Refit

A yacht's life is divided into refit cycles. Every five years a class survey forces structural and systems work; every ten years the cosmetic and major-systems condition demands substantive overhaul. Refit is where ownership cost concentrates, where ownership quality is renewed, and where the relationship between owner, yard, and project manager is most often dysfunctional.

The global refit market was sized at USD 2.9 billion in 2025 supporting roughly 6,000 active vessels (Future Market Insights). Capacity has expanded modestly while the fleet has grown substantially. The result is tightening lead times and a refit market that has become, in 2026, a sellers' market for the first time in a decade.

When to refit, when to sell

The decision to refit assumes the owner intends to continue owning. For a 12 to 15 year old yacht facing major refit, the alternative is sale and reacquisition. The arithmetic depends on three variables: strategic fit with the owner's continued use case, the cost of a comparable replacement, and the depreciation profile of the post-refit hull versus the alternative.

A useful rule: if projected refit cost exceeds 30 percent of pre-refit market value, and the yacht is not strategically irreplaceable for the use case, sale is usually the better decision. Below 30 percent, refit normally is. The threshold is rough; the calculation is bespoke.

The owner who refits the wrong side of that threshold takes on a project whose total cost is materially higher than the post-refit yacht's market value. The owner who sells a strategically-fit yacht on the basis that "the refit was looking expensive" will spend more on the replacement and lose crew continuity that takes years to rebuild.

Refit cost benchmarks

A five-year survey or major refit typically runs 5 to 15 percent of insured hull value, depending on scope. Working ranges per metre per year, derived from a practitioner project archive of more than 30 managed refit projects:

Annual maintenance: EUR 2,000 to 8,000 per metre. Mid-life refit: EUR 10,000 to 30,000 per metre. Major structural refit: EUR 40,000 to 100,000+ per metre.

A 50m yacht with a major structural refit therefore sits in the EUR 2 million to EUR 5 million range, with USD 5 million to 10 million being typical for full-scope projects involving extension, re-engining, or substantial cosmetic and systems renewal.

Mediterranean berth fees during refit run EUR 400 to 800 per day for a 40 metre hull. Northern Europe berth fees run EUR 600 to 1,200. Mediterranean skilled labour runs EUR 45 to 75 per hour with specialists at EUR 80 to 120. Northern Europe runs 20 to 40 percent more across both labour categories.

These numbers are well-evidenced from project archives but not from published yard rate cards. MB92 and Pendennis do not publish day rates. The numbers in this chapter are within the working ranges that practitioners across the industry would recognise.

The 30 to 50 percent overrun is not a project management failure. It is the empirical expectation.

The 30 to 50 percent overrun pattern

Industry consensus is that refit projects routinely run 30 to 50 percent over original quoted scope, with poor specification and weak project management the dominant drivers. Dockwalk documented a 600 percent overrun on a 1967 Camper & Nicholsons refit (USD 1 million budget, USD 6 million actual, an extreme case but illustrative). Contingency reserves practitioners build reflect this: 10 to 15 percent for known scope, 15 to 20 for opened-up vessels, 20 to 25 for first-time-opened older hulls.

The 30 to 50 percent overrun is not a project management failure. It is the empirical expectation against an initial scope built on imperfect information. A yard quote based on visual inspection cannot anticipate everything that will be found when the deck is opened, the engine room stripped, or the bilges scrubbed. The question is not whether the refit will run over, but by how much, and whether the contract and owner-side representation contain it within reason.

A well-managed refit at a competent yard with experienced owner-side representation typically lands within 10 to 20 percent of original quote. A poorly-managed one lands at the extremes. The variance is mostly explained by the quality of the owner's representation.

Two yard models, both worth understanding

There are two structural models in the refit market and the difference between them shapes everything that follows. Full-service yards take the project on as a single contract, manage the trades in-house, and deliver the yacht at an agreed milestone. Service yards (also called marina yards or non-full-service yards) provide the facility, the haul-out, and the infrastructure, while the owner contracts the trades directly through the project manager. The same metre of dock can be billed very differently depending on which model is in use.

