The new-versus-brokerage debate in yachting generates more heat than light. New-boat advocates cite warranty, customization, and the latest technology. Brokerage advocates cite one word, repeated like a mantra: depreciation. Both sides are right about the facts and wrong about what matters.

The real question isn't which is cheaper. It's which delivers more yachting per dollar over your ownership period. And the answer depends almost entirely on how long you plan to keep the boat.

The Depreciation Reality

Yachts depreciate like luxury cars crossed with houses — the worst of both worlds in the early years, then surprisingly resilient. The curve:

Year 1: 15–20% off the equipped purchase price. This is the "drive it off the lot" hit. It's real, it's immediate, and it's the single largest cost of new ownership.

Years 2–3: Another 10–15% cumulative. By year three, a yacht is typically worth 65–70% of what the original owner paid equipped.

Years 4–7: 5–8% per year. The curve is flattening. The boat is finding its long-term value.

Years 8+: 3–5% per year, heavily condition-dependent. A meticulously maintained 10-year-old Feadship depreciates slower than a neglected 5-year-old production boat.

The implication: if you buy new and sell in three years, you've paid roughly 35% of the purchase price in depreciation alone — on a $4 million yacht, that's $1.4 million evaporated. If you buy a three-year-old boat and sell in three years, depreciation costs you roughly $400,000 on a $2.6 million purchase. Same yachting, $1 million less in depreciation.

What New Actually Buys You

Depreciation isn't the whole story. New yachts deliver genuine advantages:

Warranty. Typically 2 years on the boat, 3–5 years on engines. On a complex modern yacht with integrated electronics, pod drives, and stabilization systems, warranty coverage has real value — a single major electronics failure out of warranty can run $30,000–$50,000.

Customization. Interior layout, fabric selections, equipment choices, paint colors. For owners who care deeply about aesthetics — and at this price point, most do — building to spec is the only way to get exactly what you want.

Latest systems. Marine technology moves steadily: more efficient hull designs, better stabilization, integrated bridge systems, hybrid propulsion options. A 2026 new build has meaningful advantages over a 2020 boat in fuel efficiency and onboard tech.

The intangible. There's a pleasure in commissioning a new yacht — the yard visits, the launch, the first season — that has real value to the buyer who can afford it. Dismissing this as irrational misses the point of luxury spending.

What Brokerage Actually Costs (Beyond the Price)

The brokerage discount isn't free. Budget for:

Survey and sea trial: $5,000–$15,000 for a thorough pre-purchase survey on a 60-footer, including engine surveys and rigging inspection (for sail). Non-negotiable. The surveyor works for you, not the broker.

Immediate refit: Even excellent brokerage boats need $50,000–$150,000 in the first year — soft goods (upholstery, carpets, canvas), electronics updates, and the deferred maintenance every previous owner left for the next guy. Budget it upfront or it'll surprise you monthly.

No warranty safety net. When the generator fails in month four, it's your $18,000. This is why the survey matters and why buying the best-maintained example — not the cheapest — is the correct strategy.

The Ownership-Horizon Math

Here's the decision framework that actually works:

Keeping the boat 2–4 years? Buy brokerage, 2–4 years old. You'll capture the flattened part of the depreciation curve, get a modern boat, and your total cost of ownership will be dramatically lower than buying new.

Keeping the boat 7–10+ years? The math narrows considerably. Over a decade, the new boat's depreciation disadvantage shrinks as a percentage of total ownership cost (which is dominated by annual operation, not purchase price). If customization matters to you, buying new for long-term ownership is defensible.

Buying your first yacht? Buy brokerage. Every experienced owner will tell you this. Your first boat teaches you what you actually want — layout preferences, usage patterns, systems priorities — and those lessons are expensive to learn on a new build. Buy a quality brokerage boat, use it for three years, then build new with knowledge.

Buy your second boat first" is the oldest advice in yachting, and it's still the best. The brokerage market exists to let you make your beginner mistakes at a discount.

The Bottom Line

New versus brokerage isn't a debate with a winner. It's a question about your time horizon, your tolerance for project management, and how much you value getting exactly what you want. Run the numbers honestly — including the refit budget that brokerage requires and the depreciation that new demands — and the right answer for your situation becomes clear.