Explore this further at Ocean Independence yacht sales consultants.
A yacht survey report can run to many pages of technical detail, and a first-time buyer opening one for the first time can find it dense going. Read with a consultant's guidance and a clear sense of what to look for, it becomes a far more manageable and genuinely useful document.
The base fee is the headline weekly rate for the yacht and crew, typically quoted in EUR and commonly ranging from around EUR 25,000 to EUR 350,000 or more depending on vessel size, calibre and season. This figure covers the vessel and crew for the week. It does not cover fuel, food, drink, dockage, or other variable costs incurred during the charter.
A typical crew includes, at minimum, a captain and a chef, with larger vessels adding stewardesses, deckhands, and sometimes a separate engineer or watersports instructor depending on size and itinerary. The captain manages navigation, safety and all vessel operations, liaising with marinas and handling the practical realities of moving the yacht from anchorage to anchorage. The chef manages every meal on board, typically working from preferences guests share in advance, covering dietary requirements, favourite dishes and any occasions to mark during the week.
The starting point is rarely the yacht. A yacht charter consultant begins with questions about the guests: how many people, what ages, what pace of holiday they want, whether the priority is quiet anchorages or lively ports, water sports or long lunches ashore. Only once that picture is clear does the conversation turn to which vessel and crew suit it.
VAT is the third element, and the one most easily misunderstood, since the rate depends on where the charter takes place and how it is structured. Within EU waters, VAT can apply at rates commonly cited between 5.2 and 13 percent depending on jurisdiction and the specific charter arrangement, and it is charged on top of the base fee. A consultant working on a contract should set out clearly which rate applies to a given itinerary and why, rather than leaving the figure as a footnote.
A yacht survey report can run to many pages of technical detail, and a first-time buyer opening one for the first time can find it dense going. Read with a consultant's guidance and a clear sense of what to look for, it becomes a far more manageable and genuinely useful document.
The base fee is the headline weekly rate for the yacht and crew, typically quoted in EUR and commonly ranging from around EUR 25,000 to EUR 350,000 or more depending on vessel size, calibre and season. This figure covers the vessel and crew for the week. It does not cover fuel, food, drink, dockage, or other variable costs incurred during the charter.
A typical crew includes, at minimum, a captain and a chef, with larger vessels adding stewardesses, deckhands, and sometimes a separate engineer or watersports instructor depending on size and itinerary. The captain manages navigation, safety and all vessel operations, liaising with marinas and handling the practical realities of moving the yacht from anchorage to anchorage. The chef manages every meal on board, typically working from preferences guests share in advance, covering dietary requirements, favourite dishes and any occasions to mark during the week.
The starting point is rarely the yacht. A yacht charter consultant begins with questions about the guests: how many people, what ages, what pace of holiday they want, whether the priority is quiet anchorages or lively ports, water sports or long lunches ashore. Only once that picture is clear does the conversation turn to which vessel and crew suit it.
VAT is the third element, and the one most easily misunderstood, since the rate depends on where the charter takes place and how it is structured. Within EU waters, VAT can apply at rates commonly cited between 5.2 and 13 percent depending on jurisdiction and the specific charter arrangement, and it is charged on top of the base fee. A consultant working on a contract should set out clearly which rate applies to a given itinerary and why, rather than leaving the figure as a footnote.