Hi, I’m Angelo.
Boat Experts Founder and Chief Boat Whisperer
I’m a boating tragic with a tolerant wife who picked me up as a stray in high school and hasn’t been able to shake me since.
I’m also dad to four awesome kids, three of whom have joined their old man as part of the SS Boat Experts crew. Mum probably blackmailed them to make sure I didn’t embarrass the family too much. Good luck with that.
And I’m grandad to a precocious 18-month-old girl. I had her lifejacket picked out back when she was still a zygote. Just waiting for her to nail this whole walking caper before we test her sea legs offshore.
​
Boats have been my business (and obsession) for over 20 years. In that time, I’ve:
-
Bought them.
-
Sold them (around 1,800 worth a collective $80M, give or take).
-
Reviewed them (as Editor of TrailerBoat and Field Editor of Trade-A-Boat).
-
Designed them.
-
Marketed them.
-
Modified them.
-
Consulted on them.
-
And probably conceived a kid or three on them. 😜💦
I directed ops for Whittley, ran Cobalt Boats & Bennington Pontoons Vic, and played mad scientist in the R&D labs with Haines Hunter and more recently, Revival Boats. Even played chasey with helicopters back in the day.
That’s not a résumé — that’s me ticking off my nautical bucket list while earning my Boat Experts apprenticeship.
Bottom line? I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be a “boat buying expert.” I lived it. And I know a great deal about what a great deal really looks like — not just on paper, but out on the water where it actually matters.
​​Why Boat Experts?​
I'd beta-tested Boat Experts as a little side hustle during COVID. It didn't really have a name or a clearly-defined mission back then, but I had free time and a skill set that needed exercising during lockdowns.
With showrooms shut and buyers stranded at home, I found myself guiding people through the boat-buying process remotely.
Turns out, buyers loved having someone in their corner who could navigate around the BS and help them avoid costly mistakes. Dealers loved the pre-qualified, ready-to-go buyers who weren't even on their radar. It worked — for everyone.
But in early 2022 the "pandemic bubble" hit, and things got really weird. Demand went nuts. Supply disappeared. Travel bans and the aftershock of lockdowns triggered a mass local exodus as people splurged their super and stimulus cash on boats, caravans and anything with wheels to regain some notion of freedom.
Negotiation became non-negotiable. Prices soared. Delivery times blew out. Corners were cut. Quality slipped. And most people just shrugged and signed on the dotted line anyway. Stockholm syndrome? Maybe.
When the bubble burst early 2024, it became business as unusual.
​​​
Fast forward to mid-2025 and it’s a free-for-all.
Discounting is rife… or so it would seem. Owners who paid the “Covid tax” and are now looking to upgrade (or cash out) are facing a bloodbath, as overstocked dealers slash prices just to keep the lights on. Others are cashing in on buyer remorse by lowballing trade-ins, consignments, and used boat sales.
Dealers, too, are grappling with a perfect storm — ballooning floorplans, too much stock, not enough enquiry, and a market that refuses to play by the old rules.
In this post-apocalyptic seascape, how do you know a real deal when it’s staring you in the face?
I do!
So I consulted a higher power (the wife), who helped reorient my compass. Boat Experts went from casual side gig to full-time mission — a concierge and advocacy service built for trailer boat buyers who, unlike the big boat end of town, have been left to fend for themselves… until now.
How it works
With the help of our purpose-trained AI Co-pilot, SONAR, take the chaos and confusion out of shortlisting and buying the trailer boat that’s right for YOU.
​
You tell us what you’re after (or what you think you’re after), and we’ll:
​
-
Help refine your brief
-
Shortlist real, available options
-
Quietly go to bat for you with dealers across the country
​
We bypass the dudes on the desks and negotiate directly with the Dealer Principals and Sales Managers to ensure nothing gets lost in translation. And since we've deleted "NO" from our vocabulary, we don't quit until there's a genuine deal on the table — or they run away crying and call security on us. Sorry, not sorry!
​​
​Once the offers are in, SONAR runs them through its Expert AI Bullshit Filter™ and spits out a clean, easy-to-read report with your top three deals. No bias, no waffle, no phone calls from dealers while you’re still Googling “what’s a gunnel?”
​
When you’re ready to pull the trigger, we lock in the deal, help decode the fine print, and stay in your corner until the boat’s in your driveway — and beyond.​​
Why it works?
A Boat Experts deal benefits everyone — and yes, that includes the poor dude stuck behind the showroom desk.
​
Buyers who feel overwhelmed, under-informed, or completely out of their depth get straight-talking advice from someone who knows the ropes and calls BS when they see it. We advocate, interrogate, and translate boat speak into plain English, making sure your dream boat shows up on time, on brief and under budget.
​
Dealers, meanwhile, get what they’re always chasing — real, motivated buyers who already know what they want. No tyre-kickers. No protracted negotiations. No need to blow the marketing budget trying to find them.
​
And most importantly?
It works for my wife. Her hubby’s no longer stuck whinging about the state of the industry. He’s got his mojo back, doing things on his own terms… helping people, and getting paid for it.
Brands?
All of them.
​​
If you’re craving a Cruisecraft, hankering for a Haines, wishing for a Whittley, jonesing for a Jeanneau, yearning for a Yellowfin, or quivering for a Quintrex, Boat Experts has you covered.
Phew. Alliteration anxiety.
It doesn’t matter if your local dealer doesn’t stock it. If it’s available for sale in Australia, it’s in our wheelhouse — and we can help you get the deal done.
Side Note: We take our job seriously when it comes to finding your perfect boat match. If a brand or model doesn’t nail your brief in our (expert) opinion, we won’t recommend it. That said, if you’ve got your heart set on something that didn’t make the shortlist, we’re still happy to help. We don't judge!
What's it cost?
To you? Nothing.
​
But you’ll save. Big time. Money, time, and stress.
And how do we get paid?
We take a small slice of the successful dealer’s margin in return for delivering a qualified, ready-to-buy customer who might never have walked through their doors otherwise.
Boat Experts has your back
Whether you’re a first timer, an upgrader or just tired of the showroom runaround, we’re here to help you buy smarter and boat better.