Buying a yacht: where to start

Key takeaways

• Buying a yacht starts from the use: type, size and budget all follow from what the boat is for.
• The Côte d’Azur brokerage market — Cannes, Antibes, Monaco — is one of the deepest in Europe.
• Acquisition follows the MYBA framework: conditional offer, escrow, sea trial and survey before any commitment.
• The purchase price is only part of the cost: budget around 10% of value a year in running costs.

Start from what the boat is for

A good purchase starts with a simple question: what is the boat for? Day outings around Cannes, weekends to Saint-Tropez and Monaco, long family cruises to Corsica or Italy — each use shapes the type, size, age and budget. An honest answer to that question avoids the most common mistake: buying an impressive boat that is wrong for the way you actually cruise.

Cannes and the Riviera are among the most active markets in the Mediterranean: the density of yards, surveyors and berths makes both buying and reselling simpler here than elsewhere.

New or pre-owned

Buying a new yacht offers full customisation and a yard warranty, at the cost of often-long build times. A pre-owned yacht lets you see the boat, trial it and negotiate the price now. The brokerage market on the Côte d’Azur — from Cannes to Antibes and Monaco — is one of the deepest in Europe, from day-boats to superyachts.

A guided search

We run a bespoke search and filter the market so you only see boats worth seeing. Acquisition follows the MYBA framework, the standard of Mediterranean yachting: standard sale agreements, escrow of funds, sea trial and independent survey before any commitment. Beyond the purchase itself, we coordinate the survey, paperwork, registration (French flag, RIF) and charter-VAT questions with specialist advisers.

Weighing the true cost of ownership

The purchase price is only part of the equation. Ownership brings the berth, crew on larger yachts, annual maintenance, winter storage, insurance and depreciation. A common rule of thumb is that a year of running costs is around 10% of the yacht’s value. Placing the boat in charter for part of the season can offset some of that, and we help you assess that potential before you buy rather than after.

The steps of an acquisition

Once the boat is chosen the process follows a clear order, and each step protects the buyer — nothing is final until the survey is accepted:

1. Conditional offer — a written offer subject to trial and survey.
2. MYBA sale agreement — signature and deposit held in escrow.
3. Sea trial — the boat is run in real conditions to check engines, systems and handling.
4. Survey — an independent surveyor inspects hull, machinery and equipment.
5. Release of conditions — once the survey is accepted, the sale becomes firm.
6. Transfer of title — balance paid, flag changed and documents handed over.

Why work with a broker

A broker does more than find listings: they know the history of the boats, the real level of prices and the traps in a file. They represent your interests against the seller, arrange viewings and the trial, appoint an independent surveyor and secure the funds in escrow. On the Côte d’Azur, where deals are often private and international, this guidance avoids costly mistakes and saves considerable time. A broker also reads the paperwork that decides a sale — flag, VAT status, lien checks and class records — long before they become a problem. Our role is to make the decision calm, not to rush a signature.

Our advice

Don’t start from a model, start from a use. Tell us how and where you intend to cruise, and we identify the right yacht to buy, the right age and the right budget — with a clear MYBA framework and an honest survey before any commitment.