How to Rush a $14 Million Superyacht | WSJ Working Prices

– This 128foot long super yacht runs almost $14 million to purchase, but that's just thebeginning of its expenses. – It's a city, it'sa resort, and it moves. – But imagineif that resort sat on top of one of the planet'ssaltiest, wettest environments. Yacht owners can also expect to pay 10 to 20% of the yachts value each year simply to maintain it.

Superyachts or yachts longer than 82 feet can sell for hundredsof millions of dollars. This means maintenance couldbe tens of millions per year. Here's what goes into this superyacht's estimated annual budgetof nearly 1.9 million. – Welcome aboard Snowbird. – Cost that upeven before owner set sail. – Dockage fees are very expensive. They range from $3.50 afoot to 7.50 a foot per day.

– Dockage feescan be so high for superyachts in part because there's a large demand for a limited number of spaces, but if owners keep their yachts docked, they could face otherlarge maintenance expenses. – All the works of thebottom of the vessel gets scummed up with oystersand clams and barnacles. A lot of these electronics, they get fouled up if theysit dormant for a long time.

It's definitely better touse it than let it sit. – While docked, the yacht can connect tothe Marina's power grid for basic operations, but when it's out at sea, this368 ton vessel requires fuel, a lot of it. – For someone like myself,I call this boat yoga. What we have here is the day tank. This holds approximately800 gallons of fuel.

See the red? That's the amount that's in the tank. – In total, this yacht can hold almost12,000 gallons of fuel. Plus, other watervehicles like its jet skis and support boat will need even more gas. – Generally, we burn anywhere from 60 gallons an hourto 120 gallons an hour. – At around fourand a half dollars a gallon.

– It costsapproximately $360,000 per year to fuel Snowbird. – But day-to-day maintenance is actually the fourthlargest operating cost and it can get messy. – Today we're gonna be changing out the crankcase ventilation filter. That keeps your turbosand your after cooler from getting gummed up,.

And it also helps reduce oil consumption and reduce air pollution by further combustion inside the engine. This part probably costs$60, $70 to replace, but it has immeasurable value in prolonging thelongevity of your motors. Maintaining the engineson a yacht like Snowbird typically costs around $60,000 a year, and you're looking at parts, time,.

And the materials involvedto change the oils and keep everything up and going. – That's just below deck. Superyacht owners also need to invest in keeping the rest of theyacht in pristine condition, like the teak flooring. Teak is typically used on yachts because it's a weatherresistant luxury material, but it's also challenging to maintain.

– When we scrub the teak, oftentimes it only lastsroughly a week or two depending on the traffic on board. It wants to go back to its natural color, and, you know, betweenrain and rinsing it down, you kinda wash away all of that, you know, hard work that you've done. Annually the teak flooringcosts about $18,000 to maintain. – Adding on smaller expenses,.

You're already lookingat just over $1 million. But by far, there's one costfor maintaining superyachts that completely surpassesthe others, the crew. The estimated budget for Snowbird's crew is over $800,000 per year andthat's because super yachts must always have a crew even when docked. – You have to take care of the teak the paint, wash windows, machinery. Rust never sleeps,maintenance never stops.

– Cost towardstheir health insurance, travel expenses, uniforms,and cell phone bills can add thousands to the budget. Adding in crew expenses brings the annual operating cost estimate to nearly 1.9 million a year, but that's only whenthere are no major repairs or maintenance while owners generallyspend around 10% a year.

In maintenance costs for new superyachts. – It's kind of a guideline, but as she gets three years or five years, or hits her 10 year, it'sgonna be more than 10%. – Every five years or so, superyacht owners have to shell out for one of their largest expenses. – Paint jobs are sometimesfrom a hundred thousand to a million bucks, dependingon your size of your boat.

Paint is about $1,800 an inch, – Salt in the water and air corrodes the yachts paint. To repaint the entire yacht, it needs to be hauled out of the water, then it can take months tocomplete a fresh paint job. There are also othermajor potential expenses. Some yacht owners need to spend hundreds of thousands ofdollars every few years.

On detailed inspections. And if a yacht fails in inspection, repairing or replacing itcould run $200,000 or more. – Certain boats, youcan't get the engines out. You have to cut a hole in the side and then reweld it, recertify the hole. Now you're into the multi-millionsto change out an engine. – To recoupsome of these costs, superyacht owners willrent out their vessels.

The charter fee for this super yacht ranges from $125 to $145,000 per week, that covers the boat and the crew, but renters also need topay for additional expenses like fuel, food, and customs fees. Plus, there's a customary tip of 18 to 25% for the crew members. At best, superyacht owners might break-even on maintenance costs.

With income earned from chartering. – I don't think it's aprofitable situation. At best, they're covering their salaries and the boat's way as it travels. Wear and tear is always there and the money would haveto go back into the vessel. If you didn't properlymaintain your vessel, your value would decrease. Most people that buy yachtsof this size and this stature.

Really wanna take care of them. (upbeat music)

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