Let's talk yachts

I'll bet that a good chunk of us has some cash in a nest egg, and for some (me) that's pretty sizeable. Has anyone considered buying a motor yacht, or has bought one? I'm considering a 45-50 footer, with 2 cabins, can sleep 4, preferably has a head and galley (4 beds 1 bathroom and kitchen, don't know if I got my boating terminology right) with some room onboard and below deck to fraternize and socialize. I'd prefer a new-ish boat made by Sea Ray, Azimut and the usual mid-high end manufacturers with an expected budget of 700k-1.3MM. 
 

Has anyone bought a yacht before or during their retirement, and what size did you feel was the best to handle without a full-time crew?

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40-50' twin cabin motor yacht? I hope you've already learned what boat stands for, because you'll definitely be feeling it. Parents had a 46' Hatteras TCMY growing up. It was fun to spend a lot of summer weekends on it, but watching my parents open up the fuel card bill at the end of the month made me learn what PTSD is real fast. Not to mention the monthly costs like slip fees, insurance, annualized maintenance expenses, etc. That was no hired crew or other upkeep staff either.

I'm not saying don't do it, but definitely do your homework and budgeting first because a big boat / yacht is one of the worst kinds of impulse buys possible. But if someone told me I could afford a 47' Fountain Lightning and all the associated costs, I'd be down in a heartbeat.

Edit to add: "(4 beds 1 bathroom and kitchen, don't know if I got my boating terminology right)" - Either a full/queen in the state room (master bedroom) and a pair of twin beds up in the bow is the usual layout. The galley (kitchen) in the middle adjacent to the living room (with all the proper amenities of a living room like a flatscreen entertainment center, multi-zone HVAC etc.) Across from the galley is your 2nd head (guest bathroom. Stateroom has it's own). 

SeaRays, Azimuts, Tiaras are all good choices. If you want to really beat the joneses you can go for a SunSeeker or Goldfish.

The poster formerly known as theAudiophile. Just turned up to 11, like the stereo.
 

I don’t know much about boats, but I’ve always liked Riva, their 56 and 44 are absolutely gorgeous. I hear sailing yachts are a lot of fun too. The Eagle 44 is another beauty.

 

Everyone knows the old saying: the two best days you'll have in a pleasure boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

 
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NGL, my dream is to own a superyacht. I genuinely love how they're crafted and how sumptuous they are in terms of design and comfort. Also feel like piling on a bunch of friends and sailing the Adriatic would be a total ball. And yes I know how unrealistic that is given you really do need to be a nine-figure net worth person to entertain owning one. I am also fine with chartering by the week - gotta take what you can get!

They really do represent a different reality and it takes a class of wealth unknown to most of us to get there but a guy can only work towards it lol. For all you Succession fans, the beauty known as Solange in the S2 finale is a perfect example of what I mean.

 

I really think you need more like $500mm to $1billion. I’ve seen plenty of new yachts starting at $100mil (I’m sure that includes the succession yacht). Obviously you wouldn’t pay cash but still I wouldn’t buy a boat that was worth as much as my entire Net worth 

Array
 

Buy a 26' center console take your family and friends out on it as much as you can and enjoy the crap out of it. Sleep well knowing that you can sell it in a week if need be. bareboat (or crewed) charter a larger "yacht" whenever you feel like it knowing those couple of weeks is 1% of overall opex/capex. Most boats stay in a slip bleeding $ into the water. Last resort - find a friend with a yacht.

 

My retirement goal is to buy a sailing yatch and become a full time sailor, etc. maintaining the boat by myself.

 

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