About BoatTEST
Trusted boat reviews from licensed captains and real boat owners — since 2000.
Our Origin Story
Where It All Began
In 1999, Jeff Hammond and partner Chris Kelly conceived BoatTEST as the first streaming video boat review website in the industry. Both men were boat owners and had extensive experience in boating magazines, so they had a firm idea of the kind of information boat owners needed and wanted. They also clearly saw that the Internet and streaming on-demand video were the future, and magazines and scheduled broadcasts would soon become dinosaurs. On September 15th, 2000, BoatTEST went LIVE with 100 boat test videos — and the rest is history.
Sadly, Chris Kelly passed away in 2017 from cancer.
Our Mission
Informed Boaters Make Better Buyers
For more than 20 years, BoatTEST.com has been the pioneer of streaming boat reviews on the web since it first started in 2000. BoatTEST has become the most trusted source for third-party tests and reviews of new powerboats and engines. We provide the most thorough data and opinions so boaters can make informed decisions about their next boat purchase. With more than 3,500 videos — tests, reviews, factory tours and interviews — BoatTEST is the world's largest online resource for new boat research.
BoatTEST's daily newsletter “On The Water” published more than 2,000 reports, reviews and videos during 2022, making it possibly the largest purveyor of boating information of all types in the country. This prodigious production of content has been thanks to its 15 Content Partners, with boating household names such as Waterway Guide, Canadian Yachting and more. Bringing those 2,000+ articles and videos to life are more than 15 dedicated staffers — most of whom are behind the scenes and you can meet on these pages. We thank them all for their hard work and dedication.
Experts and Boat Owners
Tested by Captains, Written by Owners
What has set BoatTEST apart from the many video-makers currently on the Internet and social media is the fact that for 26 years, only USCG-Licensed captains and experienced boat owners have tested and written our reports and made our videos.
We believe that to provide boat owners the information they deserve, only other boat owners — who know the challenges of ownership — can accurately report on it. It is that level of expertise and ownership experience that goes into every video and Captain's Report that we publish. Because we know what it is like owning and operating a boat, we can pass on the information that prospective boat buyers need to know.
Our Team
CO- FOUNDER / CEO
Jeff Hammond
Jeff has had an active publishing career and was the editor or publisher of seven major boating magazines, including Boating, Yachting, Motor Boating & Sailing, The Skipper, Motorboat, and Motoryacht International. In the early 1980s, he was VP of marketing for Ziff-Davis Publishing’ computer magazine division, where he gained insight into what was to come and authored an article about Artificial Intelligence in 1983 for Computers & Electronics magazine. In 1984 he founded Power & Motoryacht magazine, which he sold in 1989. Jeff was a co-founder of BoatTEST.com, along with Capt. Chris Kelly, in 2000. He has been the CEO of BoatTEST since 2006. Hammond has written three books on boating, including one on the America's Cup. In 2020, seeing the need for "shared access" to boats, he founded the Sovereign Boat Fleet in South Florida. He currently lives in Newport, Rhode Island, and is a member of the New York Yacht Club.
Test Captain
Capt. Trip Smith
Capt. Trip Smith holds a USCG 100-Ton license and has 22 years of experience navigating various types of boats, such as center consoles, runabouts, wake boats, and cruisers. He now owns a 22’ C-Dory. At 38 years old, he is living the dream of escaping the typical 9 to 5 job and has become a popular boat adventure video creator with over 75,000 YouTube subscribers. Capt. Trip Smith's expertise is evident in his 434 videos, where he shares his experiences. Capt. Trip is also a delivery skipper, and as such experiences all sizes and types of boat delivering them one place to another up and down the eastern seaboard of the U.S. Capt. Trip has an impressive background as a firefighter, outboard engine mechanic, boat rigger, fiberglass repair and restoration expert, and kayak safety teacher.
Test Captain
Capt. Boomies
Captain Boomies (aka Capt. Kate) holds a 200- ton USCG license and worked on superyachts for 20 years, captaining vessels up to 150’ before retiring several years ago. She now is a delivery skipper of all manner of vessels. When not testing boats for BoatTEST, she often can be found taking new yachts off their cargo ships in the port of Baltimore, getting them operational, then delivering them to dealerships. Unbeknownst to dozens of boat owners in the Chesapeake Bay, Capt. Boomies was actually the first skipper of their boats, because she actually delivered them to the dealerships. She is also active in boat instruction and making videos for her personal website. Capt. Boomies believes boating is fun,, and people doing it should not take it too seriously, she always inserts a bit of humor and theatricality into many of the tests she does. But don’t be fooled by that, Capt. Boomies has wrong more saltwater out of their socks than most people every sail over.
