Testimonials

“RBS generated serious interest within only 3 days of listing my Hanse 315! They were a delight to deal with, from initial, well informed marketing advice on price and positioning, through to exchange and completion. I was kept fully and promptly informed throughout the process, and nothing was ever too much trouble in preparing ANTARES for survey, sea trials and sale. A first class professional and caring service.”

"When we arrived early at the Southampton Boat Show 2021 Rodman wasn’t on our short-list of boats to track down. This well researched checklist was full of the usual shiny suspects but none of these were really “the one”. They were either too big, too expensive, were not the comfortable ‘home on the water’ with the required accommodations we wanted or, as it turned out, not even available until 2023 at the earliest!

The Rodman stand was the second one we visited and Ben’s patience was never ending as we kept coming back asking to try the cabin beds, sit on the seats and open every cupboard. The blue-hulled Spirit 31 caught our eye and became the standard by which the others at the Boat Show were compared. We left that day with a new Rodman boat and she is a shiny, sturdy-yet-elegant and very capable pleasure craft with light and open accommodation – how it all fits into 31 feet is impressive. We are very confident in her handling the Solent, taking us to new destinations and bringing us home safely with speed and fun.

Buying a boat means working with a dealer. Hopefully everyone has the positive experience we were fortunate enough to have had with RBS Marine and its staff. Ben and Dana’s knowledge and genuine customer-friendly approach gave us the confidence to purchase the Spirit 31 from the Boat Show and feel secure that our financial commitment would be matched by the promised boat. Our instructor, Sean, expertly and patiently worked with our inexperience to give us faith in ourselves to enjoy our new boat. This pattern of service continued throughout the buying process, from managing delivery expectations, completing necessary works right down to remembering the cheese and salmon in the fridge to complete our fantastic hamper and lugging gallons upon gallons of fuel from the forecourt miles away, during the petrol crisis, to make sure we got home safely.

Thank you."

"We had decided to buy a pilot house boat after an enjoyable clockwise circumnavigation of Britain in our Contessa 32. That trip had set us to plan our next adventure of heading to High Latitudes in a tough and comfortable boat. The boat that we had decided to buy wasn’t on the market, but found through chatting with existing Nauticat owners, and, quite informally we had agreed a price to progress to buying from the boat’s current owner. We had bought our Contessa via RBS and thought they were easy to deal with and very organised.

I asked Dana if she could handle the boat purchase, it’s administration, registration and the bits and pieces of sorting out what came with the boat, as well as coordinating the sea trials and survey with the surveyor and owner.

That service transformed the buying, made it dead easy for us as buyers and the seller and just meant that everything was done properly, quickly and incredibly amicably at not a huge cost. Simply to know that everything is in order, and that both the seller and ourselves found the experience a happy one makes us feel very pleased that we asked RBS Marine to look after this process. Rating 10/10."

"Having had our new boat arrive with RBS Marine in December 2020, she sat protected at Birdham Pool Marina until handover in the spring.

A glorious two days ensued whilst we had the handover chats and operational instructions. So much more to take in than my previous boat, a Rodman 890 Ventura.

After handover the Muse 44 was successfully put on her new berth at Premier Southsea Marina.

Three trips around the Solent and to the Isle of Wight and then she was loaded, early July, onto a lorry for her journey down to Port Vauban, Antibes, where she will spend the summer.

Our mooring is in the Old Port Marina and we are squished between a couple of much larger yachts, but they are old and our Muse 44 gleams in the sunshine like a jewel.

We take her out most days around to various bays for lunch at beach restaurants or just anchor and swim and have picnics on board. The boat handles beautifully and is a joy to drive. We have the larger Volvo 600 IPS engines which gives us about 34 knots flat out and the joystick makes manoeuvring in port a doddle.

The optional extra of an hydraulic bathing platform was a great decision and many other owners seem very envious of it. The boat feels well made and sturdy.

We love the boat and are having an ace time with her. Many people have been on board and are extremely impressed with her and say how beautiful she is."

"About 5 years ago I asked RBS to sell my Sadler 26. I gave them the keys because I was going on holiday. In my absence they handled everything and she was sold on my return. It was such a pain free experience I decided to use them again to sell my Hallberg Rassy 31 this spring.

Within 24hrs a sale was secured at the full asking price. The contract was signed and a deposit paid. However the buyer didn’t appreciate she was a shallow draft (despite it being made clear in the specifications and photos) It was a genuine mistake and the buyer wanted to cancel the sale.

