What size yacht can you afford? Yacht share vs outright ownership
When you think of yacht ownership, you think of opulence, lavish lifestyle, cruising along the Mediterranean sea with unlimited Black cards to spend without restriction. Yachts are essentially a symbol of high society, only the uber-wealthy can actually afford them. However, is it possible to own a yacht without having £100 million pounds of disposable income in the bank?
The answer is yes and no, if you want to venture into the world of boat ownership, you do need to have a healthy bank balance; however, it is possible to drastically reduce the cost of buying a yacht by purchasing a yacht through a yacht share network instead of buying one outright.
The burning question is, what size yacht can you afford? This is a tricky question because the price of a yacht will depend on the age, brand, model and various other factors that come into play here. However, let’s dive into the numbers to understand the costs associated with yacht ownership.
How Much Do You Need to Afford a Yacht?
If you are interested in buying a yacht, one of your first questions will probably be associated with the price. How much do yachts actually cost?
Tiger Woods bought a 20-foot yacht for approximately $20 million, which is about £14 million. This is actually affordable for a 20-foot yacht however, if you don’t have an impressive bank balance, you won’t be able to afford this. Maintenance costs are typically 10% of the boat’s value per year. Therefore, if you purchased a £14 million yacht outright, you would need approximately £1.4 million per year to maintain the boat. This would have to be disposable income, money that you can afford to spend each year.
If you were to purchase the same boat on a fractional boat ownership deal, you would only need to pay ⅛ of £14 million, which would be £1.75 million. A huge difference in price, you would have to share the boat with seven other boat owners however, you would own a portion of the boat and maintenance costs would be significantly less.
How Much Does a 100ft Yacht Cost?
Typically, a yacht that is about 78 feet or more is considered a luxury yacht. Therefore, a 100ft yacht would be considered a luxury yacht, obviously, luxury yachts come with a higher price tag and you would need to make sure that you have the disposable income to take care of maintenance costs.
How much does a 100ft yacht cost?
Yacht prices are not static or set in stone however, a 100 ft yacht could cost you between £40 and £100 million. Once again, it depends on the brand, age and model of the yacht. If you were to purchase a £40 million yacht outright, you need at least £4 million per year to maintain the boat. However, you could save a significant amount of money by purchasing a yacht through a fractional boat ownership scheme instead.
With fractional boat ownership, also known as shared yacht ownership You get to venture into the world of yacht ownership at a fraction of the cost. Usually, you would pay approximately ⅛ of the total price of the yacht. If you joined a yacht syndicate for a £40 million boat, you would pay £5million for a ⅛ share of the boat.
Once you opt into a boat syndicate, you get to use the boat for six weeks out of a 12 month period. The maintenance costs of the boat are also greatly reduced and the yacht share network company will take care of crew and maintenance, making boat ownership easy, cost-effective and hassle-free.
Is owning a yacht worth it?
If you have contemplated buying a yacht in the past and you are still undecided, you might be asking yourself the question, is owning a yacht really worth it? The truth is, when you own a yacht as the sole owner, there are many responsibilities and costs associated with yacht ownership. However, owning a yacht through yacht syndication is definitely a cheaper, less stressful option for anyone who wants to own a yacht but doesn’t want to spend the extra time and money maintaining the boat.
Here are some of the benefits of fractional luxury yacht ownership:
Yachts are expensive, you can’t deny that fact however, you can enjoy the luxury of owning a yacht without the cost of outright boat ownership by opting for a yacht share network boat instead. If you want a £40 million superyacht, you would need to pay £5 million to purchase a ⅛ share of the boat. When you compare this to outright ownership, the cost of sole ownership is far higher.
Here are the benefits of shared yacht ownership:
Cheaper
Less hassle
Experience the luxury lifestyle at a fraction of the cost
Yacht share company takes care of maintenance
Never search for luxury accommodation again (if you don’t want to)
As you can see, it is possible to purchase a superyacht without spending “superyacht money.” It is important to remember that buying a yacht is not just about the cost of the yacht, you also need to take the maintenance costs and other expenses into consideration when venturing into the world of yacht ownership.
As an outright owner, you will need to shoulder the cost of everything on your own. If you would rather save the money you would have spent on purchasing a 100ft boat as an individual owner, you could opt for shared yacht ownership and invest the money leftover in something else that would yield profits over time.
Buying a large, luxury boat will always be expensive, yachts come with an expensive price tag for a reason. You can purchase a small yacht outright and save money on initial costs but you need to factor in the maintenance charges too. Or, you could opt for a yacht share network and purchase a more expensive, larger boat for a fraction of the cost. Maintenance charges will be greatly reduced too as you share the cost of maintenance with seven other boat owners.
Buying a boat is a big decision and you should certainly ask yourself important questions before you sign on the dotted line. Whatever the case may be, buying a superyacht or a smaller yacht will definitely be more cost-effective if you opt for fractional boat ownership as opposed to sole yacht ownership, the choice is yours.