The Introduction to Superyacht Ownership event, partnered by Burgess, welcomed a select group of prospective owners and family office representatives to an exclusive afternoon in the BOAT Lounge at the Monaco Yacht Show 2026.
Designed for qualified first-time buyers and existing owners considering their next step, the programme offered an in-depth exploration of the complexities - and rewards - of superyacht ownership.
New build vs. refit vs. brokerage: The experts' verdict
After a short session in which BOAT’s managing director, Stewart Campbell, gave a snapshot of the market, the first discussion of the day got under way with an informed debate featuring Burgess managing partner and chief executive Jonathan Beckett, alongside Michael Rouse, strategic director to the TSAL family office and Heesen Yachts, and Dean Smith, founder and director of Hampshire Marine.
The panel weighed up the pros and cons of the three routes available to newcomers to superyacht ownership: commissioning a bespoke yacht from scratch, buying and transforming an existing vessel, or opting for a proven yacht that is ready to cruise.
All three experts agreed that successful first-time yacht ownership comes down to finding the right yacht at the right price, while surrounding yourself with a team of experienced advisers.
Jonathan Beckett kicked off the debate by suggesting first-time buyers should consider purchasing an existing yacht before commissioning a new build. “While more and more buyers are going straight into commissioning a new build, I would always recommend first-time buyers buy an existing yacht,” he said. “It may be smaller or different from what they’re really looking for, but I think you gain so much experience from spending time on the water, understanding which spaces are going to be important to you, which decks you’re going to be using and how important access to the sea is.”
When it comes to new builds, the panel stressed the importance of doing your homework.
“The more time you can spend planning and designing, the better,” said Dean Smith. For those who want a new build but don’t want to wait years for delivery, he recommended considering yards with semi-custom, proven engineering platforms. “You can do quite a lot on a standard platform. And if you’re on the third, fourth or fifth hull, you’re not the guinea pig or starting from scratch, and that’s really important.”
When it comes to buying a brokerage yacht, Smith said the biggest consideration aside from budget is the tender. “Everyone wants to add larger tenders these days, and this needs to be considered when you’re looking at the platform you’re buying: is it stable enough? Can it carry the additional weight? A lot of vessels are built right up to the weight limit, including the equipment and tenders they can carry.”
When it comes to refitting a brokerage boat, both Mike Rouse and Smith advised new owners to resist the temptation to make changes immediately. “I’ve always taken one out of the shipyard, cruised for a season and said to the owner, ‘Let’s just use the boat, then make some changes in that second season,” said Rouse. “The first season is about learning the boat and learning how to use it.”
Smith agreed. “We would always say enjoy the vessel, get to know the crew from an operational point of view, and then we can go about planning a proper refit. We find that the worst thing that you can do as an owner is to go straight into a refit shipyard and start to make changes off the hoof with no plan. They're the [projects] that go wrong for us.”
The economics of superyacht ownership: Charter, costs and commercial considerations
This panel saw Laura Cubie, luxury consultant at Concierge Me SLU, Ryan Green, senior partner and head of yacht management at Burgess, and James Jaffa, founder of Jaffa & Co, explore what superyacht ownership really looks like beyond the purchase price.
The experts began by discussing the importance of understanding how much your operational costs will be before you commit. “It can be quite intimidating to spend money on an asset and then discover that, for example, a 60-metre yacht can cost £3 million to £7 million a year to run,” said Laura Cubie. One of the largest expenses is crew, she noted. “They can account for 35 to 40 per cent of that cost, covering everything from salaries to training and health insurance. There can be a temptation to reduce those costs straight away, but this can ultimately affect service levels and lead to guest dissatisfaction.”
When it came to the oft-quoted rule that a yacht costs around 10 per cent of its value to run each year, the experts were sceptical, describing it as an “unreliable benchmark”. As Ryan Green explained: “I think 10 per cent of value per annum is a very dangerous marker to put in the sand. There are 40-metre boats that can be run really effectively for £1.4 million to £1.8 million a year on a single-season basis. But it depends on how you’re going to use the boat. If you’re using it locally, for example, that’s very different from covering 2,500 miles around the Mediterranean. It’s not just fuel – you’ve also got maintenance costs and everything else that comes with those additional miles.”
Where to spend and where to save was also a key topic, with the panel underlining the importance of regular maintenance. “Maintenance is crucial,” Green stressed. “And deterioration caused by poor or deferred maintenance also increases the cost of that maintenance over time.”
