Buying a yacht is not like buying a car — even if the comparison comes up often. The yacht sits in a foreign country, you see it twice at most before the purchase, the contract touches at least three legal systems, and what follows the handover is more work than the purchase itself. That is precisely why advice with me looks different from the classic platforms.
The right yacht class can shift by two orders of magnitude — depending on how you actually intend to use her.
Four questions before we talk about yachts
Before I propose your first yacht, we settle four points: How will you actually use the yacht? (day trips vs. week-long trips vs. long-range cruising), Who runs her? (you yourself, a permanent skipper, a rotating crew), Which bay or cruising ground is your focus? (the Bay of Palma, the Tramuntana, the Menorca–Ibiza axis, a Mediterranean crossing), and What time horizon are you planning for? (three years, ten years, a yacht for life). The answers can shift the right yacht class by two orders of magnitude — and save you six- or seven-figure sums, or a yacht you sell again after two seasons. For a fuller orientation — market, tax, berth — see my guide to buying a yacht on Mallorca. Once you have settled on the west of the island, the hyper-local variant is at buy a yacht in Andratx. Structural questions (tax, financing, running costs) I cover in seven deep dives in the guide — in particular Matriculación and yacht running costs belong in the pre-purchase phase.
New, used or custom — an honest assessment
With yachts under 60 ft, I usually recommend well-kept used yachts from a second owner. Depreciation in the first two years is steepest here; a two- to four-year-old Sunseeker, Princess or Azimut with a documented care history costs 25–35 percent less than the list price and is often more technically mature than the current model.
For yachts between 70 and 100 ft the question gets more complex. A custom refit is often the more elegant solution here — a three- to five-year-old yacht with a good survey, followed by a three-month refit (interior, electronics, drivetrain if needed), delivers a near-new yacht at 60–70 percent of the new price. With superyachts from 30 m the custom build from the yard becomes interesting, because specification is decisive; here I work with yards in IT, NL, DE and TR, depending on profile and budget.
VAT, flag, and the Spanish special case
Three topics that often get short shrift in DACH-based advice, because the yachts are not in the water there: VAT status (EU-taxed, "Temporary Admission", charter licence), flag (Spain, Malta, BVI, UK — each with its own implications for charter use and running costs) and Matriculación (the Spanish special rule for charter-used yachts that permits berthing in Spain). These points belong in the first draft contract, not in a renegotiation. I work with specialised lawyers in Palma who clarify each of these points up front — and that before you reserve a yacht.
What awaits you after the purchase
A yacht is not finished when the purchase contract is signed. Arranging a berth (in the sought-after marinas the wait can be twelve months), finding crew, calibrating insurance, planning wintering, maintenance through the first seasons. All of that I offer as ongoing yacht management after the handover, if you wish — either in full or selectively. Most of my owners chose me for exactly that reason: because the purchase is only the beginning.
If you would like to get specific — whether with a clear profile or with first questions — write to me. A personal reply within 24 hours, with no sales pressure.
— Julian Hoeke
