Boatyard hourly rates 2026: what they mean for a repair claim

What does an hour in a boatyard cost? Every year the German marine trade association, Verband Maritime Wirtschaft Deutschland or VMWD, asks its member yards, and the 2026 results came out in October. Boatyard hourly rates are rising again. For the owner of a sailing yacht, a motor boat or a trailer boat this is more than a trade figure: almost every hull claim ends with a yard invoice, and the hourly rate decides what a repair claim really costs. Here is what the numbers say and what they mean.

81 businesses answered. For the first time the survey split rates by trade. One hour of boatbuilding for new builds, refits and fit out averages 79.87 euros across Germany, one hour of technical work 82.59 euros. Across all trades the range runs from 77.75 euros for yacht painting to 86.02 euros for engine work. Last year there was a single rate of 74.21 euros for boatbuilding and technical work together, so a clean comparison is not possible, but the direction is clear.

44 percent of yards bill according to the qualification of whoever works on the boat. In boatbuilding an experienced master craftsman averages 81.97 euros an hour, an unskilled helper 69.92 euros. The typical yard in the survey has one to five staff, bills in 30 minute steps and runs at over 90 percent capacity. Wages rose by 3 to 5 percent, for office staff and helpers by a good 8 percent. The German statutory minimum wage is 13.90 euros an hour and rises to 14.60 euros on 1 January 2027.

The association is blunt about the limits. The figures are a snapshot, they vary widely with the participants, and they are expressly not binding in insurance cases or in court. Apart from the national average, only Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were evaluated, because only those states had more than ten replies. Crane charges and winter storage packages could not be compared at all, since yards bill them as flat fees, by length, by weight, by time or per lift. The practical point for owners: an average is no substitute for a written quote.

So what should you look for in the policy? Check how repair costs after a partial loss are settled. Many hull wordings pay the necessary and proven cost of repair, some with a deduction for age, some without, some on a new for old basis. Check whether crane and transport costs caused by the claim are included, and whether they count against the sum insured. Very few wordings name an hourly rate at all, which means the invoice of the yard doing the work is what an insurer looks at, not a table of averages.

Three details matter in almost every claim. Most wordings make it a duty to give the insurer a chance to inspect the damage before repairs begin; work done before that removes your own evidence. VAT is often only reimbursed if it was actually paid and cannot be reclaimed, and the survey does not say whether its rates are net or gross. And if a yard bills by qualification, the invoice should show who spent how many half hours on what. Finally, check under what conditions an independent surveyor's fee is reimbursed before you appoint one.