Why Chartering a Yacht Is Better Than Buying?

To Rent or To Buy? That is the Question.

In opposition to buying a yacht, you have the opportunity to charter one. Consider the financial commitment to renting versus buying. There is no competition, the only consideration you have when renting a boat is what budget do you want to undertake for the level of luxury you wish to experience.  You can also joint rent a larger more luxurious boat, rather than commit to owning a boat with a group of friends, you can commit to renting a boat for a holiday, and the larger the budget, the bigger and more luxurious the boat.

As with any capital expenditure (Capex), the decision to buy an expensive asset or to rent it always comes up. Not everyone is a billionaire with an unlimited or imaginary budget to buy anything and everything. Most people have a constricted budget that limits their buying abilities, and as such, when considering which boat to buy, from a luxury yacht to a schooner, from a powerboat to a mega-yacht, the budget will decide which way to go.

Now, as with any purchase of Capex, you need to consider the frequency of use as a major impact factor in the decision-making process. Consider that a boat is actually worse than a car in keeping its value. Some cars become collector items, very rarely does a boat becomes sought after with age, or at least in a human’s lifetime.

As such, boats depreciate over time, and more modern materials and propulsion systems provide more efficient sailing opportunities. Consider that when you buy a boat, it will depreciate by 20% in the first year, and consecutively between 5-10% every year after that.

Now, add to this depreciation the cost of mooring, insurance, and maintenance, and you have a very expensive hobby on your hands. Mind you; there are what are called joint ownership contracts, where a group of friends buys a boat together. The downsides of this are that friends are like marriages, not all of them last, and most of them have arguments. In the boating world, the arguments will be about who uses the boat and when, and then the issues of frequency and percentages of ownership come up. All in all, a bad decision and direction to take.

Let`s take a look at renting from the locational perspective. When you own a boat you moor it in one location, to get from that location to another, you need to sail. So if you live thousands of miles away from your destination, sailing becomes a major logistical operation.

The other side of the coin is renting. Renting a boat provides you with unlimited locations that only requires a car, train or flight. The logistics are handled by the boat charter company and the crew. This is something you need to consider when owning a boat. Who will manage the logistics, the crew, the navigation, the technical issues, and more?

Conclusions? Many, to start off with, if you want to sail around the Mediterranean and Aegean, perhaps visit the Greek Islands, or the coast of Turkey, Montenegro, and Croatia, all you need to do is contact online one of the reputable yacht charter companies, and they will help you locate and choose the best yacht for your holiday requirements. The other conclusions include basic mathematics or budget control. Investing your money into profitable returns will generate the income for renting a great yacht, so instead of buying a boat, rent one, even rent one every year, it will still work out much easier and less expensive than buying a boat.