Have you ever heard the saying, "If you need to ask the cost, you can't afford it"? Trite as it may sound, there is a grain of truth in it, especially when it comes to buying and running a superyacht. But there are ways of offsetting the costs, which is exactly why the owners of Kefi, a 2004 Sunseeker 105 based in Florida, ended up buying a pre-owned superyacht rather than their original idea of buying a brand new 60ft sportscruiser. By chartering out Kefi during the weeks they weren't using it themselves, they hoped to offset the costs of running such a big vessel while enjoying the benefits of a much more palatial crewed yacht when they were able to use it.
We covered their original buying journey in the October 2022 issue of Custom Yachting. Now they have owned Kefi for over a year, they have agreed to share what it actually cost them to run and how much revenue it earns in charter fees to see whether the sums add up. The rather scary-looking answer to the first question is just over $1.1 million per annum, but that includes all the costs of running a charter boat - a privately run boat would cost a fair bit less. The answer to the second question is rather more complicated because their goal was to end up with a profitable charter business with personal use costs the same as if they were running a brand new 60ft sportscruiser privately.
To go through the numbers and show me all the work they have done to make it a successful charter buisiness, Scott, one of the co-owners, invited me to experience a short cruise aboard Kefi from the Bahamas to the Exumas and back.
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
Bu hikaye Motor Boat & Yachting UK dergisinin February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Motor Boat & Yachting UK dergisinin February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Lofoten or Bust- Part 4- Grandezza owner Per Harrtoft heads back to Sweden after an epic 3500nm adventure deep into the Arctic Circle to visit the mythical Lofoten islands
After ten memorable days in the Lofoten Islands in the far north of Norway, we are on our way back south towards Sweden. We have already made it as far as Trondheim, a charming place even if it was raining so hard we had to cycle round the city centre clutching umbrellas. But now we are back on board Deamare, our Grandezza 40 Fly, eating up the miles at a steady 31 knots.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YACHT TRANSPORT
As the name suggests it's a means of having your boat moved professionally from one location to another. It might be as simple as hiring someone to tow your RIB a few miles down the road or as complex as shipping a superyacht halfway around the world.
HANDLE A SINGLE SHAFTDRIVE BOAT PART 1
Single shaftdrive boats are relatively rare these days but the reduced costs of buying, servicing and fuelling such a simple but reliable drivetrain does mean they are making a bit of a comeback.
COCKWELLS MOTOR LAUNCH
There can be very few boats that have appeared three times at the Southampton Boat Show and been sold off the stand each time.
INSTALLING AN AUTOPILOT
Rick Channon makes solo boating simple with a Raymarine Evolution Autopilot
GOOD AS NEW
Why fit a brand new engine when Volvo Penta's remanufacturing service can rebuild you an old one to the same standard for a fraction of the price?
BENETEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 54
Alex Smith heads to France's Beneteau HQ for a UK exclusive on what might just be the best Swift Trawler yet
ΧΟ EXPLR 44
Can XO's all-new aluminium flagship really make it big in the Med?
BUYING OUR FIRST CLASSIC
Instead of whiling away their retirement playing bowls, Rob and Shona Adams decided to invest their time and money in a classic Silver gentleman's yacht. Would the gamble pay off?
PRINCESS S65
Torn between the V and F Class flagships? The new S65 might be the boat you've been waiting for...