Deciding whether to charter the yacht and how to structure ownership are also important considerations. James Jaffa advised that charter should always be viewed as bonus revenue rather than a vehicle to offset your costs, and that the ownership structure should be considered early in the buying process as this will affect what costs you incur.
“For non-European owners of private yachts, for example, there are mechanisms such as temporary admission that can avoid VAT,” Jaffa said. “European owners could choose to operate commercially, which can offer significant tax advantages, but this comes with its own complications. Do you want people chartering your boat and sleeping in your bed? Do you want to pay a charter fee to use your own boat?”
These are decisions that need to be made early, he added. “You can change the structure later, but having a clear idea of how you want to use the boat from the outset is really valuable.”
All the experts noted it was important to get the team you trust behind them but to also go with your instinct and question everything. “If someone says to you, 'that's industry standard', that's a red flag for me', you need to know your advisors are making decisions based on sound data sources," concluded Ryan.
Owners uncensored: Insights from superyacht owners on the realities of ownership
In the last session of the day, three seasoned superyacht owners, Alan Dabbierre, Matthew Sawyer and John Ruiz, took to the stage to reveal the inside track on the realities of ownership.
The panellists began by talking about the reason why they made the leap into yachting: “I own property in other places around the world, but I don't like it because you're almost forced to go to where you have a property,” said Ruiz. “The best thing in the world, in my opinion, is that 70 per cent of the planet is water, and you can take your yacht wherever you want to.”
All agreed that new owners need to pinpoint what they want from their yacht before they buy. Dabbierre stressed the importance of understanding your “mission” for the boat. “The first thing you’ve got to do is work out what you want out of it,” he said. “With my 60-metre, we can’t get to parts of Florida because much of it is restricted for vessels over 500GT and 50 metres, so we go down to the Bahamas instead. And the beauty is that we sit there like a rock, even when it’s moving. So even though there are compromises with that size of yacht, I still get the cruising range and stability. So I would say: do the things your vessel can do and find ways to make it work.”
The panel also discussed the importance of finding the right crew. Dabbierre noted that contrary to what you may think, bigger yachts with bigger teams can actually be easier to manage, especially if a crew is on rotation.
“A larger boat has actually got more flexibility because we’re not dependent on any one crew member,” he said. “On a 35-metre, if you lose your chef, you’re out of business for a while. But if you lose your captain on a 60-metre, there’s a backup for almost every position. I’m much less worried if somebody has a reason to leave, decides to leave, or I want them to leave because of a particular situation.”
Sawyer agreed: “I find that rotation keeps people fresh, happy and content. It allows us to do more with the boat.”
Dabbierre also advised creating clear boundaries with your crew. “Over 20 years of boating, I’ve learned to distance myself a little. With my first crew, I was very friendly and suddenly I knew every detail of their personal lives… now I’m extremely polite, respectful and friendly.”
Ruiz, who is currently building a 64-metre yacht, explained he takes a different, more hands-on approach to managing his assets and his staff. “I may be a little different from other owners because, with everything I have, I like to manage it myself. From my planes to my cars to my boats, I manage everything with in-house people. We subcontract some work, but most of my people have been with me for 25 or 30 years.”
The chat concluded with the importance of compliance. Sawyer noted, “I don’t like to cut corners. I like that because it forces you to maintain the vessel to a certain standard. You’ve got eight, 10 or 12 people living on board, as well as fuel, grey water, electronics and all sorts of things that could contaminate the sea or put people at risk. As boats get bigger, there’s a reason for the additional compliance and I’m all for it: Whatever the requirements are, meet them, and keep the boat safe. And the same applies to keeping up with repairs - you're going to pay for them one way or another.”
“I’d rather spend the money upfront and enjoy the experience than cut corners and end up with problems when it comes to selling the boat or, more importantly, when I’m on board and things don’t work.”
Networking and drinks
After the talks, guests had the opportunity to network with fellow yacht owners, prospective owners and industry experts while exchanging experiences and insights with others navigating similar ownership ambitions. Dalmore Whisky hosted a tasting during the networking reception after the talks.
The afternoon provided a useful mix of expert guidance, peer-to-peer discussion and practical information, giving attendees plenty to take away as they consider their own ownership journey. Guests also departed with gift bags from Burgess containing branded luggage tags and wallets.
To find out more about BOAT International events, email the events team.