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Yacht Cost of Ownership
The 10% rule is a shrug, not a budget. This breaks the number into the five costs that actually make it up, so you can see which one is about to surprise you.
The yacht
Length drives dockage; value drives insurance and refit reserve.
Crew
Above roughly 80 feet, crew becomes the single largest running cost.
Zero for an owner-operated boat.
A further 30% is added for payroll tax, insurance, and provisioning.
Berth, insurance & refit
Insurance and refit reserve are struck against the declining hull value.
Reduce if the yacht cruises or lies at anchor for part of the year.
Covers haul-out, paint, systems, and the periodic refit.
Fuel
Wildly variable — a planing hull at speed burns many times what it does at displacement speed.
Annual running cost
$869,230
per year before depreciation
10.9% of purchase price — the 10% rule check
- Crew27%$234,000
- Maintenance & refit38%$328,000
- Dockage5%$43,200
- Insurance10%$85,280
- Fuel21%$178,750
First-year running costs, excluding depreciation.
Value falls to $4,480,000
Running costs plus depreciation
1,250 hours over the period
Year by year
Insurance and refit reserve fall with the hull value; crew and dockage do not.
| Year | Crew | Dockage | Insurance | Maintenance | Fuel | Depreciation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $234,000 | $43,200 | $85,280 | $328,000 | $178,750 | $1,440,000 | $2,309,230 |
| Year 2 | $234,000 | $43,200 | $76,960 | $296,000 | $178,750 | $640,000 | $1,468,910 |
| Year 3 | $234,000 | $43,200 | $69,680 | $268,000 | $178,750 | $560,000 | $1,353,630 |
| Year 4 | $234,000 | $43,200 | $63,440 | $244,000 | $178,750 | $480,000 | $1,243,390 |
| Year 5 | $234,000 | $43,200 | $58,240 | $224,000 | $178,750 | $400,000 | $1,138,190 |
| Total | $1,170,000 | $216,000 | $353,600 | $1,360,000 | $893,750 | $3,520,000 | $7,513,350 |
The five running costs
Crew
The dominant cost above 80 feet. Budget base salary plus roughly 30% for payroll taxes, medical cover, training, uniforms, and crew food. Rotational schedules on larger yachts effectively require more than one person per position, which multiplies quickly.
Maintenance and refit reserve
Typically 4 to 6% of hull value annually, set aside rather than spent evenly. Antifouling, zincs, and servicing happen every year; paint, systems overhaul, and interior refresh arrive in lumps every five to seven years and can cost several times the annual reserve in a single haul-out.
Dockage
Charged per foot per month and highly seasonal. A berth in a prime Mediterranean marina in August can cost several times the same berth in February, and the largest yachts face a genuine shortage of berths that can take them at all.
Insurance
Roughly 1 to 1.5% of hull value per year, falling slightly as a percentage on larger yachts. Cruising area matters — hurricane-zone coverage during season costs materially more, and some policies simply exclude it.
Fuel
The most variable line by far. A planing hull at full speed can burn ten times what it uses at displacement speed, which is why engine hours and cruising style matter more than engine size. Displacement and sailing yachts make this line nearly negligible.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to run a yacht per year?
- The industry rule of thumb is roughly 10% of the purchase price annually, before depreciation. That figure is a reasonable sanity check but a poor planning tool, because the split varies enormously with size and usage. An owner-operated 64-foot displacement boat can run well under 10%, while a hard-driven 75-foot planing yacht with two crew can exceed it comfortably on fuel alone.
- What is the biggest running cost on a yacht?
- Above roughly 80 feet, crew — and it is not close. Salaries plus payroll tax, insurance, training, and provisioning typically add 30% on top of base pay, so nine crew can approach $800,000 a year. Below that size, where an owner can operate the boat, maintenance and refit reserve usually take the top spot.
- How much does yacht dockage cost?
- Premium marinas charge by the foot per month, typically $30 to $90 depending on location and season, with Mediterranean and Caribbean high-season berths at the top of that range. An 88-foot yacht at $50 per foot costs about $4,400 a month, or $53,000 a year if berthed continuously.
- How fast do yachts depreciate?
- Faster than almost any other asset class. Production motor yachts commonly lose 20% in the first year and around 45% over five. Semi-custom and full-custom hulls from established yards hold up considerably better — a Feadship or comparable builder may retain close to 80% at five years, which is the strongest retention in yachting.
- Does chartering the yacht out cover the costs?
- Rarely in full. Charter revenue is reduced by broker commission and management fees of roughly 20%, and commercial operation brings additional crew, compliance, insurance, and wear costs. It meaningfully offsets ownership costs for yachts that charter well, but treating it as a route to break-even is optimistic.
Keep going
Compare against chartering, or price a specific yacht.