Buyer FAQ’s

Are their any other expenses besides the initial purchase price, monthly maintenance fees, and personal provisioning costs which I should expect to pay?

• The normal costs associated with your ownership. However, as with any yacht, unexpected issues could arise. Although every effort is put into anticipating breakdowns, repairs, refurbishment costs, and operating expenses, exceptional circumstances could cause an increase in the annual budget. The good news is when one comes up you only pay your share, generally ¼ what you would pay if you owned the boat solely. 

Should I buy a new or used Fractional yacht?

1. Its and age-old question. Some people think new and others think lightly used is the best. Many people don’t realize that buying a new boat can come with a lot of issues right out of the factory. Yes you have a warranty but you could have the dealership service department working on your boat every week for a year to get all the little issues fixed. We have found that a well maintained boat that is 3 to 7 years old can be a better option. Considering a new boat can lose half its value in the first 5-7 years it could be the best thing for your pocketbook as well. A used boat may cost more on annual expenses but remember your sharing these expenses with the other owners.

A yacht is a depreciating asset

1. You have worked hard to get where you are. You get a lot more bang for your buck buying a very good used boat and get a lot more by buying only a fraction of that boat because most people can only use the boat less than 20% of the time.  Thus why own 100% of a depreciating asset? 

Who helps me sell my share of the yacht

1. We work with all of the top Yacht brokers to guide you trough the process of listing and selling your yacht. Most yacht brokers charge a standard fee to sell the fraction of the boat.  The fraction will be listed on our marketplace as well as other Yacht listing sites to get the biggest audience. 

What does it cost to use the yacht? APA’s 

1. The costs associated with the fractional owners usage is called APA’s. You tell the captain where you want to go and for how long and he will figure out the Advanced Provisioning Allowance, its a lump sum advanced payment that covers all of your on board expenses during your time on the boat. This would include all of the food and drinks you and your guests will consume as well as the fuel and dockage at all the marinas you stay in during your trip. The captain and or crew will ask you in advance of your trip exactly what you will need food and drink wise for the trip. The captain will estimate these expenses and you will need to pay the amount in advance of the trip and all extra dollars will be credited back to you after the trip has ended. Any damage to the boat would be taken out of that left over money or billed to your account. 

How many shares can I buy of a Yacht?

1. As many as you like, provided they are available.   Most people buy between 20% to 50% of the yacht. 

Is financing available?

• Traditional yacht financing is not currently available on fractional yachts because of the impact that a defaulting owner would have on the other owners. However, we have established relationships with lenders who will provide financing to individuals who qualify based on bank or personal guarantees. We also have Contributing Owners who offer financing on a case by case basis.

Usage per share is based on the boat type you purchase – Local Daily use yachts or Weekly destination Yachts

• Local Yacht Program – These yachts are typically 50’ to 90′ and have a value of $1 to $5 million. These yachts normally have 3 to 4 cabins and 2 to 4 bathrooms. Locally area yachts for people to use for day trips, and or up to one-week trips. These boats will be managed by our company to assure the owners the boats will be kept in the best condition possible. They can be used as much as 40 weeks a year. Thus a 25% owner could use the boat for 10 weeks or up to 70 days a year. These boats can also be used as luxury floating vacation homes, so you can live on the boats while you’re using the boat. This way you don’t have to stay in a hotel or own a home to stay in when you are in the vicinity of the vessel. These yachts could be found in local markets like Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, The Hamptons or anywhere in between. These boats will be captained and crewed by full time staff.

• Destination Yachts –  These yachts over 90′ long and have a value starting at over $5 million. These yachts normally have 4 cabins and or more and an equal amount of bathrooms and come with all the bells and whistles and water toys, including a full-time captain and crew and a chef. They are also managed by our company or by a third-party yacht management company. They can be used as much as 30 weeks a year. The rest of the time the boat is being serviced or down for crew rest or being relocated. Thus 7 weeks a year for a 25% owner. These yachts are normally taken out for one-week trips and are located in various locations around the world, including the Bahamas, Caribbean islands, the Mediterranean and other exotic places around the world. Many of these yachts have different summer and winter homeports

What size yacht should I buy?

• The yacht brokers we work with can help you figure out what is best for you and your family’s needs. The size of the yacht you require is determined by your family size or how many guests you wish to entertain. We have fractional yachts ranging from 60’ which has three staterooms and 3 crew up and much larger yachts that have 20 crew members and 10+ staterooms.  The larger the yacht the bigger the annual expense bill is. You must take it all into account when making that decision. 

How do I schedule my time aboard, and are there any parameters which restrict my use?

• You can book your time online using our points system or with our concierge. You can book your time slots up to one year in advance.  

• We have developed a very fair scheduling system that equally distribute the usage of each owner. Each year we rotate who gets the first choices of dates and so on.

What if I don’t use all my available time?

• If you know that you will not use all of your available time, you can contribute days or weeks to the charter pool. Those time slots are offered on the charter market. The total revenue generated from charter is then divided proportionately between those owners who contributed to the pool.