RBS Marine handled the situation with professionalism and integrity. The full deposit was returned to the buyer without delay. A more cynical dealer may have taken a different approach. The buyer was so impressed he sent Dana/Ben and I, a bottle of the finest Rum! Another buyer was quickly found and the sale went smoothly.

RBS’s approach is to make the customer’s experience a happy one. All hiccups and unforeseen problems are handled in a professional, prompt and caring way. I would not hesitate to recommend them and I will be using their services to purchase my next boat."

"We are very pleased with the boat overall and it is everything that Ben said it was, dealing with RBS Marine was a pleasure from start to finish with every point covered to the highest of professionalism.

Buying the boat blind due to lockdown restrictions etc was the most nerve wrecking thing I have ever done never mind the pressure from my wife asking had I lost the plot! Thankfully you were true to your word and the boat was just what we wanted and the condition we hoped it to be in.

Dana made the financial side of things so easy & professional putting my mind at ease when arranging the payment etc.

I would recommend RBS to anyone as our overall experience was fantastic."

"We saw our first Rodman Spirit at the Southampton Boat Show in 2012. In the subsequent seven years, Ben & Dana at RBS have demonstrated almost saintly patience with us - until finally we decided this year to bite the bullet & order a new 31ft Spirit Outboard from the factory.

Every step of the process from ordering, spec'ing out and then taking delivery in Birdham Pool has been truly exceptional. Nothing has been too much trouble, and it’s been an absolute pleasure to receive such high levels of old school customer support.

The 3-day handover training with Sean went totally beyond our expectations, so much so that we intend to book a few more days. As motor cruiser novices, moving up from ribs was quite a big deal for us. However, Sean took us through everything inside & out, again with lots of patience and we loved every second of it.

We really cannot recommend RBS Marine any higher. Highly professional & great people at the end of the day!! Thank you."

"Sold in less than three months. Reliable sources and my own experience told me that it would take about two years to sell my 1993 Heard 28, Carlotta. She’s a gaff cutter of the type that appeals to only a few hardened old salts.
So how did RSB Marine sell her so quickly and for just under the asking price?
1. Attention to detail. The team made sure that they knew the boat inside out, including her history. Pictures were produced of her cruises to festivals in England and France.
2. Detailed photographs of all the attractive and important features.
3. All the paper work sorted swiftly and efficiently.
4. Contacting prospective buyers. Nothing was too much trouble in terms of emails, texts and phone calls to answer questions and arrange a viewing.
5. Excellent communication. At every step I was kept informed so that I was never left wondering what was happening.
6. Exhaustive local knowledge meant that prospective buyers were directed to relevant agencies without delay.
7. TIME. Both myself and the buyer were made to feel that they were the most important clients. Emails, texts and phone calls answered promptly. Always relaxed, polite and professional RBS were never too busy to chat, to advise or just sympathise. The atmosphere in their deceptively quaint, old, beamed office was cheerful. We had a good laugh.
8. Sad and relieved at the same time, I never thought selling Carlotta would be such a good experience."

"Thank you very much for all your help in finding what we hope will be the perfect couple to take over Siare. We have had such happy times on that boat and hopefully now the new owners will enjoy it just as much.

It's hard to believe it was this time last year we were looking forward to getting Jodi T [Albin 28 purchased through RBS Marine Brokerage], it feels like we have owned her for ages and we are already talking about what we will do when the better weather returns in the New Year.

It has been our pleasure in dealing with you and we certainly won't hesitate to recommend you to anyone we know looking to sell a boat.

Thank you again for professionalism and friendliness at all times."

"Many thanks indeed for your contribution , as our agent, to ensuring the successful purchase of "Catherine". You managed the process not only efficiently and professionally but in a way that made it a pleasure, not just for us, but also for the vendor and our surveyor to work with you.  Not an easy achievement when a precious object like a much loved yacht is changing hands! It was reassuring to know that the "paperwork" was all being competently addressed and the of myriad other - important - "odds and ends" were all in order. In short, it was headache free (for us at least)! No fuss, no problems, no delays and all our questions dealt with by someone who knew the answers. Personal service of the first order. It made our boat buying venture a very pleasurable experience and we would have no hesitation in asking you to act as our agent again, and would recommend RBS to anyone who was looking for an agent to act on their behalf."