# There are hidden costs to owning a superyacht. Who knew? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 1, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363 "2021-06-01T17:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/1 "2021-06-01T17:02:27Z")
Article below. I always assumed after dropping a few 100 million bucks on one of those boats I’d never have to lay out another cent to maintain it. Now I find out I’ll have to keep dishing out money to keep it. Well I can tell you, I’m crossing ‘buy a superyacht’ off my bucket list. > **[The hidden costs of owning a superyacht | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/hidden-costs-of-owning-a-superyacht/index.html)** > > If you're lucky enough to actually be able to afford one of these magnificent vessels, be prepared to dig deep. Owners are likely to spend at least 10% of the purchase price on the yearly cost of operating their yacht, so where does all the money... ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/2 "2021-06-01T17:08:41Z")
Most of those costs seemed pretty obvious, although I guess it never occurred to me that the advertised cost was for an unfurnished vessel. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/3 "2021-06-01T17:43:13Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I always assumed after dropping a few 100 million bucks on one of those boats I’d never have to lay out another cent to maintain it. Even with a normal boat, you have to paint it, moor it, service it, etc. and cough up $$$ every month; why should a “super” yacht be any different? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/4 "2021-06-01T17:49:47Z")
Well, you know what “ **BOAT** ” stands for-- **B** reak **O** ut **A** nother **T** en million ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/5 "2021-06-01T17:51:39Z")
lol even with an unlimited blank cheque right now, I’m not sure I would spend more than a few million on a cruiser-racer. I actually enjoy sailing, but have no reason to impress anybody with a floating palace. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/6 "2021-06-01T17:52:52Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Even with a normal boat, you have to paint it, moor it, service it, etc. and cough up $$$ every month; why should a “super” yacht be any different? “A boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money.” Very large hole – very large amount of money. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/7 "2021-06-01T18:52:16Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Even with a normal boat, you have to paint it, moor it, service it, etc. and cough up $$$ every month; why should a “super” yacht be any different? Well for one thing, because it’s super. Maybe that was an exaggeration in the ad. There other types of ‘super’ yachts in the world of competitive yacht racing. Not quite as expensive but they say you could simulate yacht racing by standing in a shower tearing up $100 bills. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/8 "2021-06-01T20:11:31Z")
We had a 36’ sailboat, owned outright, so no boat payment. It still cost us $500/month just to own it, when you added up marina fees, annual maintenance, and insurance. So $6K a year to be able to say we owned a boat. Which is why we no longer own it - when we looked at retirement, that was too big a hunk of our budget. But back on point - yeah, owning stuff costs money. Owning big stuff costs big money. Owning big floating stuff costs _really_ big money - especially when you have to pay a crew to maintain and operate it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/9 "2021-06-01T22:01:13Z")
And that’s not getting into the “double hidden” costs. If you’re rich enough to own a superyacht, you probably have enemies. So you need a security team for the boat. They need to run checks on the crew. And then you need another security team to watch the first team. If you go superyachting in pirate infested waters (and who doesn’t!) you need hidden machine guns, and ammo. .50 isn’t cheap! Maybe a shoulder fired rocket or two, and maybe even an SAM, just in case. And that’s not counting the truly special features, like how the yacht can come apart and the forward section is a hydrofoil, for those rare but important quick escapes. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/10 "2021-06-01T22:04:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And that’s not counting the truly special features, like how the yacht can come apart and the forward section is a hydrofoil, for those rare but important quick escapes. But is that really a special feature? If it is a super-yacht, that should be part of the standard build IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/11 "2021-06-01T22:08:23Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > But is that really a special feature? If it is a super-yacht, that should be part of the standard build IMHO. I suspect the (standard?) helicopter covers most quick-getaway needs. If you’re really nervous, you can get a forward and aft dual helipads. Me, I’d have an emergency submarine. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/12 "2021-06-01T22:13:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I suspect the (standard?) helicopter covers most quick-getaway needs. If you’re really nervous, you can get a forward and aft dual helipads. Check out the story on Bezo’s yacht. Taking off an landing a helicopter on a superyacht is a tricky matter. He has a secondary helipad yacht following the superyacht around. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/13 "2021-06-01T22:21:39Z")
isnt there a saying that goes "the two best days of owning a boat (and possibly an RV )is the day you buy it and the day you sell it " ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/14 "2021-06-01T23:07:06Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > If you go superyachting in pirate infested waters (and who doesn’t!) you need hidden machine guns, and ammo. .50 isn’t cheap! Maybe a shoulder fired rocket or two, and maybe even an SAM, just in case. All the cool superyacht owners have escape submarines: > **[11 of the coolest submarine-carrying superyachts](https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/yacht-design/superyachts-with-submarines)** > > Built with world-roaming capabilities, this diverse collection of explorer yachts carry their own submarines for exploring below the surface And if they don’t have one of those, they often have escape speedboats that can outrun just about everything. Billionaires and their families are constant targets of kidnapping and extortion. They go to great lengths to protect themselves. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/15 "2021-06-02T01:46:15Z")
Welcome to my Oughties, kids. Gun safes for Dad, Mom, Junior and Sis. Grandma keeps her .32 from ‘32 in her purse. Ballistic doors, floors, windows, and halls ecquiped with poison gas sprayers. Me: You can’t go killing intruders. Land or sea, the neighbors would object. Terry, my crazy security guy: Bah, Uncle Vito will clean it up. Me: In the Western Chicago suburbs these days hardly anybody has an Uncle Vito. Terry: You’d be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/16 "2021-06-02T06:08:17Z")
Having worked around the industry for a good while you’d be surprised how many newly rich people make an impulsive decision to _buy_ a yacht because they can, without thinking through whether they can also afford the upkeep. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/17 "2021-06-02T10:45:46Z")
> Skoptsova suggests that communication costs for a 164 foot yacht would fall just under €55,000 ($67,000) per year. And there’s me worrying about my broadband at £300 a year ---
**Author:** ![tavaritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/18 "2021-06-03T04:23:40Z")
There was a television program here in Finland in 90’s where a well known (in Finland) repoter went to various handcraft companies and talked about what they did etc. In one segment he was in a shipyard in Vaasa where handcrafted wooden, glassfiber & carbonfilament yachts were made. When he asked about the top line the owner of the comppany gave a price. When the reporter asked if he could buy the yacht, if he had that money, the owner said that he could not. He told that they would not sell their products to anyone who has no means to support the product during its lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-hidden-costs-to-owning-a-superyacht-who-knew/943363/19 "2021-06-03T04:45:51Z")
Yep. I know a high end boatbuilder who will not build something for a customer if it will cost more than 10% of the customer’s net worth. You might think that as long as the boatbuilder gets paid, once the vessel gets handed over to the customer, it’s not their problem. But that isn’t how it works out. Customers who discover they can’t afford the upkeep start looking around for someone to blame. And if they don’t maintain the vessel it starts to deteriorate and looks shoddy, and that damages the boatbuilder’s reputation.