How To Choose The Yacht That Will Best Suit Your Needs

Narrow your choices to a short list of boat categories and make a short list of features that you require, features that you would like, and features that you want to stay away from. Once you narrow your category choices down, it’s time to go shopping. Visit a local boat show and board as many boats as you can. Consider all available options. Below are some tips on how to narrow down the choices.

How Will You Use Your Yacht: Define Your Cruising Plans

• Charter Management Programs: If your time is limited and you are working towards your goal to go cruising full-time in say 2 or 5 years, a boat in charter management with a guaranteed income plan in a charter company with bases all over the world with 2-6 weeks of owner use/year, would be ideal for you. See our yacht charter ownership programs in a nutshell.
• Daysailing or Coastal Cruising: You want to privately own and want to primarily sail on weekends or short trips best described as coastal-cruising voyages, a rugged blue water cruiser may be overkill for you.
• Living Aboard and/or Blue Water Cruising: The spacious charter boat you saw at the boat show may be great to live on but it may be a slug underway and you may regret that if cruising long distances. When cruising you will not only want a comfortable boat but a safe boat and reasonable cruiser remember, every knot of speed can make the difference when trying to sail out of or away from a storm.
• How Many People Will You Be Cruising With? (i.e. how many sleeping cabins do you need?) Most catamarans have a minimum of three sleeping cabins and more storage space than you will ever use. However, as you add more weight to a cat, the sailing characteristics are altered significantly. The standard Lagoon 42 that will hit an exhilarating 16 knots on a broad reach in 25-30 knots of wind can turn into a slug that can barely reach 9 knots when loaded down with generator, air-conditioning, extra water and fuel, and tons of gear.
• Application: A yacht that is suitable for charter may not necessarily be the best for a couple’s live-aboard. Many people tell me, “We will cruise our new boat for “x” months, then we will put it into a charter program”. Well, then, you must go with a charter type boat (lots of staterooms and simply equipped) because otherwise, you will get killed by high maintenance costs and low utilization. If you plan to do extended cruising, choose a boat that is comfortable for the owner.