vessels the rate is often negotiated down. Buyers should still budget for survey, sea trial, haul-out and closing costs.
Do I need a broker to buy a yacht? No, but the brokerage commission is paid by the seller either way, and the alternative is negotiating against a professional who represents the seller. A buyer's broker also runs the survey, sea trial, closing and documentation process.
How long does it take to sell a yacht? Across the wider market for boats between 100 and 140 feet, the median is about 384 days. Westports in the same band average about 261 days. Pricing and presentation are what move that number.
How do I know what my boat is worth? Blue book tools stop working above roughly 40 feet, because there is no volume of identical transactions to average. Above that, value comes from live comparable listings and recent closings. Our boat and yacht value calculator is built on live MLS data, and the blue book guide explains where those tools stop.
Where is Double G based? Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Greg can be reached on +1 (954) 881-5500 or at greg@doublegyachtsales.com.
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