Define your cruising programme before choosing a boat

Defining your cruising programme means writing down, in plain terms, how you will actually use the boat: in which waters, at what rhythm, with which crew, at what level of comfort and for what total budget. It is the first step of every successful purchase — before comparing models, before even settling the sail-versus-power question. No boat is good in the absolute: a boat is only good for a given programme.

Why the programme comes before the model

Most buying mistakes follow the same inverted logic: you stumble on a tempting listing or a boat-show stand, fall for it, then look for the arguments that justify the crush. The classic outcome is a boat sized for a dream — the ocean crossing, the full crowd of friends — and used two weeks a year by a couple. Starting from the programme reverses the process: you describe the use first, then look for the boat that answers it, and only that boat. It is exactly how professionals work, and the best antidote to the classic first-purchase mistakes.

Waters: where will you cruise for the first three years?

Not "someday", not "eventually": the first three years. Your cruising area drives heavy technical choices. Tidal waters such as Brittany or the Channel call for a seaworthy hull, a protected cockpit and a dependable engine; a Mediterranean summer rewards volume, shade and a proper bathing platform; rivers and canals impose strict air draft and draft limits. Design category, helm protection, hull type: everything follows from the area. If the great voyage does happen one day, you will change boats then — almost always cheaper than buying today for a dream that is five years away.

Duration and rhythm: day trips, weeks away, or living aboard

Thirty day trips do not call for the same boat as two three-week cruises, even if the total number of days is identical. The first profile points to an open day boat that is quick to launch and simple to run; the second demands a genuine cruiser with real water and power autonomy. Be honest about rhythm: how many weekends a year, which holidays, how far is the marina from home? A boat more than two hours' drive away goes out half as often — owners confirm it with disarming regularity. Factor in distance from the start: a berth one hour from home allows Friday-evening escapes, while three hours away turns the boat into a holidays-only tool, whatever its qualities.

Crew and comfort: who actually steps aboard?

Size the boat for the frequent crew, not the exception. In practice most boats sail as a couple or a small family; the friends come once, the big dinner party stays in port. Two double cabins and a convertible saloon cover the vast majority of real uses. Then list your non-negotiable comfort items: hot water, a real fridge, a separate shower, air conditioning? Every system adds purchase cost, energy consumption and a maintenance line. Comfort is paid for three times. And remember that guests adapt to a boat far more easily than a budget adapts to guests.

Total budget: think cost of ownership, not purchase price

The purchase price is only the entry ticket. As an order of magnitude, budget 8 to 12% of the boat's value per year: berth, insurance, routine maintenance, wintering, small repairs. A 150,000 € boat therefore costs roughly 12,000 to 15,000 € a year, before fuel and equipment renewal. Build that line in from day one: a more modest boat that sails sixty days a year beats a bigger one stuck at the dock on an exhausted budget. Our cost of ownership calculator lets you price it item by item before committing to anything.

Where to start: write your one-page brief

Take one page, no more, and answer in writing:

• Main cruising area for the first three years, plus a possible secondary one.
• Realistic sailing days per year, and how they are spread across the calendar.
• Usual crew, and occasional maximum crew.
• Three non-negotiable comfort items — and three you agree to give up.
• Total budget: purchase price, but also the annual running budget you accept.

Then test that brief against the boat families and the our model files: the shortlist shrinks by itself to a handful of serious candidates. Charter a boat close to the chosen profile for a week before signing anything — it is the cheapest test in the whole buying process. And if the exercise feels abstract, it is precisely what a yacht buying service formalises with you, question by question.