Buyer's Guide · Updated August 2026
The purchase price is the entry ticket. Here is how experienced owners budget the annual bill, from a 45-foot sportfish to a 130-foot motor yacht - as industry estimates, not quotes.
The Rule of Thumb
The number quoted across the industry for crewed yachts is roughly 8 to 10 percent of the vessel's value per year in operating costs. It is a planning estimate, not a law.
An owner-operated 45 to 60 foot sportfish or motor yacht typically runs well below the rule: dockage, insurance, engine service, detailing and fuel, with no payroll. Costs step up meaningfully when the boat needs professional crew - typically from around 80 feet - and payroll becomes the largest line item.
The categories to budget in every case: dockage (the most location-sensitive cost in Florida), insurance (hull value, cruising area and hurricane season drive the premium), scheduled engine and systems service, haul-out and bottom work, detailing, fuel, and a maintenance reserve that grows with the age of the boat.
What moves the number most is not the boat, it is the program: how far you cruise, whether you fish tournaments, whether the boat lives in a covered slip or offshore, and how disciplined the maintenance has been. A well-kept boat is cheaper to own and worth more when you sell - the two are the same fact.
Before You Buy
Generic percentages are for planning. Real budgeting happens on a specific boat, with its actual engines, hours and history.
This is buyer's-broker work: Greg walks the boat like the captain he was for twenty years - systems, sea-keeping, build quality - and tells you what the ownership bill will actually look like before you make an offer. The seller pays the commission, so this costs the buyer nothing.
Browse live inventory, or open the Yacht Concierge on any page and ask about running costs for a specific boat.
Common Questions
Straight answers, from the data on this page.
A widely used industry estimate is roughly 8 to 10 percent of the yacht's value per year, all-in, for a crewed yacht. An owner-operated 45 to 60 footer typically runs well below that. The real number depends on dockage, insurance, crew, maintenance and how much you actually run the boat.
For owner-operated boats: dockage, insurance, routine engine service and detailing. Once a yacht needs full-time crew, typically in the 80 foot and up range, payroll becomes the largest single line, followed by dockage, insurance, maintenance reserves and fuel.
Dockage varies widely by marina, season and beam, and Fort Lauderdale spans everything from working boatyards to superyacht marinas. As industry guidance, budget on a per-foot per-month basis and expect premium locations to command multiples of the entry rate. Greg can point owners to realistic options for their specific boat.
No. The seller pays the brokerage commission at closing. A buyer's broker - the comps, the negotiation, the survey and sea trial management, the closing - costs the buyer nothing, which is why experienced buyers rarely go without one.