Justin Qvarnstrom

For Justin, yachts have never simply been something to sell. Long before brokerage entered the picture, he was learning them from the inside out—working on the water, delivering boats, running offshore, standing watches, and steadily working his way from the deck to the bridge and ultimately into brokerage. More than two decades later, that journey has given Justin a perspective on yacht ownership that’s a little different from the traditional sales approach.


He spent more than a decade at sea aboard private and charter motor yachts, eventually moving into senior operational and leadership roles. Along the way, he learned that knowing a yacht means knowing far more than its length, horsepower, and options list. It means understanding how the systems work, how the boat behaves offshore, what it takes to maintain it, what makes life easier for the owner and crew—and occasionally, what looked like a great idea at the boat show but becomes considerably less charming six months later. After transitioning shoreside, Justin continued operating under his captain’s license throughout the U.S. East Coast, Bahamas, and Caribbean, working directly alongside owners and their families before brokerage became the natural next chapter in 2018.


Working in the South Florida market, Justin went on to contribute to several years of significant sales growth, including a period that saw annual revenue increase more than threefold within the same operation. But the experience also reinforced something he had already learned at sea: selling someone a boat is very different from helping someone choose the right boat. Today, as a Yacht Broker with OneWater Yacht Group (OWYG), Justin works with clients on new and pre-owned yacht acquisitions, sales, and charter opportunities, combining OWYG’s broad network and portfolio with an approach that remains decidedly personal.


Justin likes to understand how a client actually plans to use a boat—where they’re going, who’s coming with them, how they’ll operate it, and what the next chapter of ownership might look like. He views each yacht through the eyes of someone who has operated, managed, maintained, traveled aboard, bought, and sold boats throughout his career, bringing construction, engineering, performance, usability, market position, and future resale into the conversation. South Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean remain home waters, while his clients and opportunities increasingly extend throughout the international yacht market. After more than twenty years around boats, he still enjoys what drew him to the industry in the first place: the people, the water, the machines, and the fact that no two days—or two owners—are ever quite the same.