Owning a yacht is synonymous with luxury and opulence. It is not for less. Superyachts like the koru by Jeff Bezos or the Leviathan by Gabe Newell, they had a purchase price of 500 million dollars; he launchpad by Mark Zuckerberg about 300 million dollars.
However, although buying a yacht seems the most difficultwho has been in the sector for some time knows that this initial disbursement will not be the only one, it is only the first. The true luxury (and what is really expensive) is what comes after and is repeated every year: the maintenance of that yacht.
There is an unwritten rule that has been circulating around moorings and ports for decades to prepare future buyers for what awaits them. It is called the “10% rule“, and refers to the annual maintenance cost that a yacht requires: 10% of its price, each year. The inhabitants of the Caribbean island of Antigua they learned it the hard way.
The price of a yacht does not come on the label
When someone is going to buy a boat, it is usual to take into account whether they can afford its purchase price. That’s the easy part. You look at the price and compare it to your checking account. If it fits the budget, honey on flakes.
However, there is a cost that not always taken into account in which the owner of a yacht (or any boat in general) should reserve approximately the 10% of the purchase price to cover all expenses annual operation and maintenance. Yes, 10% of the price each year.
A 500,000 euro yacht will generate annual costs of around 50,000 euros; If the value amounts to one million euros, the figure rises to 100,000 euros per year.
That 10% includes practically everything necessary to keep the boat sailing and in perfect condition: routine maintenance, regular repairs, average fuelannual insurance, mooring fees and, in the case of larger superyachts, crew salaries.
Boat insurance alone already represents between 1.5% and 2% of the value of the yacht per year, which in a 500,000 euro boat translates into between 7,500 and 10,000 euros per year in premiums alone. At this point, it should be noted that these premiums are also calculated based on the location of the mooring. A yacht moored in the Mediterranean does not pay the same insurance as in areas like Florida where hurricane warnings and tropical storms are the order of the day.
As the ship ages, the numbers change
The 10% rule is stated as a reference guide for the entire life of the yacht. That is, it is an average in which some years the maintenance cost will be well below that 10%, while in other years it will far exceed it. However, above or below, the cost always remains close to that 10%:
As and as they point out from WS Yatch Brokersone of the decisive factors, for example, is that this 10% varies as the age of the boat advances. When the yacht is new, the manufacturer’s warranties are in force, the mechanical systems are working well and maintenance costs can remain around 2% of the purchase price for the first few years. That 2% corresponds to fixed expenses such as insurance, mooring, or basic deck maintenance.
As the years go by, parts wear out, warranties expire, and breakdowns become more and more frequent. For boats between 5 and 15 years old, the recommended percentage rises to 10%, with bad years that can reach (and exceed) 15% of the purchase value.
The reason is that, as the market value of the boat goes down, its maintenance costs go up, so any calculation based on a fixed percentage loses reliability. That is to say, a 15-year-old yacht that has cost 100,000 euros second-hand will not (or at least not always) have expenses of 10% since its engine and hull begin to need major repairs due to years of use.
That is, what the buyer has saved on the purchase price must then be invested in repairs anyway. Hence the 10% rule is a reference average applied to the entire life of the yacht (with its ups and downs), not a rule written in stone.
The size, the crew and the place where you moor
Size also determines the maintenance budget proportionally. From 25 meters in length, the yacht can now require professional crewand that 10% falls short to cover the cost of maintenance.
A captain’s salary alone starts at around $50,000 per year, and a full crew for a large yacht easily exceeds $200,000 per year. On megayachts, managers usually plan 10% for operating expenses (which are included in the 10% rule), plus an additional 10% for onboard personnel, their maintenance, etc., which places the real maintenance cost closer to 20% of the acquisition price.
This percentage does not apply to those yachts that, due to size, only require the services of a captain during the high season, thus reducing their annual cost.
He port where it is moored It also has a decisive influence on the calculation of annual fixed expenses. It does not cost the same to moor in a small fishing town on the Catalan coast as in Puerto Banús or in the port of Monaco. In Spain, the monthly mooring fee for a boat between 12 and 14 meters ranges between 450 and 575 euros per month (about 6,900 euros per year), but it skyrockets in large tourist ports.
to put a practical examplemooring in Marina Ibiza, the main recreational port on the island, for a yacht of about 15 meters in length costs between 25,000 and 30,000 euros per year, while if you opt for other secondary ports on the island, the price is reduced by half to between 10,000 and 15,000 euros per year.
According to estimates of Ocean Independencea company specializing in superyacht management, the annual routine maintenance of a superyacht, which includes hull cleaning, fuel, engine inspection and electronic systems, ranges between $100,000 and $500,000 per year. To this we must add the insurance premiums, which on a yacht between 40 and 50 meters range from 70,000 to 120,000 dollars annually, and the mooring fees in high-demand ports such as Portofino, where a single night in high season can exceed 10,000 dollars.
The navigation area also influences since salt water from coasts such as those of Florida or the Mediterranean generates more corrosion in materials than fresh water, which increases expenses in anti-corrosion treatments and replacement of parts.
The handyman owner and the one who delegates everything
Of course, the annual maintenance cost also depends on the owner skills. Those who undertake basic maintenance tasks, such as cleaning the hull, checking the engine or changing filters themselves, manage to reduce the annual bill because they only pay for the materials, not the labor. On the other hand, those who delegate everything to specialized technicians will see how the real expense approaches 12% or exceeds it.
There are expenses that They do not disappear even if the ship does not leave of the port. That is to say, Not by using the boat less will the cost be reduced to zero. maintenance. Yes, the bill can be reduced by reducing the wear of engine parts, but the wear of materials does not stop and neither do fixed costs.
Annual insurance, mooring and mandatory periodic services are paid regardless of use and, in fact, systems at rest also deteriorate: fuel degrades, batteries run out and seals and insulating rubber dry out, generating breakdowns that cost more than regular maintenance.
Image | Unsplash (Michael Worden, Lidija Jakovljevic, Zoe Jackson)
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