Yacht Ownership, Decoded · Spring 2026
An honest read on what it really takes to own a sailing catamaran
Almost everyone I work with will spend the first conversation in the wrong place. This is the writing I wish someone had handed me: the honest version, for serious buyers across North America.
I'm an active yacht ownership consultant for Dream Yacht Charter and Navigare Yachting. My whole subject is the moment charter and ownership meet: buying a sailing catamaran that earns its keep in a managed fleet before it's ever fully yours. That's a narrower, stranger thing than owning a boat outright, and it's where the real questions live.
So here's the deal I make with you on this site: the writing has to be useful whether or not you ever become a client. I'll tell you when a program doesn't fit, including mine. The analysis comes first. The conversation, if there's one to have, comes later.
A word on where I stand
Why I can write this, and where my bias lives.
The standing rule
If you read something here and decide the smart move is to do nothing, I've done my job. A blog that only ever points you toward a sale isn't a blog. It's a brochure with better fonts.
From the Journal
Where I actually spend my words.
A way to think about it
Three kinds of buyers.
Which one sounds like you?
The one who wants the summers
Lifestyle
You're here for the sailing. Real time aboard, remarkable water. The fleet covers the boat while you're away; the income is a bonus, not the reason you signed.
Read the breakdown →The one running the numbers
Investor
You want a yield-generating asset with tax advantages. The charter revenue is the point; sailing access matters, but the structure has to hold up on a spreadsheet first.
Read the breakdown →The one playing the long game
Retirement
Your endgame is the boat itself, free of the fleet, when the program ends. Maximum time on the water in the meantime, without paying full retail upfront.
Read the breakdown →A charter fleet can carry the cost of a boat you couldn't otherwise justify. Whether it carries it in your case is a different question, and it's the one worth asking first.
Sébastien G. Côté
Start here, no strings
The questions I'd ask if it were my money.
Start here
Twenty-five questions that surface what the glossy pages leave out, written so you can hold any program, mine included, to the same standard. A few quick details below, and it's yours.
