Selling a Yacht Sounds Like a Chore

Want to hear a good joke? "What is tougher than having one sleek mega-yacht for sale in a glutted market?" Wait for it. "The answer, for the moment at least, is having two mega-yachts on the market." Get it? But really, that's the beginning of an article in the New York Times, which reads like a slap to the face. Apparently the yacht game works with a high turnaround in which "enthusiasts would order a new dream boat and keep their old one for the two or three years the builder needed to complete the new boat." Then they would just sell the old one to someone with less money (but still more money than everyone else). But now it's not as easy as it once was! No, no, wait, come back, that's not it.

Here are some facts, with straight face and no jokes, about how the financial crisis downed the "superyacht market":

1. One man owned a 134-foot and a 161-foot boat, both named Blind Date.
2. Now they're for sale: $9.5 million and $33 million, respectively.
3. That's $204, 968.94 per foot for the really nice one.
4. It costs about $4 million per year to maintain the two yachts.
5. That's not even particularly impressive, in the yacht market:

Mad Summer, a 257-foot yacht with a helicopter pad and refueling station, two Jacuzzis, a movie theater and other luxuries, was sold earlier last year. Although the price was never disclosed, the asking price was 135 million euros ($179 million). Specialists say the actual purchase price was $100 million, and the buyer was a Mexican who has renamed the boat TV.

Have a good weekend!

You Think Houses Are a Slow Sell? Try a Yacht [NYT]