STP Palma (Servicios Técnicos Portuarios), in the Port of Palma de Mallorca, is the best-known example of the service-yard model. Owners and their project managers contract the trades (paint, mechanical, electrical, joinery) directly with the resident specialists; STP provides the haul-out, the hardstand, and the perimeter services. The model rewards experienced project management and tends to suit owners who want full visibility of every contract line. Lauderdale Marine Center and parts of Marina Port Vell Barcelona operate on similar lines.

Full-service yards (MB92, Pendennis, Lusben, Astilleros de Mallorca, Amico & Co, Rybovich) carry the integration risk and price for it. Service yards (STP, LMC, Marina Port Vell, sections of Astilleros de Mallorca) shift integration responsibility to the owner-side team and are typically less expensive at the line-item level for owners with capable project management. Neither model is structurally better. The right one depends on the buyer’s representation, the scope of the project, and the buyer’s tolerance for direct contract management.

Refit yard capacity in 2026

The over-30m refit market is concentrated in four geographies: Western Mediterranean (Spain, France, Italy), Northern Europe (UK, Netherlands, Germany), Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey), and the US Eastern Seaboard. Most large-yacht refits land at one of the named yards below.

Western Mediterranean

MB92 Group. Barcelona plus La Ciotat (Compositeworks and Monaco Marine Golfe-Juan). Owns paint specialist GYG (parent of Pinmar). The dominant full-service Western Mediterranean operator. CEO Pepe Garcia-Aubert. Squircle Capital reached 100 percent ownership in 2025.

Astilleros de Mallorca. Palma. Full-service, 78,000 sqm, 1,700 tonne haul, 120 metre outfitting quay, over 250 yachts/year. Reference Spanish yard for over-50m refits.

STP Palma. Palma de Mallorca. Service-yard model: owner contracts trades directly through the project manager. Largest non-full-service refit facility in the Western Mediterranean.

Marina Port Vell. Barcelona. Mixed full-service and service-yard; OneOcean group.

Monaco Marine. Saint Mandrier, Beaulieu, Antibes, La Ciotat. French full-service, particularly strong on 30 to 60m.

IMS Shipyard. La Seyne sur Mer (Toulon). French full-service, 220m drydock.

Lusben. Viareggio and Livorno. 76,000 sqm, 210m drydock, 2,000 tonne syncrolift; Livorno expanded with 2,400 tonne syncrolift 2024-25. Capacity 20 to 140m. Reference Italian full-service yard for large hulls.

Amico & Co. Genoa. Italian full-service yard, strong on refit, paint, mechanical. CEO Manuel Di Tillio.

Cantiere Rossini. Marina di Carrara. Scaled into superyacht refit over the past decade.

The Viareggio cluster also includes refit capacity at Codecasa and Picchiotti alongside Lusben.

Northern Europe

Pendennis Shipyard. Falmouth, UK. CEO Mike Carr. Around 18 projects in 2024, above the typical annual run rate of 10; particularly strong on sailing yacht refits.

Damen Shipyards Group. Vlissingen and other Dutch sites. Full-service refit alongside new build.

Royal Huisman, Vitters, Holland Jachtbouw, Royal Van Lent (Feadship). Builders that take their own hulls back for refit; limited third-party capacity but the standard for owners of those hulls.

Bläsing Yacht Service / Lurssen Refit. German full-service refit for the largest yachts.

Eastern Mediterranean

RMK Marine. Tuzla, Istanbul. Turkish full-service to around 80m; strong practitioner reputation on cost.

Bilgin Yachts. Tuzla, Istanbul. Builder with refit capability on its own and third-party hulls.

Sirena Marine. Bursa. Builder with refit capacity, particularly Turkish-built hulls.

Antalya Free Zone. Mid-tier facilities serving the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea fleets.

US Eastern Seaboard

The US accounts for 45 to 50 percent of brokerage transactions in 2025 (BOAT International). Refit infrastructure has expanded substantially over the past decade.

Rybovich. West Palm Beach, Florida. Full-service; reference US yard for large-yacht refit, repaint, and mechanical work. Owned by Safe Harbor Marinas (Sun Communities).

