SmartYacht – unique dimensions of co-ownership
Owning your own yacht will normally cost you more than ten percent of the purchase price in overheads per annum, plus considerable personal time and effort for management, maintenance and care. As a sensible alternative, SmartYacht offers cost-effective yacht co-ownership of motor yachts in the Med, based on successful approaches for private aircraft – thus setting a new benchmark for the yachting sector.

At the heart of our concept are the following principles: secured ownership (no time-share!), flexible usage and shared costs. Four or less owners share costs of purchase and maintenance and can use their vessel for a guaranteed number of weeks/year. A 3-season-system for bookings and an online reservation system guarantee a fair and flexible allocation of time among the fractional owners. At SmartYacht, you enjoy all the advantages of your own yacht with regard to access and utilization, but you pay only a portion of the costs. SmartYacht assumes the total yacht management, i.e. you don’t have to worry about anything. Just come aboard.

Your advantages at a glance
• Shared costs for purchase and maintenance
• Motor yachts of renowned brands (>50ft, location Med)
• Fair and flexible usage through 3-season system and online reservation
• All-season yacht management & all-inclusive service package
• Return for fractional owners through charter
• Real secure ownership without any time limit

Aimed at fulfilling individual customer desires, SmartYacht offers two options:
- CREWED Program: Crew (at least 1 captain) throughout the entire year aboard the
yacht, higher service level, return for the co-owner via chartering of the yacht to
others is possible
- BASIC-Program: The co-owner navigates the yacht him/herself, no permanent crew is
aboard (personnel only upon request or for training purposes), reduced annual costs, no
chartering of the yacht to others is possible

Please have a look at basics to get an quick overview!

SmartYacht makes luxury affordable: you pay the share price to acquire a share in a yacht plus the proportionate annual costs. In return, you acquire as co-owner a guaranteed right of use of the respective yacht for several weeks each year, plus access to other yachts at other locations within the scope of a multi-yacht, multi-location programme. The proportionate annual costs also cover operating costs (administrative, accounting and personnel expenses), all yacht management costs (mooring, insurance and maintenance) and the additional services provided as part of the SmartYacht Service and Lifestyle Package.

The amounts of the share price and proportionate annual costs depend on the yacht’s purchase price and other factors such as its size, condition (new / used), location and number of crew members. The share price amounts the particular share, e.g. ¼, of the yacht’s purchase price.

The annual operating costs of a yacht comprise, according to the particular yacht class, 8% to 12% of the new purchase price of the yacht. In the framework of an offer, the annual costs consist of the basic operational costs (administration, mooring, yacht management, maintenance, insurance, etc.) as well as the services pursuant to the SmartYacht service package (shopping service, personal items aboard, etc.) – these costs shall vary according to the yacht class, the home port, the size and the age of the yacht. In the detailed offer, the particular cost positions for the respective yacht will be individually calculated and transparently demonstrated. The annual costs indicated by us in the offer will be based on previously determined empirical values and shall be valid throughout the current year. At the end of the year, all payments made will be listed and deducted in a transparent manner. Given this result, a calculation will then be made for the following year.

Furthermore, in the framework of the CREWED Program, SmartYacht gives the shareholders the opportunity to reduce annual costs by temporarily chartering out the yacht for profit, allowing costs to be reduced. Thereby, each shareholder releases part of his/her usage at the beginning of the year. The chartering-for-profit option is available only in cases of yachts having a crew.

In addition to the annual costs, a fund for maintenance and repair funds is being set up. The contributions to the funds will be applied exclusively to cover current repairs and maintenance work on the yacht. Following the sale of the yacht, unused portions of this fund will be proportionally refunded to the shareholders in relation to their respective share of yacht ownership.


Please have a look at the financial section to find out more about the (annual) costs and compare co-ownership with charter and full ownership!

Each co-owner has the right to reserve a certain number of weeks (according to share size) up to one year in advance as desired. A 3-Season System facilitates the fair distribution of rights of use among the shareholders and guarantees the availability of the yacht for every shareholder in the main, off-peak and low season. Thereby, right of each shareholder to reserve in advance will be equally divided for each of the three seasons. The three SmartYacht Seasons are as follows:

Main Season: approx. beginning of June to the end of September
Off-Peak Season: April, May, October, November
Low Season: approx. beginning of December to the end of March

Distribution of advance reservation time periods per share
Example 1/4 share: 9 weeks advance reservation time periods per year  3 weeks in each season (high, mid and low season)
Example 1/3 share: 12 weeks advance reservation time periods per year  4 weeks in each season (high, mid and low season)

The remaining free periods are available to the co-owners for short-term, flexible usage or to the managers for maintenance, overhauling or repairs.

In the CREWED program, die yacht can be periodically chartered for profit. Thereby, each co-owner waivers a portion of the advance reservation period and SmartYacht releases the remaining free periods for chartering. Example: With a ¼ share, you waiver per season one week‘s reservation, i.e. you have 2 weeks/season (6 weeks a year) remaining for reserving the yacht for your own usage. If as of one week prior to a desired period the yacht has not yet been booked for a charter, the owners are nevertheless entitled to use the yacht themselves.

SmartYacht offers a combination of exclusive logistical and other services that elevate your yachting experiences to a unique level of luxury. Please have a look at the Service and Lifestyle Package to get more information about the included services.

The SmartYacht programme is suitable for both experienced yacht owners and newcomers. In the BASIC program, the co-owners receive an intensive training and a comprehensive indoctrination aboard the respective yacht by one of our experienced captains, before they are permitted to assume control of the vessel. Moreover, a crew can be temporarily at any and all times. Aboard larger yachts, the crew (at least 1 captain) is permanently present, with these costs being calculated in the annual costs. In order to grant shareholders sufficient privacy, we offer you exclusively yachts which each have separate crew quarters.

