Terms To Know When Chartering a Yacht

If there's a term you don't see here, but would like to know more about, e-mail CharterWave editor Kim Kavin ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). She'll reply to you directly, and perhaps also add your term to this list.

Aft deck

On motoryachts, the guest area closest to the back of the boat on the main level. Often the location of the main outdoor dining area.

Amidships

In the center of the yacht

APA

Advance Provisioning Allowance.This is money that you pay in addition to the charter yacht's weekly base rate for items such as food and fuel. This money is paid in advance of your charter, to give the yacht's crew time to provision those items and anything else you request or need.

Athwartships

Perpendicular to the yacht’s centerline. When referring to guest quarters, it often is stated as “athwartships berth,” which means the head of the bed is parallel to the yacht’s sides instead of to its bow and stern. This can create uncomfortable motion while you sleep if the yacht lacks stabilizers.

AYCA

American Yacht Charter Association, one of the primary professional organizations for reputable charter brokers. Look for the logo shown at right when you're looking for a reputable charter broker.

Bareboat

A yacht that you charter and run yourself, without a crew.

Base rate

The rate you pay, usually in week-long increments, for the yacht and crew. Unlike an inclusive-rate, a base rate does not typically include expenses such as food, fuel, dockage and gratuity, which can add 25 percent or more to the base rate.

Captain-only charter

A yacht that comes with a captain but no additional crew. The captain drives the yacht, and you take care of everything else, including cooking and housekeeping.

Charter broker

A person who specializes in booking personalized yacht vacations. Different from a travel agent, who books many kinds of pre-packaged vacations.

Charter terms

The legal terms under which you charter a yacht. There are different terms used in different parts of the world. Some give you everything on an all-inclusive basis, some give you all meals aboard, some give you no meals aboard, and so forth.

Charter yacht

A yacht that is available for charter. Can be bareboat or crewed. Sometimes charter yachts change owners and become private yachts, which means they are no longer available for charter.

Clearinghouse

The company that holds a yacht’s calendar, thus keeping track of which weeks are booked and which are available. Similar to a charter management company.

Cockpit

On a sailing yacht, the outdoor area where guests typically sit and eat, and from where the captain may steer. Cockpits can be single, double or triple designs, meaning there are one, two or three separate outdoor areas for sitting and dining. The photo at right is shows a single cockpit.

Commission

The fee a yacht’s owner pays to a charter broker. The guest booking the vacation does not pay the charter broker’s commission.

Country kitchen-style galley

On megayachts, a style of galley that includes guest seating and the ability to watch the chef work.

Crew

The team that operates your charter yacht. Can include any combination of a captain and/or mate, deckhand, stewardess, engineer and chef. Some crew have additional skills such as massage therapy and scuba instruction.

Crewed charter

A vacation onboard a yacht that has a crew. Without a crew, a yacht vacation is called a bareboat charter.

Cruising class

An instructional class, sometimes offered by bareboat companies, in which you can learn to skipper your own charter yacht.

CYBA

Charter Yacht Broker Association, one of the primary professional organizations for reputable charter brokers. Look for the logo at right when you're looking for a reputable charter broker.

CYS

Charter Yacht Society, an organized group of charter yacht owners in the British Virgin Islands. Membership in this group indicates a yacht owner’s willingness to be part of the larger charter community and to follow its standards.

Dinghy

A small boat that a yacht carries or tows. Used for water sports, transfers to and from shore, and short day cruises. Also sometimes called a tender.

Double cabin

A charter yacht cabin that includes a double bed, which is slightly smaller than a queen-size bed. This term is often confused with "twin cabin," which means a cabin with two twin-size beds.

Draft

The depth of a yacht below the waterline. Becomes an important charter factor in shallow cruising areas such as the Bahamas, where deep-draft yachts cannot enter as many coves as shallow-draft yachts.

Expenses

Costs added to a yacht’s base rate during a weeklong vacation. They can include food, fuel, dockage and gratuity, and in total can add 25 percent or more to your total bill for a weeklong charter.

Fleet

A group of privately owned yachts that have contracted with the same management company.

Flotilla

A group of yachts cruising together. Flotilla charters are often offered by bareboat companies so vacationers can learn to cruise with help nearby.

FYBA

Florida Yacht Brokers Association, one of the primary professional organizations for reputable charter brokers. Look for the logo shown at right when you're looking for a reputable charter broker.

Gulet

A type of motorsailor typically found in Turkey.

Harbor fees

Charges paid by the yacht--and passed on to you--for docking in certain harbors around the world. They range from less than $100 to more than $10,000.

Inclusive rate

The cost of a charter that includes not just the yacht and crew, but also food, alcohol, fuel and dockage. Typically found in the Virgin Islands. Elsewhere, charter yachts tend to have base rates with additional expenses.

Itinerary

The course a yacht intends to travel while on charter. Can be decided in advance or changed by the guest in mid-charter, weather permitting.