How much down time will there be for each year

• We try to minimize the down time each year by having a very regimented maintenance plan. We know that salt air and water can break equipment down quickly on a yacht, we now how long a well maintained system should last and we try to replace them before they fail, it cost more but it makes everyone’s lives better. This way we can repairing things before they fail and cause trip cancelations. Depending on the yacht usage type local or destination Yachts. The local yachts can be used far more often basically like a hotel and just a few hours of down time between usage. The destination yachts that are going on week long trips we allow two days between each owner’s use for the crew to prepare, re-provision, and personalize the yacht for the next owner’s visit, representing eight weeks (30 x 2 days = 8 weeks); transitioning time between cruising grounds account for approximately four additional weeks. Scheduled maintenance and normal repairs add the remaining ten weeks. Since crew rotate in from other yachts during their vacations, there is no need to deduct for crew holidays.

What happens if the yacht breaks down on my trip

We try to maintain the yachts as much as possible to not be in this situation. But if the boat is in need of repairs they will be made as expeditiously as possible. You may stay aboard and use all the facilities until the repair is made. If, however the yacht cannot continue her itinerary due to mechanical failure, we will reschedule your missed time. We always keep a few extra weeks open for cancelations.

What if I want to have my own bed linens or other bulky personal items that do not fit in onboard storage when I’m aboard?

• For the cost of storage or shipping, you can have anything that you would like on the yacht sent from our facility, or any other location, so that it is there upon your arrival.

What if we don’t get along with one of the crew members?

• Although the crew aboard all of our managed yachts are highly-trained and follow strict guidelines provided in our crew manuals, individual personalities may clash with you or someone in your family. Because of the homogenous training among all crew, anyone can be traded from another yacht during your time aboard. Obviously if the problem with a crew member extends beyond a personality issue, then they may be terminated.

How can I be assured that the yacht I purchase will not plummet in value when it’s time to sell my share?

• Just like with full yacht ownership, you’re subject to market conditions, but history has shown that properly maintained and managed yachts generally hold their value. Our reputation for having exceptionally well-maintained yachts should translate into a higher than normal yacht value when reselling your shares.

Can I trade time on other yachts in the program? Member Exchange

• Yes – All owners yachts  that are managed by us have the opportunity to exchange usage.  As our fleet grows we will offer the ability to trade weeks between yachts of the same size and value and of different sizes and in various cruising grounds.

Severe weather 

• Mother nature can through a wrench in the best of plans, if sever weather comes up we will reschedule your time on board. We always keep a few extra weeks open for cancelations.

Fractional Yachts Membership Program

• We offer all of our members some great benefits including: Yacht Exchange, special events, group dinners, group boat trips and more

Yacht Exchange Program

• All yachts and shareowners that are in our yacht management program can use our yacht exchange. This is what makes our program event better. Not only do you pay a fraction of the price of  one yacht in one location, you can have access to other yachts in other areas around the world.  

What is the level of service on the yachts?

• It’s all Based on the Yacht size, value and crew size and annual budget of the yacht. Generally the  larger the yacht the higher level of service. Because you are sharing the expenses with others you can have a great level of service for a fraction of the cost compared to sole ownership. The larger yachts could have a full time chef, trainers, dive instructors, 

What kind of Amenities or water toys come with each yacht

• Many yachts will come with a nice list of amenities/water toys that you would be buying into when you purchase your share.  If the owners decide of a yacht all decide to upgrade or purchase additional items it would be split between all of the owners. 

Do the Yachts stay in one place or move around by season?

• The Local day yachts tend to stay in one location, The Destination yachts tend to move around more. Many of the yachts have a summer and winter location. The first thing people normally do when searching for a share to buy is looking at the locations the yachts are by season. Once you purchase your share in that yacht you and the other owners can vote to move to a new location. The local Yachts mostly stay in the area like Miami or Fort Lauderdale because it’s not easy to find new slips each year. The destination yachts we suggest moving the boat to give the owners new experiences say from The US Virgin islands to the British virgin Islands or to a new different group of Islands like St martin, Puerto Rico or the Bahamas. 

Rainy day Fund – Reserves

• Like a Condo board has reserves to cover any expenses that may come up, each Yacht will have a budget and within that we will have a reserve set up. That must be funded when you purchase your share of the yacht. It will be held by our management company. 

What should I bring

• Bring whatever you would bring when you go on a vacation after all your yacht is like a floating hotel. Based on the time of year some locations may get cool at night so just bring enough clothes so you don’t get stuck out in the cold with out the right gear. 

Can I leave anything on the boat?

• No you must take everything off the boat when you leave. When can arrange to store things in the area when your Yacht is located including Sheets, pillows and clothing, you would have to pay the fee to store it and have it brought back and forth from the storage facility. 

Wifi, Internet & Satellite TV

• When you purchase your share make sure the yacht you by into has all the bells and whistles you will need for business or pleasure. Today many of the boats have very advanced technology onboard , just make sure your boat has what you need.

Is there laundry onboard?

• Yes most yachts do have washers and dryers

New FAQ’s

As of 5-7-23

Do the Yachts get chartered out?

