Yacht Delivery What is the true cost

How do they work out the true cost of a yacht delivery as there are so many variables.

How much should boat owners be expected to pay to have there yacht delivered by a professional skipper and crew.

Hi Sonic,

Due to the variables involved we don't have a set formula. There are many companies out there, and they seem to come and go as often as the wind changes!

To answer your question I would say that an owner should be expected to pay a fair price for the service they are receiving.

To give you an idea I would anticipate that a "typical" delivery would cost the following:

Domestic UK delivery - £500 - £1500
UK to Med - £2000 - £3000
UK to Eastern Med - £4000 - £6000
Caribbean to UK - £5000 - £8000

Of course the type of yacht, time of year, exact locations, service required (e.g. Fully Crewed or Assisted Passage - perhaps including instruction), etc.. etc.. all effect the total price.

My advice is to shop around, take recommendations from others, make sure you are happy with the small print, look into alternative options (road transport or dock express). I wouldn't necessarily go for the cheapest, and I don't recommend all inclusive deals as that will often mean the crew are subsidising their own travel; Not fair to them and also that means the crew quality can be compromised.

I hope this all helps?

Pete
 
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What Pete said is spot on!

I have heard a lot of good things about Halcyon, in fact Pete's online presence has been quite an inspiration to us at Thumbs Up.

Keep it up Pete. Look forward to seeing you out on the water one day!

Matthew
 
Must be quoting Power rates! :p

Heh, Heh. A few years ago I delivered a Sunseeker Manhatten 64 from Majorca to Lanzarotte. You have to stop every 200 odd miles to bunker with 2500 litres of diesel, total cost was over 12 grand.

Last leg from Agadir to Calero was, er, interesting.

:D
 
Pete from Halcyon Yachts arranged my yacht delivery and I was very happy with the service. The cost was very reasonable and he did his best to keep the cost down for me, tailored to what I was able to pay. I had previously arranged for a different delivery skipper at a cheaper price but he kept letting me down by not answering correspondence and overall seemed pretty unreliable. For me the reassurance gained from having my boat delivered by someone reliable and professional (and a decent bloke!) was more than enough recompense for the slightly increased cost. The delivery skipper was excellent. After the handover, whilst waiting for his hire car to arrive he even changed the oil in my engine! Talk about going above and beyond.
I would recommend Halcyon Yachts to anyone without hesitation
(And no, I'm not a relative or personal associate!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D02bQ0T1qTc
 
True cost? More than you think. We did a semi-DIY delivery and spent a total of about £4000 bringing our newly purchased yacht back from Holland in 2011. That includes our flights, hotels, the Dutch skippers fees and return flights and provisioning of the boat from flares, life raft, and life jackets through to diesel and food. All the safety stuff that you'd need if things turned bad 150 miles from land. Not the same requirements for coastal cruising.

May be on the expensive side, but we reasoned that there were no retailers after we left the Dutch coast.

What we got for the money was our boat and something to tell the grandchildren about (not that they'll be interested).

Photos here: http://macwester.wordpress.com/north-sea-passage/
 
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Yacht delivery skippers don't get paid much for the hours, the work or the responsibility. I did some deliveries as crew and the owner not only got an experienced crewman but a professionally qualified marine engineer to boot. When problems arose at one marina, the engine was sorted without any recourse to shoreside facilities and in a shorter timeframe. I enjoyed it and it was a free sailing holiday for me but if the owner had to pay the going rate for my services, well......
 
Bear in mind most delivery skippers motor all the way to hit a deadline, expect large fuel costs that they don't give an estimate for.

Is that comment based on personal experience?

Certainly hasn't been the case on deliveries I have completed, especially trans atlantic!!!!!
 
That sounds flippant.
But wot he sez is dead right.

In my case they motored about 1600 of the 1800 miles of the trip.
But they arrived dead on time.

Not flippant, just realistic.

"But they arrived dead on time", so what can you complain about?
If they charged by mileage, then their time is also precious, so presumably they motored because of adverse winds & the need to make a timely arrival. If you want a more leisurely progress, then dayrates suit the delivery guys, but "dead on time" can then be in the hands of the God's.
 
>If they charged by mileage, then their time is also precious, so presumably they motored because of adverse winds & the need to make a timely arrival.

The reason they motor most/all of the way is they go in straight lines whatever the wind direction, the target speed is a minimum 5 knots.
 
>If they charged by mileage, then their time is also precious, so presumably they motored because of adverse winds & the need to make a timely arrival.

The reason they motor most/all of the way is they go in straight lines whatever the wind direction, the target speed is a minimum 5 knots.

How many deliveries have you skippered in order to make this statement?
 
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