Joe Smith Yacht Broker

Joe Smith Yacht Broker

Growing up on Signal Mountain just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the water was always a part of my life. While most people picture mountains when they think of East Tennessee, some of my earliest memories were made on Chickamauga Lake with my family. Sailing quickly became more than just a hobby—it became part of who we were.

I spent much of my youth racing Lasers and J-Boats at Privateer Yacht Club, where weekends were filled with regattas, long days on the water, and learning the kind of lessons only sailing can teach. The sport instilled discipline, patience, and confidence at an early age, but more importantly, it created a deep appreciation for family and community. Looking back now, those years at the yacht club laid the foundation for a lifelong passion that would eventually shape the course of our family’s life.

As I got older, life naturally became busier. Career responsibilities grew, children arrived, and like many families, we found ourselves trying to balance work, schedules, and the constant pace of modern life. Through both joyful moments and periods of personal loss, my wife and I began to reassess what mattered most to us. Those experiences gave us clarity. More than anything, we wanted time together as a family. We wanted adventure, connection, and a life built around experiences rather than routines.

That realization ultimately led us back to sailing.

In 2024, we purchased our first catamaran in Brunswick, Georgia, beginning what would become a life-changing chapter for our family. What started as a dream quickly became reality as we untied the lines and set off to explore the Caribbean together. Over the next two years, we cruised the island chain from the Bahamas all the way south to Grenada, learning invaluable lessons along the way—not only about boats and seamanship, but about life itself.

Cruising full-time with a family is both incredibly rewarding and deeply humbling. There are moments of absolute beauty: quiet anchorages, sunsets that never seem real, dolphins playing in the bow wake, and the freedom that comes from waking up somewhere new. But there are also challenges that demand resilience, adaptability, and teamwork. Weather changes quickly. Systems fail. Plans shift. Through it all, we learned to trust each other, work together, and appreciate the simplicity of life on the water.

Living aboard gave us firsthand experience with nearly every aspect of catamaran ownership. From passage planning and maintenance schedules to anchoring techniques, provisioning, weather routing, and the realities of living aboard full-time, we experienced the lifestyle from the perspective of active cruisers—not just enthusiasts. We learned what works, what matters, and what truly makes a cruising boat capable of supporting a family safely and comfortably offshore.

Along the way, we met incredible people from all over the world who shared the same desire for freedom, adventure, and connection. The cruising community became an extended family, and those relationships reinforced something we had already discovered ourselves: the right boat has the ability to completely change a person’s life.

Eventually, our journey brought us full circle back to Brunswick, Georgia—the same place where our adventure first began. Returning after two years away felt less like coming back and more like coming home. Brunswick’s boating community, access to the coast, and growing multihull presence made it the perfect place for our family to put down roots while remaining connected to the cruising lifestyle we’ve grown to love.

Today, I’m excited to combine a lifetime passion for sailing with real-world cruising experience through my work with The Multihull Company. Having personally navigated the process of purchasing, outfitting, maintaining, and cruising a catamaran full-time, I understand both the excitement and uncertainty that come with buying or selling a boat. Whether someone is searching for a weekend sailing platform, planning for extended cruising, or preparing to transition into the liveaboard lifestyle, I enjoy helping people navigate that process with honesty, practical experience, and enthusiasm.

For me, multihull sailing has never simply been about boats. It’s about family, freedom, adventure, and creating a life centered around meaningful experiences. Sailing shaped my childhood on Chickamauga Lake, guided our family through transformative years in the Caribbean, and ultimately led us back to a community we’re proud to now call home.

I’m grateful for the journey that brought us here, and even more excited for the opportunity to help others begin journeys of their own.