Calculating Costs

If you've done banking or even just researched your financial lending options online, no doubt you've noticed those handy cost calculators the major banks feature on their Web sites. Have you ever wondered why there isn't a marine equivalent?

Well, actually, there is, and it's on the Web site of Luxury Yacht Group, a firm offering a variety of services ranging from yacht management to crew placement and charter. But Luxury Yacht Group's Cost Calculator is arguably better than the banks' version, going beyond a simple "enter price and APR here" numbers-cruncher. It takes a total of 33 pieces of specific information about your yacht into account, to ensure you get a customized report breaking down your annual operating costs.

Here's how it works. You start with basic details such as the length of your yacht, then add more in-depth information such as engine type and hours, cruise and top speeds, the dockage rate you pay, even whether you have crew (and what type of uniforms they wear), how often you wine and dine guests, and whether your yacht is regularly adorned with fresh flowers. (Don't laugh; you'd be amazed at what some owners spend on fresh flowers—on a weekly basis.)

Interested in offering your yacht for charter? Luxury Yacht Group's Cost Calculator even has a section devoted to that, giving you the ability to input rates for summer and winter, along with the number of weeks you'll make the yacht available each season. This helps you determine whether you can offset your overall expenses.

Once you've input all the data, hit "submit," and you can get a printable report.

Now if only deciding between the Feadship and the Lurssen you've been eyeing was so easy...