Buying a yacht to charter

The normal advice is to forget it. Certainly on a small boat as there is no demand. Most charter boats are 35'+ because charterers usually want to charter something they cannot afford to buy. They usually have the maximum number of berths that can be fitted in because sharing the cost with a bunch of mates, or a family reduces the cost per person.

The biggest difficulty with chartering is finding clients. There is a surplus of boats available and the ones that are successful are aggressively marketed, so the few private owners who enter the market seriously do so through an established management company. To operate legally the boat needs to be coded, which typically on a new production boat costs between £10-15k on top of the basic spec. You need to base the boat in a convenient marina with good service facilities to handle the turnaround and pay somebody to do it if you can't do it yourself.

If you are operating it as a business you need to deal with tax issues such as VAT and tax on your income. If you use your business asset (your boat) for private use then you may be taxed on benefit in kind.

There are structured purchase and management schemes available, more commonly abroad than in the UK which can be very attractive if they suit what your objectives are, but as with any business related venture the constraints on private use mean they are not the same as owning your own boat for your own personal use.

The best way to find out more information is to talk to the charter management companies. Most of those that advertise will be managing third party owned boats, so will talk you through the pros and cons.

Thanks for the replies, guys. Food for thought....