The headline number nobody questions
Every yacht-investment pitch you'll see — from Croatia, Greece, Italy, the Caribbean — leads with the same shape of claim: a single headline percentage on the brochure cover. The exact figure varies with whoever is writing the brochure. What almost nobody does is break down where it comes from.
That matters because gross revenue ≠ what lands in your bank account. By the time you've paid the charter management fee, insurance, marina, service, depreciation, and tax — the number that determines whether you actually made money is closer to half of the headline.
This article walks through the entire formula, using a Dufour 44 in Croatia (base ACI Trogir) as the worked example. Same logic applies to any yacht, any base — just plug in different numbers.
The formula, in one line
Owner net = Weekly rate × Weeks × (1 − Discount) × (1 − Mgmt fee) − Insurance − Marina − Service
Seven variables. Each one matters. We'll go through them in order.
1. Weekly rate
This is the published charter price for one week. Croatia's market follows a fairly consistent rule of thumb: a yacht's weekly peak-season rate runs around 1.3% of its all-in purchase value. So a Dufour 44 with a charter-equipped purchase value of €392,345 rents for roughly €5,100/week in July or August.
Note that "purchase value" here means the actual capital deployed — boat + charter equipment pack + commissioning + delivery to Croatia. Not the base-boat ex-shipyard price. Mixing those up is the single most common mistake in DIY yield calculations.
2. Charter weeks
The Adriatic season is structurally about 20 weeks long — late April to mid-October. Within that, a well-managed yacht in a good base achieves 18 to 24 weeks of actual bookings. We use 20 weeks as base case in our financial models — it's neither optimistic nor pessimistic, just the middle of the realistic range.
Don't trust models that assume 26 or 28 weeks. Those are theoretically possible only with aggressive shoulder-season pricing and a yacht that sleeps in a southern base year-round.
3. Customer discount
Almost no charter is booked at the advertised rate. Repeat customers, early bookings, last-minute deals, broker commissions — they all chip at the headline number. 10% average discount across the season is realistic for a yacht in a normal demand year. Higher in soft markets, lower for premium yachts in peak weeks.
So the €5,100/week becomes €4,590/week net of discount. Over 20 weeks that's €91,809 in annual revenue.
4. Charter management fee
This is the share of revenue your operator (us, in this case) keeps in exchange for running the business: bookings, marketing, marina arrangements, check-in crew, customer service, accounting, claims management.
Industry rates vary by base and contract terms. ACI Trogir's rate is 38% of gross revenue. So €91,809 revenue becomes €56,921 owner gross after the fee.
5. Insurance (owner pays)
Commercial yacht insurance for charter use runs roughly 0.9% of insured value per year. For our Dufour 44 at €392k purchase, that's €3,531/year. Cheaper insurance exists but tends to come with exclusions you'll regret the first time a guest puts an anchor through the hull.
6. Marina berth (owner pays)
Annual berth fees vary by base. ACI Trogir charges around €7,734/year for a 14-metre slot. Splits, Dubrovniks, and Pulas charge similar; smaller secondary marinas are cheaper but harder to charter from.
7. Service and maintenance (owner pays)
A charter yacht goes through a full service every year. Antifouling, hull polish, engine service, rigging check, sail check, electronics, soft furnishings. Budget €7,150/year for a Dufour 44. New boats need less in the first 2 years; pre-owned boats need more.
Pulling it together: the worked example
Putting all seven variables into one table for our Dufour 44 base case (20 weeks, 10% discount, 38% management fee at ACI Trogir):
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly rate | 1.3% × €392,345 | €5,100 |
| Net of 10% discount | €5,100 × 0.90 | €4,590 |
| Annual revenue | €4,590 × 20 weeks | €91,809 |
| Charter management fee | 38% of €91,809 | (€34,887) |
| Insurance | 0.9% × €392,345 | (€3,531) |
| Marina berth (ACI Trogir) | fixed | (€7,734) |
| Service & maintenance | fixed | (€7,150) |
| Owner EBITDA | net | €38,506 |
€38,506 of owner EBITDA for this specific illustrative configuration of a Dufour 44 — well under half of the gross revenue a brochure headline would have led with. Critically: this is one scenario only, and we deliberately stop short of turning it into a headline percentage. Other Dufour 44s with different configurations, bases, financing, or occupancy patterns will produce different numbers. Real per-yacht numbers come from per-yacht feasibility studies, not from extrapolating worked examples.
The variables that move it most
If you change just one variable while holding the others constant, here's the impact on the owner's annual net (for this same illustrative configuration):
| Variable | Movement | Impact on owner's annual net |
|---|---|---|
| Charter weeks | 18 → 22 weeks | ≈ +€11,400 / yr |
| Customer discount | 15% → 5% | ≈ +€6,700 / yr |
| Management fee | 38% → 32% | ≈ +€5,900 / yr |
| Weekly rate | 1.3% → 1.4% of purchase | ≈ +€2,700 / yr |
| Marina fee | Trogir → Pula (~€1.5k cheaper) | ≈ +€1,500 / yr |
Occupancy (charter weeks) is the single biggest driver. On this configuration, a yacht that books 22 weeks instead of 18 puts roughly €11,000 more in the owner's pocket each year — the same boat, the same berth.
This is why your choice of operator matters more than your choice of yacht. The same Dufour 44 in a well-run charter programme earns 22 weeks; in a mediocre one it earns 16. The yacht is identical. The operator is the variable.
What this number doesn't include
Owner EBITDA (€38,506 in our example) is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. It's the right number for comparing operating profitability across yachts. But it's not your final return. Things that come out next:
- Depreciation: A new yacht loses 5–8% of value per year in the first 5 years. Charter use accelerates this slightly. This is a real cost even though it doesn't hit your bank account.
- Financing: If you took a loan, 30% down on €392k means €106k equity + €274k financed. Interest payments (currently ~5–6% in the EU) reduce net cash significantly.
- Tax: In a Croatian d.o.o. structure, depreciation typically offsets taxable income — corporate tax can be 0% effective in the early years. But this requires real bookkeeping and accountant fees.
- Exit value: When you sell after 5 years, you recover most (not all) of the depreciation. A well-maintained yacht in good charter history sells faster and closer to its book value.
The honest summary
A Dufour 44 charter-equipped at €392,345 in a base-case ACI Trogir operation:
- Generates €91,809 revenue/year
- Yields €38,506 EBITDA/year (9.8% net)
- Covers operating costs and provides positive cash flow from year one
- Doesn't necessarily provide positive after-financing, after-tax cash flow until year 3+ depending on debt structure
- Builds equity value through partial debt repayment over the holding period
Is that a good investment? Compared to leaving €106k of equity in a bond fund earning 4%, it depends on your sailing time, your tax position, and how you value depreciation risk. For someone who'll sail 3–4 weeks/year personally, charter income subsidises a lifestyle asset rather than competing with the bond fund directly.
That framing — charter income offsets ownership costs while you enjoy the asset — is the real value proposition. The 9.8% is the engine that makes it work financially. The brochure number was never the point.