LOA

Length overall. Refers to the length of a charter yacht. This is important because yachts are usually charged a price by the foot for dockage at marinas.

Main saloon

Correctly pronounced main salon, this is the primary indoor guest area on a yacht’s main deck.

Management company

A company that manages all aspects of a charter yacht’s operations, including booking weeklong trips for guests who want to take a vacation. Management companies do not own yachts. They manage them for private individuals who own the yachts.

Marina

A place where yachts dock and receive services. Typically where you begin and end a charter vacation. Different from a cruise-ship terminal in size and scale, and often closed to the general public. Marinas hold all kinds of private boats, including fishing boats. Not every boat in a marina will be available for charter.

Master cabin

Typically the best cabin onboard any charter yacht.

Megayacht

A large motoryacht. Often used to describe boats 100 feet or longer.

Monohull

A yacht—typically a sailing yacht—with one hull, as opposed to a multihull or catamaran that has pontoons.

Motorsailor

A yacht built to sail and cruise under power with equal efficiency.

Motoryacht

A yacht whose primary form of propulsion is engines. Often used to describe boats 50 feet or longer.

MSD

Marine sanitation device. A type of toilet that flushes with the push of a button, as opposed to older-style pump toilets that are onboard some charter yachts.

Multihull

A yacht with more than one hull. In charter, the most typical multihulls are catamarans, which have two hulls. They can be either powerboats or sailboats.

MYBA

An international yacht brokers' association based in the Mediterranean, one of the primary professional organizations for reputable charter brokers. Look for the MYBA designation when looking for a reputable charter broker.

Owner-operator

A person who owns and skippers a charter yacht, instead of hiring a captain to perform charters for guests.

Passarelle

The passageway that leads from the dock to the yacht. Often incorrectly called a gangplank.

Preference sheet

A questionnaire that guests fill out before a crewed charter. It alerts the crew to allergies and medical conditions, as well as to preferences for types of food, wine and service.

Private yacht

A yacht that is not available for charter. Some charter yachts were private yachts at one time.

Provisioning sheet

A questionnaire that guests fill out before a bareboat charter. It tells the management company what foods and other supplies you want to have waiting for you when you arrive for your vacation.

Pullman berth

A twin-size bed that is atop another bed, in bunk-bed fashion. Usually suitable only for children. The photo at right shows a motoryacht cabin with two Pullman berths facing each other, above two double beds facing each other.

Pump toilet

An older style of marine toilet that requires the user to pump a handle in order to flush.

Sailing yacht

A yacht whose primary method of propulsion is sails. Charter sailing yachts all have auxiliary engines in addition to their sails.

Side deck

On motoryachts, the passageways on each side of the boat. If you can walk all the way around a boat without going inside, then your yacht has walkaround side decks. Crew often use these to provide service without intruding on guests.

Skippered bareboat

A bareboat that comes with a skipper, but no other crew. Also known as a captain-only charter or skipper-only charter.

Skipper-only charter

A bareboat that comes with a skipper, but no other crew. Also known as a captain-only charter or skippered bareboat.

Sky lounge

On a motoryacht, the indoor guest area on the bridge deck. Often less formal than the main saloon, and sometimes ideal for cocktail parties or children’s activities.

Split head

A bathroom design that puts the toilet and/or sink in one room and the shower and/or sink in another. Typically found on motoryachts in the 50- to 70-foot size range.

Stabilizers

Technological feature that helps to prevent a motoryacht from rolling too drastically, especially in bad weather. The most advanced form is a zero-speed stabilizer, which works both under way and at anchor.

Swim platform

The space at the back of the yacht from which you typically can go swimming or board a dinghy. Usually down a set of steps from the yacht’s aft deck. The photo at right shows three crew members standing on the yacht's aft deck, and two crew members standing on the swim platform below.

Tandem charter

A charter that includes more than one yacht.

Tender

A small boat that a yacht carries or tows. Used for water sports, transfers to and from shore, and short day cruises. Also sometimes called a dinghy.

Travel agent

A person who books many kinds of pre-packaged vacations. Different from a charter broker, who specializes in booking personalized yacht vacations.

Twin cabin

A yacht cabin that features two twin beds, often best-suited for children.

VAT

Value-added tax. An additional fee sometimes charged to charter guests who book boats in certain nations, most often in Europe. VAT can add 20 percent or more to your bill.

VICL

Virgin Islands Charter League, an organized group of charter yacht owners in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Membership in this group indicates a yacht owner’s willingness to be part of the larger charter community and to follow its standards.

VIP cabin

Typically the second-best cabin onboard any charter yacht.

Wet head

A bathroom that serves as both the toilet/sink area and the shower compartment, meaning the sink and toilet get wet when you use the shower head.

Zero-speed stabilizers

The most sophisticated type of motoryacht stabilizers available. They keep the yacht from rolling uncomfortably both under way and at anchor. Sometimes referred to as "at-anchor" stabilizers.