Yacht & Boat Charter Numbers: Charter Days, Revenue Per Day and Money That Isn't Yours
By PlainSight — Insightful Actions · Updated October 2026 · ~5 min read
A boat costs almost the same whether it goes out or sits at the dock: the payment, the insurance, the slip and the maintenance schedule keep running. So a charter business is decided by how many days each boat earns, what each of those days brings in after the broker's share, and how carefully you keep your revenue apart from the money guests hand you to spend on their own trip. These are the numbers to read through the season.
Where your numbers live
Your booking system or charter software can export bookings to CSV or Excel: one row per booking with the date, the vessel, the booking type (half day, full day, term charter, add-on), the channel (direct, broker, marketplace) and the amount.
Keep advance provisioning, fuel pass-throughs and gratuities in their own columns or rows, so they never land in revenue.
The numbers that decide the season
1. Charter days per boat
What good looks like: known for each boat and each month, and planned against the season you actually have.
Count the days each vessel was booked against the days it could have been. A boat that goes out 80 days a year has to earn its whole year's costs in those 80 days. Read it by month: the shoulder and off-season months are where a second kind of booking (fishing trips, sunset cruises, corporate days) can fill the calendar.
2. Revenue per charter day, after the channel
What good looks like: known for each boat and channel, net of commission.
Divide each boat's charter revenue by its charter days, then take off what the channel kept. Charter brokers commonly take 15% to 20% of the charter fee, and marketplaces charge their own commission. A day booked direct at a lower price can leave you more than a broker day at the full rate.
3. Add-ons as a share of each booking
What good looks like: offered on every booking, and priced above what they cost you.
Catering, water toys, snorkel or fishing packages and transfers, divided by charter revenue. Add-ons are where a day charter gains margin without another day on the calendar. Track which ones sell and what they cost to deliver; a jet ski that rides on the swim platform all season is a cost, not an add-on.
4. APA, fuel and gratuities, kept out of revenue
What good looks like: every dollar of the guests' money accounted for, and the balance returned or settled after the trip.
On a term charter under MYBA terms the guest pays an advance provisioning allowance (APA), commonly set at 20% to 40% of the charter fee and higher on motor yachts, to cover fuel, food, berthing and other running costs of their own trip. That money is theirs: it is spent on their behalf, accounted for with receipts, and what is left goes back. Gratuities belong to the crew. Book both in their own accounts; revenue that includes them looks better than it is.
5. Cost per engine hour and days out of service
What good looks like: maintenance done in the slow months, and few booked days lost to breakdowns.
Divide maintenance and repairs by engine hours, and count the booked days cancelled because a boat wasn't ready. A cancelled weekend in peak season costs the revenue and usually the guest. Haul-outs and service belong in the off-season.
6. What each boat is allowed to sell
What good looks like: every booking type matched to the right license, vessel status and passenger count.
In US waters, an uninspected passenger vessel may carry no more than six passengers for hire, with a captain holding at least an OUPV license (the “six-pack”). More passengers need a Coast Guard–inspected vessel and a master's license. A bareboat charter, where the guest hires the boat and chooses and pays their own captain, can carry up to 12 passengers under a written charter, and the owner can't serve as its captain or crew. Check each booking type against these rules before you sell it.
Warning signs worth acting on
- Peak-season days lost to repairs that could have been done in the winter.
- APA or gratuities booked as revenue.
- A broker's bookings growing while net revenue per day falls.
- Bookings for more than six guests on an uninspected boat.
- Add-ons that cost more to provide than they sell for.
Make it a seasonal rhythm
Monthly through the season: charter days per boat, revenue per day after the channel, and the add-on share. After the season: cost per engine hour, days out of service, and next year's maintenance calendar.
Let PlainSight read your booking export
Upload a booking export and PlainSight breaks revenue down by vessel, booking type and month, shows the season's shape and how concentrated it is, and writes the next steps in plain English. Everything runs in your browser — your data never leaves your device.
See it on a live example →
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Frequently asked questions
- What file does PlainSight need from a charter business?
- A booking export with a date, the vessel, the booking type and the amount. A channel column adds the broker comparison. Keep APA, fuel and gratuities in their own columns or rows so they aren't counted as revenue.
- What is the APA?
- The advance provisioning allowance: money a term-charter guest pays ahead of the trip to cover its running costs, such as fuel, food and berthing. The captain spends it on the guest's behalf, accounts for it, and returns what is left.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. Coast Guard rules, state registration, insurance requirements and charter contracts vary by vessel and waters; take advice from a maritime attorney and your insurer.
- Is my data safe if I use PlainSight?
- Yes. Files are processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded. Optional AI features send only anonymized summary totals, never names or raw rows.
Sources
This guide is general information for charter owners and operators, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Figures described as “typical” or “common” are survey results and rules of thumb, not standards — always read your own numbers in context.