Lauderdale Marine Center (LMC). Fort Lauderdale. Service-yard model at scale; largest US East Coast facility by throughput.

Bradford Marine. Fort Lauderdale and Grand Bahama. Full-service refit, repaint, mechanical.

Derecktor Shipyards. Fort Pierce, Florida. Full-service, substantially expanded over five years; recent projects include the largest refit haul-outs on the East Coast.

Roscioli Yachting Center. Dania Beach, Florida. Mid-tier full-service, strong on 30 to 50m.

Merrill-Stevens Dry Dock. Miami. Historic full-service yard recently rebuilt and expanded.

Front Street Shipyard. Belfast, Maine. Full-service for refit and new builds to ~60m; reference yard for the Northeast US.

Newport Shipyard. Newport, Rhode Island. Full-service on Narragansett Bay; particularly strong during the New England racing season.

Lyman-Morse. Thomaston, Maine. Builder and refit yard, strong on sailing and composite hulls.

Hodgdon Yachts. East Boothbay, Maine. Builder with refit capability on the largest US-built sailing yachts.

Jarrett Bay Boatworks. Beaufort, North Carolina. Refit and repaint, strong on sportfish and motor yachts under 40m.

Capacity tightness, in 2026

The Superyacht Group's 2025 expert roundtable (Manuel Di Tillio at Amico & Co, Gianni Paladino at Lusben, Txema Rubio at MB92) is the cleanest paywalled source on Mediterranean capacity tightness. The public-source signal is consistent: fleet up 38.7 percent over the past decade against modestly expanding refit capacity. Top European yards are typically booked 12 to 24 months ahead for major refits; US East Coast lead times are shorter but tightening, particularly at Rybovich and Derecktor.

For a first-time owner planning refit in 2027 or 2028, slot booking begins 12 to 18 months ahead. The cheapest yard is rarely the best decision; the yard most aligned with the type of work, with a track record on similar yachts and a project manager who has handled comparable scope, is.

Spanish IPR and the VAT economics of refit

For non-EU flagged yachts, Spanish Inward Processing Relief (IPR), also called Temporary Admission Procedure (TPA), is the most consequential VAT structure for refit in EU waters.

The mechanism: a non-EU yacht enters Spanish waters under temporary admission, refit is performed at a customs-site shipyard, the 21 percent Spanish VAT is suspended during an 18-month window (extendable to 24 under bonded conditions), and the yacht is re-exported. The VAT is never paid.

On a EUR 5 million refit the saving is approximately EUR 1.05 million. The compliance burden is real (customs-site shipyard, bonded works, documentation, re-export evidence) but the saving more than justifies it. MB92, Astilleros de Mallorca, and several smaller Spanish yards are equipped for IPR.

The Maltese leasing scheme reduces effective VAT to 5.4 to 6.12 percent on yachts over 24 metres. The French Commercial Exemption eliminates VAT on refit if the six conditions are met; Italian commercial exemption similarly. The decision should be informed by a yacht lawyer with VAT specialism, not the yard's preferred counsel.

The insurance interaction

The August 2024 sinking of Bayesian off Sicily, with the loss of seven lives and roughly USD 150 million in insured loss, prompted speculation in trade press of broad insurance market hardening. Pantaenius's Michelle van der Merwe stated explicitly: "I think everyone thought it was going to have more of an impact than it did." The actual market response was selective. Tighter clauses on crew qualifications, on stability and battery management, but not blanket rate rises.

The earlier hardening (AIG cited 50 to 70 percent premium increases across 2022 to 2023 in the London market) had already stabilised by H1 2024. By Q4 2025, hull rates were softening 4 to 7.5 percent for fleets with good loss records. The typical hull rate band for a well-maintained 40 to 50 metre yacht: 0.7 to 1.5 percent of insured value annually. Smaller superyachts and yachts in hurricane-exposed regions can pay 2 to 5 percent.