Radio Host / Expert Angler
Eric Brandon
Capt. Eric Brandon is well-known to saltwater anglers in south Florida as host for the last 17 years of the “Weekly Fisherman Show” every Saturday morning which is a “must-hear” program for anyone going fishing offshore. A life-long boater (starting at age 8), Eric has owned boats all his life and has gained a keen appreciation of what boat owners and boat buyers need to know. For the past 15 years he has also worked in the boat industry getting to know boats inside and out as a boat broker. When working with boat buyers his mission is to guide boat them to the most appropriate boats for their specific applications. Capt. Eric brings a unique perspective to his reviews of boats because he works with boat owners every day helping them to find the right boat for their needs.
Test Captain
Capt. Shelley Morton
Capt. Shelley Morton holds a USCG 100-Ton License, she is passionate about living the boating lifestyle and has made a career out of it. She has lived on and cruised on a 40' catamaran for three years. In addition to being a USCG Licensed Captain, she holds a Florida Yacht Broker License as well. She also holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science which holds her in good company when scoping out the increasingly complex aspects of today’s modern boat systems. When not testing and inspecting boats for BoatTEST, she can be found exploring boatyards looking for her next liveaboard vessel, which she says will most likely be a 55’ powerboat.
Test Captain
Capt. Frank Messana
Capt. Frank Messina is the newest member of the Boat TEST Team. He brings a rare blend of marine technical and hands-on experience to every test he conducts -- because he is a certified marine surveyor and has owned 9 boats from 24' to 34' of several types and brands. Some of those boats he has re-built from the keel up, and there for knows intimately every system on boats in the mid-range. He is particularly expert on electrical systems. He holds a USCG Master 100-Ton license, and is a member of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), staying up to date on the standards that keep vessels safe and compliant. He's also a Marine Rescue first responder.
Test Captain / Fishing Expert
Capt. Dave East
Dave is a 30-year veteran of the Marine Industry, having started two boat companies, and most recently sold his fishing catamaran brand Eastward. He co-founding Twin Vee and was a designer for several other boat manufacturers and is still a marine industry consultant. He is a former boating magazine editor, and has written hundreds of articles on boats, how-to guides, DIY and safety. For four years, he hosted Florida Sportsman’s Best Boat TV series and tested boats from small flats boats to long range cruising motoryachts. Dave is a lifelong fresh and saltwater fisherman. He is a private pilot with multiple ratings, and is an Open Water PADI-Certified SCUBA diver. He currently lives in Stuart, FL. He feels equally comfortable on anything from a 16’ flats boat to an 85’ long range cruiser.
Test Captain
Capt. Ken Kreisler
Capt. Ken Kreisler is a well-known figure in the marine industry, with extensive experience testing boats for major boating magazines. He has held USCG 100-Ton License for 40 years and has served as a delivery and charter fishboat captain, project manager for two small passenger ferry catamarans, making sure every details met USCG build standards. Capt. Ken is an accomplished writer, having received several BWI awards and the John Burroughs Association certificate of commendation for his children's book, "NATURE SPY," published by Macmillan. He resides with his family on the Shrewsbury River in Monmouth Beach, NJ, where he enjoys boating on his 24-foot Grady White Explorer which is on a dock in front of his house and he uses every season.
Sailor Extraordinaire
Andy MacGowan
Andy MacGowan is BoatTEST’s resident sailboat expert. Andy brings a remarkable set of sailing credentials from design, construction, maintenance and repair of boats, to racing in the premier sailing events around the world. He grew up racing one-design sailboats on the north shore of Long Island. In the early 1970s he got his foundation in design and construction working for Rod and Olin Stephens at Sparkman & Stephens, at the time the most respected and successful sailboat design firm in the world. He was instrumental in the first boats at Finland’s Nautor Swan, and participated in the design and construction of seven 12 Meter yachts for the America’s Cup. He was the sailing master on several Admiral’s Cup teams – the World Series of Ocean Racing. He has also raced extensively in Europe. He was the general manager of the Newport Offshore Shipyard from 1978 to 1986. He stays active today helming to refurbish the America’s Cup 12-Meter Weatherly.
