MEET De an S tuhlmann
Dean Stuhlmann grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, spending summers boating at the Lake of the
Ozarks in southwest Missouri. He bought his first boat at age 13, a 16’ runabout with a 65HP
outboard. After graduating from the University of Missouri, Columbia with a bachelor’s degree
in Finance, Banking and Real Estate and working for three years for a large independently held
oil company, he felt the need to move south, where boating was a year-round event.
In 1985 he settled in Fort Lauderdale, where he worked in commercial real estate for 10 years.
In 1987 his family bought a home in Islamorada, in Florida Keys, where Dean took full advantage
fishing in his center console almost every weekend. After feeling a void while working in real
estate, he felt it was time to move into something that involved boating.
In 1992 he got his U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine License, which is still current. After much
thought, Dean decided not to pursue full-time work as a boat captain, and in 1993 he started
Keys Custom Marine, in Tavernier, Florida, with a dealership for Ocean Master semi-custom
fishing boats. Wanting to be closer to home, he moved the dealership to Fort Lauderdale in 1996.
As a dealer for Ocean Master, the boats were delivered to the dealership as a finished hull, deck,
liner, console and fuel tanks. Dean was not only responsible for selling these boats to customers
that hailed from all over the world but also for organizing the completion of rigging the boats to
the specifications agreed to with the customers.
This process, his attention to detail and desire to deliver a perfect product earned him many
long-lasting relationships with his clients. Many clients still have the boats that Dean built for
them, including the first boat he sold in 1994 to a family at Ocean Reef in the Keys.
Wanting to get involved in brokerage of larger motoryachts in 2002, while still operating Keys
Custom Marine, Dean received his Florida Yacht Sales License and placed it with the Sacks Group
Yachting Professionals in Fort Lauderdale. In 2010 he became an independent Broker. The
experience helped him get his feet wet in brokerage selling boats to/for friends and customers.
Wanting to work full time in brokerage, Dean closed Keys Custom Marine in 2014 when he
joined Bradford Marine Yacht Sales and subsequently FB Marine Group. He joins Denison Yacht
Sales as a specialist in custom/production sportfishing and motoryacht markets.
Dean has fished around the world including Cairns, Australia, Los Suenos & Tamarindo, Costa
Rica, Iztapa, Guatemala, Hualtuco, Mexico, the Bahamas, Gulf Coast, U.S. and Key West to
Pompano Beach, Florida. He has been avidly saltwater fishing since 1984. Besides his passion
for fishing, he also enjoys diving, spearfishing, snow skiing, strength training and traveling.
D e a n St u h l m a n n | 9 5 4 . 8 3 0 . 5 0 7 0 | D e a n @ D e n i s o nYa c h t S a l e s . c o m