When you have a super yacht, of course you only want one thing: show it off. Show off with a cigar in your left hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. You just have to slip your freshly massaged feet into your slippers and a butler is already coming to ask if he can do something for you. Delicious. A carefree life, where everyone does everything for you and your guests.
Yet owning a large yacht is less pleasant than what it looks like when you walk into the port of Monaco or Ibiza. In fact, yachts are just floating money. It really costs a lot of money. It is not only the $1,000,000 per meter that you gotta pay for the super yacht. No, what about the staff, dock work, fuel and maintenance? Read along.
What does it really cost to own a super yacht?
Owning a yacht ultimately costs much more than the purchase price. There are countless extra costs that are quickly forgotten. How about paying the cook, chambermaids, hairdresser, masseur, hostess, nannies, diving instructors etcetera. Then fuel, maintenance and mooring in the most fancy ports are also added. Anyway, money makes the world go around.
In general, a super yacht is defined as a boat of at least 25 meters, but the size can quickly go over 80-100 meters. Just calculate what you have to put down for that!
As the owner of a super yacht you can expect to spend about 10% of the purchase price annually on operating and maintaining a yacht. For a $45 million yacht, that is approximately $4,500,000 a year (!).
Personnel
Quite logical, but the larger the boat, the more crew and therefore the more costs. The deckhands earn on average $2,700 a month, depending on the size of the boat. Captains get paid more, on average between $6,500 and $17,000 per month. Then the nannies, chefs, cleaning ladies, technical staff, freelancers and the rest of the list must also be paid.
On average, yacht owners lose almost $2 million a year (!) in salaries.
Fuel
Super yachts can easily absorb up to $500,000 in fuel per year. So add a little fuel for the jet skis and the smaller boats, to make it sound a little less intense.
Maintenance
Then another cost item comes creeping around the corner: maintenance. To be able to show off a bit, it cannot be that the yacht is a mess. Preferably the yachts get a full refit every five years. The boat will be repainted. In addition, the engine of the ship must be well maintained and needs a repair every now and then. The woodwork also needs special care, and the ship itself has to visit the boat yard every year for a check.
Routine maintenance costs around 2% of the value of the boat after the first year. When it is ten years old, the maintenance costs will be around 7.5% of the value of the boat.
Even when the boat has stopped
Yes, even when the ship is not sailing, it still costs a fortune. For example, the yacht must be in a harbour and these costs can amount to as much as $3,000 per night. This will be in one of the most expensive marinas in Europe like Ibiza or Capri. In addition to the port costs, things must also be insured for thing such as fire, damage and theft.
Of course the man with the cigar, whiskey and boat shoes is also a member of a yacht club. To sit at a very fancy and chic Captains dinner, being a member in Monaco costs at least $30,000 per year. Do you still want one of these sloops?
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