As a fundamental matter, a captain aboard is advantageous in various respects:

- The shareholders don’t have to bother with the daily details. The captain plans the desired routes, reserves berths in the respective harbours, prepares the yacht for the appropriate guests and is responsible for the operation of the yacht, i.e., you can truly enjoy your freedom aboard and need not worry about the next course or the height of the waves.

- The captain is aboard throughout the entire year and is simultaneously responsible for the organisation of the yacht management (cleaning, maintenance, etc.) and serves as the contact person for all shareholders (coordination, etc.).

- The captain has expert knowledge as to the yacht and its operational area. That means that the risk that the yacht will be damaged by false manoeuvring is minimised. This is naturally advantageous to all shareholders!

- It is worth having a good captain aboard. On the one hand, he can personally carry out necessary maintenance and repairs for the yacht, instead of having to call in third parties for such matters. On the other hand, he keeps the yacht in good condition and up-to-date. In doing so, he also enhances the value of the yacht for subsequent sale.

- One of the most important aspects is safety. Yachts of this size displace at least 30 tonnes. This means that there are certain inherent dangers. Inattentiveness during docking operations, for example, can result in severed fingers. Hus, it is better to have a professional in your service while manoeuvring – even if you are at the helm. Moreover, strong sea breezes and high waves even in harbours can lead to further dangers. Therefore, steering a vessel weighing some 30 tonnes requires a great deal of experience.

The proportionate annual costs include all costs for the use of the yacht and benefiting from the SmartYacht Service and Lifestyle Package. Additional expenses can only be incurred for fuel, mooring, port fees and special requests such as additional crew members not covered by the quotation, food, catering, etc. Any additional costs (plus a 15 percent service charge) are clearly listed and billed at the end of the stay on board.

The yacht locations depend on client demand, and are spread all around the Mediterranean Sea and adjoining waters. The favourites include prestigious locations in southern France (Côte d’Azur), southern Spain, Mallorca, Sardinia, Greece, Cyprus and the Canary Islands. SmartYacht aims to consistently expand both its fleet and its network of yacht locations within the scope of its multi-yacht, multi-location programme in order to offer clients maximum flexibility as they use our services.

In particular, home ports in southern France and along the Balearic Islands (e.g. Mallorca, Ibiza) are very much in demand, given that these are not only ideal starting points for destinations throughout the entire western Mediterranean (Corsica, Sardinia, Spain, etc.), but also because of their very good international flight connections and the high charter demands.

SmartYacht offers three classes: SPORTS, EXECUTIVE and LUXURY, covering a wide range of 45- to 150-foot luxury yachts from established brands.

SPORTS class: 45 – 60ft
EXECUTIVE class: 60 – 75ft
LUXURY class: >75ft

Depending on their size and the specific offering, the yachts are sailed by their co-owners or a crew. SmartYacht is not affiliated with any particular make of yacht and can therefore meet individual wishes. We use a special tool to quickly calculate the amounts of the share prices and the yearly fees for any model. In the best interests of the yacht co-owners, however, we always try to limit the fleet to as few brands as possible, because this enables us to stock spare parts and make repairs faster and more economically. In addition, SmartYacht will provide competent advice for prospective co-owners when choosing a yacht. In this respect, we pay special attention to the reliability and safety of the vessels, drawing on over 20 years of experience.

SmartYacht is committed to only offering yachts in excellent condition. All newly purchased yachts are carefully inspected. We do not purchase any pre-owned yachts unless they have first been approved by an independent, professional inspection company. The inspection documents are available for all yacht owners to review. When submitting a quotation to a prospective client, SmartYacht includes detailed specifications, descriptions and photographs of the yacht.

Prospective clients are welcome to inspect offered yachts at the current locations by prior arrangement. If necessary, SmartYacht supports clients in terms of travel planning.

Within this scope of our multi-yacht programme, you can use any other yacht of the same or a lower class at no extra charge. This system maximizes our yacht owners access to the yachts they would like to use, as well as their flexibility in choosing the time and place of use. It also contributes greatly to the sustainable and environmentally friendly use of resources.

Every yacht is fully insured against all kinds of damage caused by collision or natural forces. There is also a liability insurance policy covering damage caused to third parties by the yacht or its crew. Crew members are also covered by medical, accident and liability insurance.

SmartYacht is absolutely committed to providing the best possible client care and service. We hire, train and instruct all crew and service team members ourselves, while stressing safety, reliability, service and hospitality at all times. This enables us to provide consistently competent service and flexibly to deploy our resources. For additional services such as catering, SmartYacht relies exclusively on a network of professional providers.

An innovative online reservation system that has proven itself for many years in the aircraft industry makes booking extremely simple. You can see at a glance which yachts in the SmartYacht fleet are available including the duration. You can log on and make reservations well in advance or at short notice (see below). To optimise communication with our clients, we continually monitor, maintain and upgrade the reservation system.

You can make advance reservations for the yacht you own a share in. As soon as you purchase a share, the calendar for the yacht concerned is made available for reservations up to 12 months in advance. From then on, you can reserve the yacht as you please on a first come, first served basis for up to your maximum advance reservation time allotment. The system automatically ensures that the yacht is available to each fractional owners during part of each season (high season: June - September, mid season: April, May, Oct., Nov.; low season: Dec. - March).

Short-term “last minute” reservations (i.e. no sooner than seven days and no later than 48 hours in advance) can be made within the scope of our multi-yacht, multi-location programme for any yacht of the same or a lower class at any location, above and beyond your time allotment. There is no additional charge for this - except for the costs of utilization (see Page 6).