Senior Editor
Frank Sargeant
Frank Sargeant, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Boating and Sailing along with nine other books, is a former charterboat skipper and long-time outdoors editor of the Tampa Tribune, where he founded the Frank Sargeant Outdoors Expo, Florida’s largest outdoors show for more than 20 years. He is also former editor of SEA Magazine, former boating editor of Bassmaster, retired senior editor of Florida Sportsman and former contributing editor of Boating Magazine. His writing has won more than 60 national awards, including the 2022 Traver Award, one of the nation’s top fly fishing awards. Sargeant earned his B.A. and M.A. at Ohio University, and was an English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. He now lives on Lake Guntersville in northern Alabama, where he continues his life-long passion of fishing.
Associate Editor
Alistair Tremps
Alistair's water journey began with a childhood shipwreck in the Irish Sea. He then traveled the world working on fishboats and entered the seafood business, which made him realize the importance of sustainable fisheries management. Growing up by the Mediterranean, he learned to sail and build boats. Alistair is a bilingual writer, editor, and translator of nautical books. He also does weekly research reports for BoatTEST. In his free time, he races a Farr 40 in Acapulco Bay, which was the site of the 1968 Olympic yacht racing events where the U.S. won two gold medals.
Cameraman/Video Editor
Dan Carney
Dan joined the BoatTEST team as a video editor in 2005 and helped the company move from the early days of streaming videos. All along the way, Dan helped helped BoatTEST produce quality video well suited for increased Internet bandwidth. Dan is also one of BoatTEST's primary cinematographers. He enjoys the creative process of working with our Captains to carefully craft compelling video content. Dan’s love for boating began in high school while maintaining an 18' Boston Whaler center console as a summer job.
Director of Photography
Chris Collins & Deep See Visuals
Chris is a lifelong boater and photographer, regarded as one of Florida's top boating videographers. With over a decade of experience, he excels in capturing up-close boat details and aerial shots with his drone. Chris holds a degree in Multimedia Journalism from FAU and has worked as an editor at Florida Sportsman. His company, DeepSeaVisuals, covers activities like fishing and adventure travel.
Director of Video Content
Alex Hammond
Over the last five years Alex has been one of the key driving-forces behind BoatTEST in her role as Director of Video Content. She is responsible for the high-caliber of professional videos BoatTEST produces. She visits all of the major American and European boat shows shooting videos of the industry’s newest boats. She started her video career at 16, graduating from the New York Film Academy, studied film production at NYU Tisch and graduated from CalArts. As a director and producer her documentaries have been on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and PBS. From a young age she has sailed and cruised with her family, exploring the Inside Passage to Alaska, the Dalmatian Coast, New England and Nova Scotia. The most recently traveled to the Antarctic on a NYYC cruise. She dreams of owning a Grand Banks and vintage Riva.
Content Manager
Dee Mayas
Meet Dee, our Project Manager and one of the newest additions to the BoatTest team. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from the University of South Florida and brings over a decade of experience in IT Project Management across various industries. Dee plays a key role in overseeing the process behind our video production and daily newsletter. Outside of work, Dee fully embraces the Florida lifestyle, enjoying the sun, beach, and boating. She also loves visiting theme parks, bowling with her 10-year-old son, and embarking on spontaneous road trips.
Sovereign Boat Club Project Manager
Danette Szakaly
Danette manages various projects for BoatTEST and Sovereign Boat Club, including all the daily administrative tasks for its boat owners and members. Experienced in the marine industry, Danette previously held positions at The Moorings & Sunsail and Dream Yacht Charter.
An avid boater and sailor herself, she and her husband currently own a 43’ sailboat that they cruise regularly.
An avid boater and sailor herself, she and her husband currently own a 43’ sailboat that they cruise regularly.
Luxury Yacht & Spanish Division
Justine Hammond Macdonald
Justine joined BoatTEST in 2001, a year after its founding and was a key member of a small team headed by co-founder Chris Kelly, that pioneered streaming video boat tests in the marine industry back in the days of dial up. She was the conductor that kept all of the instruments in BoatTEST’s complex orchestra of on-line digital marketing playing a symphony that captured the imagination of the boating world in the early 2000s. Her boating journey started at a young age, sailing an Opti in Long Island Sound. As an avid boater of sail and power, she has explored numerous cruising grounds in the Caribbean, French Polynesia, New England, Nova Scotia, and the Canadian/American Inside Passage to Alaska. The mother of two children, Justine has more recently stepped back, now appearing at major American boat shows making walkthrough videos in Spanish for BoatTEST’s growing Latin American market.