For a refit project, the relevant insurance is builder's risk during the works, not the cruising hull policy. Builder's risk is taken out by the yard with the buyer's interest noted, covering loss or damage during construction up to delivery. The buyer should verify named-insured status, deductible, and that the policy covers transit between subcontractor sites.

What “superyacht standard” should actually mean

“Superyacht standard” is the phrase the trade routinely deploys to describe finishes, tolerances, and workmanship that are, in practice, vaguely defined and easily disputed. The contract that says the work will be carried out “to superyacht standard” is a contract that has not been written. The disciplined specification cites the manufacturer's data sheet, the relevant ISO standard, or both. Nine specifics every serious specification should name:

Paint dry film thickness (DFT). Awlgrip and Alexseal manufacturer TDS define the DFT range per coat (typical Awlgrip topcoat 75 to 125 microns per coat, total system 200 to 450 microns). The contract cites the TDS version and requires gauge measurements at agreed intervals.

Paint application conditions. TDS specify ambient temperature (typically 18 to 29°C for Awlgrip topcoat), relative humidity below 80 percent, and surface temperature at least 3°C above the dew point. Controlled-atmosphere spray cells are the only consistent route; the contract should require atmospheric logging.

Drying and recoat windows. Manufacturer-specified recoat windows in hours at given temperature and humidity. The contract references the TDS version and requires sign-off at each recoat point.

Vibration. ISO 6954:2000 and ISO 20283-5 are the marine standards; engine and gearbox manufacturers (MTU, Caterpillar, MAN, Rolls-Royce, ZF) also specify drivetrain tolerances. The contract cites both.

Noise levels. ISO 6954 and IMO MSC.337(91) apply to crew areas; owner cabins are held tighter. Practitioner standard for master cabin underway: 45 to 50 dB(A) at design cruising speed. Sea trial noise mapping required.

Whole-body vibration. ISO 2631 sets comfort limits. Practitioner targets at master cabin underway and at anchor are typically below 0.315 m/s² RMS.

HVAC. ISO 7547 gives the design conditions; manufacturer TDS (Heinen & Hopman, Westmar, Drews Marine) specify duct velocity (typically below 2.5 to 3.0 m/s in occupied spaces) and air change rates.

Hydraulic and stabilisation. Quantum, Naiad, ABT-TRAC, Veem TDS set the operational envelope and noise limits in dB(A) at the equipment. Isolation mounts specified in writing.

Surface preparation. Holiday testing on metallic substrates, profile measurement on prepared steel (typically Sa 2.5 cleanliness, 50 to 75 micron profile), humidity-controlled preparation. Skipping this is the most common cause of premature paint failure in the year-three to year-seven window.

The disciplined contract names each in writing with TDS versions and ISO editions cited. The phrase "superyacht standard" does not appear, because it cannot be enforced. A specification that cites Awlgrip TDS revision X or ISO 6954:2000 gives buyer, surveyor, and arbitrator something to measure against; it reduces dispute, accelerates sign-off, supports warranty claims, and produces a delivery record that holds up in any subsequent insurance, sale, or refit conversation.

How to get a refit right

Three disciplines distinguish well-managed refits from disasters.

First, scope discipline. Define the work in writing before the contract is signed, with specific deliverables, materials, and finishes, and the named manufacturer and ISO references above. The vague clause is the source of the overrun. Project managers who insist on detailed scope at the start are more expensive to engage and considerably cheaper across the project.

Second, milestone payments. Tie payments to defined deliverables (paint cells completed to specification, engine reinstall completed and vibration measured, sea trials passed against the named noise and vibration limits) rather than to calendar dates. The yard delivers when the milestone delivers, not when the calendar runs out.

Third, weekly site presence. The owner’s representative on site for at least one day per week through the works. The discipline of weekly reporting, with photographs and snag lists, surfaces issues at the point they can still be addressed cheaply, rather than at delivery when they cannot.

The refit is where ownership quality is renewed. It is also where the owner’s representation choice has its highest leverage relative to fee. A competent representative on a EUR 5 million refit, charging EUR 200,000 to EUR 400,000, will save the owner the fee several times over through scope discipline alone.