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Buying a Yacht with Boatcrowd
Buying a yacht is a long decision made of short, specific moments: the first time you stand in her saloon, the hour at sea that tells you how she handles, the surveyor's report, the afternoon the paperwork closes. Our part is to make each of those moments happen properly, in the right order, with one person you can call throughout.
Five stages, start to handover
The same sequence applies whether the yacht is a used flybridge lying in Palma or a hull still in build. What changes is the timetable, not the order.
Shortlist and questions
One conversation about the yacht you have in mind: the size and style, where she will be kept, how you intend to use her, and the budget you are working to. We then come back with the yachts that genuinely fit, each with her specification, history and asking price, and we are candid about the ones that do not fit and why.
Viewing
We arrange to see the yachts on your list, wherever they are lying, and we go with you. A yacht tells you more in twenty minutes aboard than in any specification sheet.
Offer and deposit
When you have chosen, we put your offer forward and agree terms. The signed contract sets the price, the deposit, the timetable and the conditions the sale depends on, and your deposit is held in escrow.
Survey and sea trial
She goes to sea with you aboard, and an independent surveyor you appoint inspects the hull, machinery and systems. Both happen before you are committed, and what they find is negotiable.
Closing and handover
Title, flag and VAT position are settled, the balance is paid, and the yacht is handed over with her documentation. We stay with it through registration, insurance and management if you would like us to.
You deal with us, throughout
Every yacht on this site is offered through Boatcrowd. One specialist from our team takes your enquiry and stays with it: the viewings, the offer, the sea trial, the survey and the closing. Where a yacht is held elsewhere, the arrangements are ours to make and yours to approve, and nothing is agreed on your behalf without you.
What you can expect
- One point of contact from the first conversation to the handover.
- Viewings arranged and attended with you, wherever the yacht is lying.
- A sea trial before you are committed, not after.
- An independent survey by a surveyor you appoint, not one we impose.
- A written contract, a deposit held in escrow, and a timetable everyone has agreed.
- Introductions to marine finance, registration, insurance and management where you want them.
Worth knowing early
- VAT status travels with the yacht and differs by flag, by cruising ground and by how she has been used. It is settled in writing before closing, never assumed.
- Running costs continue whether the yacht moves or not: crew, berth, insurance, class and maintenance. We set out a realistic annual figure for any yacht you are serious about.
- A yacht already in charter can continue to earn. Where a yacht on this site is also in our charter fleet, her page says so and links to her charter programme.
Browse every yacht we have for sale, or the ones that are also in our charter fleet.
Details of the yachts offered on this site are given in good faith and are not contractual. Every yacht is offered subject to prior sale, price change or withdrawal without notice. Specification, condition and title are confirmed by inspection, survey and the sale contract.
The questions behind a purchase
Survey, VAT, flag, the contract, the deposit and what the first season costs: ten plain guides to the parts of a purchase buyers ask us about most.
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Survey and sea trial
The sea trial and the condition survey are the two moments in a purchase when you find out what the yacht is actually like, rather than what her listing says.
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VAT and tax when buying a yacht
VAT is often the largest cost in a yacht purchase after the price itself, and it is the question we are asked about most.
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Flag and registration
Every yacht that goes to sea internationally is registered with a flag state, and that registry decides which rules she is built and run to, which documents prove her ownership, and how easily she can be financed, chartered or sold.
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The sale contract (MYBA MOA)
Once you have chosen a yacht and agreed a price, the terms of the purchase are set down in a written contract.
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Deposit, escrow and closing
A yacht purchase involves moving large sums between parties who may be in different countries and who have often never met.
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Delivery and crew
Closing makes the yacht yours, but she is rarely where you want her, and she needs people to run her.
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The first season: what owning costs
The purchase price is the cost you already know, and the costs of the first season deserve the same care: crew, berthing, insurance, maintenance, fuel and the work the survey identified.
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Buying a yacht in build
Buying a yacht before she is finished gives you a newer yacht and, depending on how far the build has progressed, a say in how she is completed.
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Buying a yacht that charters
Some of the yachts on this site are also in our charter fleet, and many buyers ask whether charter can help to pay for ownership.
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Co-ownership and shares
Sharing a yacht with family, friends or business partners can make ownership easier to justify and a yacht easier to use well.
What owning costs. Our estimates of a year's crew, berth, insurance, maintenance, fuel and management, by size: 20 to 24 m, 24 to 30 m, 30 to 40 m, 40 to 50 m, 50 to 70 m or over 70 m.
Looking for a particular yacht?
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We will contact you within 24 hours.