Performance yacht insurance

Short answer

A performance yacht is sailed both ways, cruising and racing. The policy has to cover both, otherwise the purpose of the trip decides whether you are covered.

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Between cruiser and racer stands the performance cruiser, a yacht with berths and a galley but built stiffer, carrying more sail area and often with carbon in the rig. Brands such as Solaris, Italia Yachts, Grand Soleil, X-Yachts, Dehler or JPK belong here. The owner sails her to the Aegean in summer and does an autumn regatta in October, and both belong in the policy.

If only private use is declared, the purpose of the trip decides in a claim whether anything is paid. That is an unnecessary argument, because it can be settled in advance. Say when taking out the policy that you race, and at what level. Some policies include club regattas; anything beyond should be agreed expressly.

The second point concerns the components. A carbon mast, a bowsprit and a set of laminate sails quickly make up a third of the value of a forty-footer, and they break differently from aluminium and Dacron, without warning and usually with consequential damage on deck. In the agreed value these parts have to appear at their replacement cost.

Performance yacht with carbon mast and bowsprit: summer cruise by the island, then the regatta.

Questions and answers

What owners of these boats ask

Does my boat count as a racing yacht?

Not automatically.

What matters is the use, not the design.

If you mostly cruise and occasionally race, you insure a cruiser with a racing endorsement.

What does the racing endorsement cost?

Many policies include the club regatta at no extra charge, often only in the higher tiers;

check whether yours does.

Scored races are usually quoted individually; it depends on boat type, rig and cruising area.

Do I have to declare carbon separately?

Yes, and with an invoice.

Otherwise a claim pits an aluminium value against a carbon price.