Yes most of the larger yachts do get chartered out. It simply depends on how much the boat is being used by the owners. If they would like to have help paying the annual expenses of the boat then they do

If the owners only use about half the time and want to bring in some extra money to pay the annual expenses they will. Some owners don’t want the extra wear and tear of the boat to make can choose simply not to.  If the yacht isn’t being used much by the owners the crew may get bored and leave the boat. They  would much rather be taking charter guests out for two reasons played to get bored sitting around doing nothing and the charter boat guests give large tips at the end of the cruise, which gives them more reason for staying another crew member of the yacht. The most that boats get chartered is  5 to 10 weeks a year, that encompasses the 10 most sought after weeks of the year when you can earn the most money. 

What percentage of large yachts are chartered?

 The first couple of years most owners say they don’t want anybody sleeping in their beds. But once the bills start piling up, they realize it makes a lot of sense to charter the boat out to help pay for some of the annual expenses

it turns out over 80% of large yachts are chartered, and that most charter boats are charter no more than 10 times during the year and only bringing enough money to pay for some or maybe all of the annual expenses but no profit to the boat

The benefits of being an owner of the boat versus chartering a boat.

 You can take a lot more people out at it during the days versus a straight charter. Charter boats are limited to 12 guests, if you own it you can take out as many people as the boat fits and you have PFD’s

Yes that is the beauty of this program and fractional ownership you get to use the boat X number of days or weeks per year and most of these boats come with 3 to 5 cabins which cost a lot of money in the hotel rooms or for the price of a new home or condo 

How many people can I take on my boat during the day and how many people could sleep on it at night? Because you are an actual owner of the boat you can take out as many people as you like through the day provided you have enough life preservers, but at night when it comes to sleeping, you’re only allowed to sleep 12 people and most yachts unless it’s considered as cruise ship like vessel those yachts normally have more than six state rooms and up to 20 or 30

What are the biggest benefits of being a fractional owner?

We believe the biggest benefits are simply getting roughly the same amount of usage but only paying a fraction of those costs both to purchase and on the  annual expenses. And if the yacht were to break down and need to be repaired you are only responsible for your share generally 25% of the total cost versus hundred percent if you owned it on your own.  We find that most people with a 25% share of a boat use their boat the same amount as if they owned it solely.

When do we get access to the boat after we purchase our fraction of the Boat,

Whole Boat sale: The boat is listed for sale on the market and whichever happens first, 1 buyer comes in and buys the entire boat or all of the fractions are committed to..

Individual Shares: If you were buying an individual share/fraction on the marketplace from an individual of a boat you get access as soon as you close. 

What are the expenses of a boat on an annual basis:

Captain Crew Salaries, insurance, dockage, Regular annual boat maintenance (Oil Changes, Fuel Filter Changes, bottom paint) most boats have a long list of items the captain has deemed necessary to replace at the next trip the boat yard.  Many mechanical devices have so many years of use before we know there’s a high chance of them going out and we don’t want that to happen while you’re using the boat on your trip.

What types of amenities or toys come on these yachts:

Jet Skis, Sea Bob’s, Wake Boards, SCUBA gear, SUP’s, sailboats, tenders. Each yacht will have it’s own list of items, choose a yacht that has the toys your are expecting to use on your voyages. 

Where will the boat be located for the summer and winter seasons?

The first thing you need to do when searching for a yacht is choose the location of a yacht then see what your options are to purchase in those locations. 

How does the yacht get moved from one location to another?

If it’s a relatively short trip under a thousand miles the captain can drive it there. If it’s going across an ocean, the boat can be put on a large transport ship and for example they can be taken from Florida to the Mediterranean. 

A yacht is a depreciating asset

1. You have worked hard to get where you are. You get a lot more bang for your buck buying a very good used boat and get a lot more by buying only a fraction of that boat because most people can only use the boat less than 20% of the time.  Thus why own 100% of a depreciating asset? 

How does the membership yacht exchange work?

Link to the page with all the details

What are the benefits of fractional ownership link to that page?

Link to the page

What are the pros and cons of fractional ownership? 

Link to that page

Can I tell people who else owns my boat?

We run our programs similar to that of a YPO organization. Different boats will have different nondisclosure agreements attached with them but it’s OK to network with these people but you can’t necessarily sell to them unless they want to be sold to, but this will give you an incredible opportunity to network and become good friends with other like-minded individuals.

Can we take other fractional yacht owners on our trips?

You can take whoever you want and it is a great way to get to know one another but always be careful what you wish for because you’ll be spending a lot of time with that person

How fast do yachts depreciate?

Show a Yacht depreciation graphic link that to where it is on this website

Does it make sense to do a full renovation or refit on a boat when it’s taken out of commission for a year or two to do so or is it better to sell the boat and buy a new fraction of a boat that’s already been upgraded?

We believe 100% that you’re far better off. If you enjoy the boat that you should sell your shares or the entire boat before it needs a full reset. That way you can spend more time on the water. Enjoy yourself.

Annual expenses of a yacht 

Most people believe yachts of 60 feet or larger, the annual expense will be about 10 to 15% of the value of the boat. Boats are incredibly expensive to maintain & operate. That’s why it makes all the more sense to buy just a fraction of the boat versus buy the entire boat and paying all those expenses yourself.