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Bareboat vs crewed, catamaran vs monohull, charter vs own — decided with numbers.
Four structural comparisons
Every charter buyer eventually faces four hinges: bareboat vs crewed, catamaran vs monohull, sailing vs motor, and chartering vs ownership. Each has a cost-math answer and a comfort answer. This hub treats each pair as its own decision, with the numbers first and the taste questions last.
The cost math at a glance
| Choice | Option A | Option B | What decides it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bareboat vs crewed | $3,500–$12,000/week plus your own labour | $2,000–$4,500/guest plus 20–35% APA | Whether you want to sail or to be hosted |
| Catamaran vs monohull | Catamaran: 25–40% higher base rate | Monohull: lower rate, more motion | Stability and deck space versus cost |
| Sailing vs motor | Sailing: lower rate, slower passages | Motor: 40–120% more fuel, more range | Cruising rhythm versus mileage |
| Charter vs ownership | One all-in week | 10–12% of hull value a year in running costs | Weeks of use per year |
The decision order that actually works
Buyers who start with the boat usually re-book. Start with the constraint instead.
- Budget ceiling, all-in. Take the base rate you can afford and divide by 1.3 for APA, VAT and tip. A $40,000 budget buys roughly a $30,000 base rate, not a $40,000 one.
- Skills. No licence and no offshore hours means crewed or skippered. Bareboat is a documented-competence product, and the base will ask at check-in.
- Route shape. Short hops and anchorages favour sailing; long deliveries and tight schedules favour motor.
- Group. Eight guests on a monohull is a cabin lottery; eight on a catamaran is a normal week.
- Comfort. Only now does the preference between sail and motor, new and classic, matter.
Five-year cost: charter versus ownership
Ownership advocates compare a purchase price with a charter rate and declare a win. The comparison only works over years, and it has to include everything the charter rate already bundles.
| Line | Charter (one week/year) | Own a 20 m yacht |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | none | $1.5–3 m, plus 5–10% closing costs |
| Annual running | none | 10–12% of hull value: berth, insurance, maintenance, crew |
| Annual use | 1 week | 4–8 weeks realistically |
| Five-year cash out | 5 × all-in weekly rate | purchase + 5 years running + refit reserve |
| Exit | walk away | sell, at market, minus broker commission |
Below roughly eight weeks of use a year, chartering wins on cash and on risk. Above that — or with a managed charter programme absorbing part of the running cost — ownership can close the gap, but the capital is committed either way.
Where the comparisons mislead
Two traps recur. The first is comparing a bareboat rate with a crewed rate and calling the difference the "cost of crew": the crewed rate also includes a larger hull, provisioning management and insurance the bareboat charterer buys separately. The second is treating the catamaran premium as pure margin: the extra beam is what makes eight guests comfortable, and the resale market prices it accordingly.
Related guides: bareboat vs crewed, catamaran vs monohull, sailing vs motor, charter vs ownership, and the cost hub for the line items behind every figure here.
Bareboat or crewed for a first charter?
Crewed or skippered. You skip the competence check that bareboat contracts require, and for a group of six the per-head difference is often smaller than expected once APA and provisioning are counted.
Is a catamaran worth the premium?
For groups of six or more, usually yes: 25–40% more base rate buys materially more deck, four equal cabins and less roll at anchor. For two people, the premium buys space you will not use.
Is owning cheaper than chartering?
Only above roughly eight weeks of annual use, or inside a managed programme that offsets part of the running cost. At one or two weeks a year, chartering is cheaper by a wide margin.
How to compare two quotes line by line
Two quotes that look $8,000 apart are often $1,000 apart once the lines are aligned. Put them side by side in the same order every time: base rate, APA percentage, VAT rate and whether it is inside the quoted figure, delivery or one-way fee, crew tip guidance, and what the deposit is.
Then convert both to an all-in weekly number. A $45,000 base rate with 30% APA and 13% VAT is $45,000 × 1.30 × 1.13 = $66,105 before tip. A $52,000 base rate with 20% APA and no VAT is $62,400. The cheaper headline is the more expensive week. The hidden costs guide lists the line items that most often sit outside the headline.
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