Selling Your Yacht: Expert Tips and Insights from Shestakov Yacht Sales

Selling a yacht doesn’t have to be complicated. With Shestakov Yacht Sales, you benefit from a straightforward, transparent process — from accurate valuation to a smooth closing.

Our lead broker, Andrey Shestakov, is a professional with 17 years of experience and official company representation:

• personally manages your project;
• collaborates with top brokers worldwide;
• brings your yacht to the global market and finds a buyer much faster;
• ensures your vessel is sold at the best possible price.

Read further to find out what our approach to a successful yacht sale consists of.

1. Yacht Preparation and Valuation

Before putting a yacht on the market, we conduct a professional valuation to ensure your yacht doesn’t “sit” unsold and is not sold below its true value.

To calculate the price, we:

• compare it with current listings and transactions of similar yachts on the international market
• analyze sales statistics
• take the yacht’s condition into account

This ensures you receive a price that attracts buyers while protecting your profit. Following the valuation, we provide guidance on pre-sale preparations to enhance your yacht’s appeal and accelerate the sale.

2. Effective Marketing Campaign

Our team understands that first impressions are everything. For each yacht, our broker organizes:

• Pre-sale maintenance. The yacht will look perfectly ready, both technically and visually, ready for showings.
• Professional photography and video review. High-quality images and videos highlight the vessel’s unique features.
• Virtual tours and drone footage. We provide a comprehensive presentation of your yacht, ensuring that even overseas buyers can experience it as if they were on board.

In listings, we include all key yacht specifications, such as year of manufacture, displacement, engine type, range, and other important features, ensuring potential buyers receive comprehensive information.

3. Advertising Campaign

A broker has access to channels that private owners often cannot reach:

• International portals — YachtWorld, Boat International, JamesEdition, and other market leaders, where your yacht will be seen by real buyers from around the world.
• Global client and partner network — direct access to serious buyers and brokers ready to close a deal.
• Exhibitions and shows — the yacht is showcased at prestigious events, attracting the attention of the target audience.
• Targeted advertising — social media and online media are configured so that every view reaches potential buyers directly.

We launch all these tools simultaneously, reducing the time your yacht spends on the market and increasing the chances of a quick sale at a profitable price.

4. Conducting the Transaction

We ensure transparency and safety at every stage.

Inspection and Sea Trials (Survey)

Buyer’s actions

After placing a 10% deposit, the buyer gains the right to conduct a survey — a full assessment of the yacht’s technical condition, including sea trials. For this, they hire an independent marine surveyor.

Seller’s actions

If the survey reveals defects, the seller must decide to:

• Fix them at their own expense;
• Offer a discount equal to the cost of repairs.

This approach ensures transparency and helps speed up the transaction, increasing trust between both parties.

Documentation Support

We take full responsibility for preparing and reviewing documents to eliminate risks:

• Bill of Sale records the transfer of ownership without the possibility of disputes;
• Certificate of Registry confirms that the yacht is officially re-registered to the buyer and is no longer linked to your name;
• Protocol of Delivery & Acceptance protects you from claims after handover.

For the seller, this is a key benefit: you can be sure the yacht is no longer your legal or actual responsibility, and the sale funds are received without delays or risks.

5. Legal and Financial Aspects

We advise clients on all important matters to ensure the transaction goes as smoothly as possible.

Yacht Registration

Every yacht must be registered under a country’s flag. This is not just a formality — it provides legal protection for the owner and the right to sail legally.

Different countries maintain different types of registries:

• Open registries — in these countries, owner and yacht information is publicly available. Suitable for transparent international transactions, it builds trust with brokers and banks.
• Closed registries — owner data is hidden, ensuring confidentiality and security.
• Hybrid registries — some countries allow choosing between open and closed modes, combining transparency and confidentiality.

We select the jurisdiction that best protects your interests, reduces taxes, optimizes costs, and speeds up the sale.

Sale via an Offshore Company

Selling a yacht through an offshore company works like this: instead of registering the yacht to a new owner, the shares of the company owning the yacht are sold.

How it works:

1. You register the yacht under an offshore company (usually in jurisdictions with low taxes and high confidentiality).
2. The buyer acquires the company’s shares, automatically gaining ownership of the yacht.
3. There is no need for full vessel re-registration, saving time and money.

Benefits for the seller:

• The transaction is faster than a standard yacht transfer;
• VAT and customs duties can be avoided when importing the yacht into certain countries;
• The owner’s personal data remains confidential;
• The process is fully legal and widely used in international yacht trading.

We manage the entire process — company registration, document preparation, and share transfer — to ensure the transaction is safe and transparent for both parties.

Insurance

We work with leading insurance companies, such as Atlas Insurance Group, and can offer you an optimal insurance package — from basic coverage (Hull & Machinery) to full coverage, including liability, crew insurance, and other options.

Why Choose Shestakov Yacht Sales?

Selling a yacht on your own may seem possible, but in practice, it’s not easy: you need to assess the value, prepare the vessel, handle legal paperwork, find a serious buyer, and ensure the transaction is safe.

One wrong step — and you risk losing time, money, or even facing potential claims.

We handle all these tasks for you:

• Comprehensive approach. From accurate valuation and pre-sale preparation to the final handover of the yacht and document control. You don’t spend effort organizing the process — we manage everything professionally and systematically.
• Global reach. Thanks to our network of partner brokers worldwide, we quickly find serious buyers and resolve any issues anywhere on the planet. Your yacht receives maximum exposure on the international market.
• Safety and confidentiality. We take care of the legal and financial protection of the transaction, and your information remains completely private. No surprises, no risks.

With Shestakov Yacht Sales, you get the highest price and minimal hassle. We handle all the details of the sale so you can focus on your business and enjoy the results.