A yacht delivery (also called a transfer or passage crew service) is the movement of a vessel from one port to another by a professional skipper, with additional crew where required, without the owner on board. The coast we serve, Istanbul to Fethiye, alone is roughly 453 nautical miles. Covering that safely takes planning, a weather window and working knowledge of the harbours in between.
1. When Owners Need a Delivery
1. After a purchase
The most common case: the yacht is brought from the seller's marina to your home berth. Order matters, pre-purchase survey first, then negotiation, then delivery. Survey findings (a weeping shaft seal, tired batteries, aged hoses) feed straight into the passage plan; seaworthiness is the first condition.
2. Seasonal repositioning
Wintering in Marmaris, Antalya or Finike and summering on the Bodrum-Göcek coast is an annual routine for many owners. April-May and September-October are the right windows, both for weather and berth availability. In midsummer the Aegean meltemi builds to 25-30 knots in the afternoon, so long legs start early.
3. Yard and refit moves
Short, usually single-day passages between marina and yard. The critical item here is the yard's lift slot: a date given before the travel lift is booked is a promise that cannot be kept. On the way back from a refit, fuel, batteries and the cooling circuit are checked before departure because the boat has been standing.
4. International legs
Bringing a yacht bought in Greece, Italy, Croatia, Malta or Northern Europe into Turkey, or taking one out. This carries the heaviest paperwork: transit log, customs, crew list, entry and exit declarations. See the transit log guide.
2. What the Cost Is Made Of
| Item | Typical range | Driven by |
|---|---|---|
| Captain's fee | €160-220 / day | Length, route difficulty, night passages |
| Deckhand | €120-150 / day | Over 40 ft, long legs, night watches |
| Fuel | At cost | Motor yacht: consumption × NM; minimal under sail |
| Provisions | About 600-750 TRY per person / day, from the shopping list | Number of days and crew |
| Crew travel | At cost (usually €80-180) | Crew travel to the departure port and back |
| Transit log / customs | €200-500 | International legs only |
| Winter factor | +20% | November-March: narrow weather windows |
Marina and port fees are excluded and invoiced directly to the owner with no commission added. That distinction is written into the contract, most delivery disputes start with items assumed to be included.
3. How Passage Time Is Calculated
We plan eight hours under way per day; the rest is safety margin, fuelling and rest. Average speeds: motor yacht ~18 knots, sailing yacht and catamaran ~7 knots. A 150 NM route is therefore about one day by motor yacht and two and a half days under sail. Where the yacht is equipped for night passages (working autopilot, radar/AIS, navigation lights), the total shortens.
4. How Insurance Works
The yacht sails under the owner's own hull and machinery policy; the delivery service does not provide cover. Before departure we confirm four things in writing:
- Navigation limits, the geographic area the policy covers. Crossings to Greece usually need an endorsement.
- Professional crew clause, some policies require the owner aboard; delivery may need separate approval.
- Seaworthiness declaration, usually a policy condition.
- Temporary delivery cover, if the standing policy is insufficient, brokers can issue single-passage cover.
Our liability is limited to the service fee, as set out in the contract. The captain's weather and routing decisions are final; schedule never overrides safety.
5. What to Look for in a Skipper
- Commercial command licence, ours holds a 149 GT Yacht Captain licence, valid for offshore passages.
- STCW basic safety, sea survival, fire fighting, first aid, personal safety.
- Local knowledge, Aegean and Mediterranean harbours, shelter options, how meltemi and lodos behave.
- VHF operator certificate and coordinated communication with ports and coastguard.
- Documented handover practice, photographic protocol, engine hours, fuel and inventory at both ends.
6. The Handover Protocol
Every delivery is framed by two documents. At departure: hull condition, existing damage marks, engine hours, fuel and water levels, inventory, photographs. On arrival: the same items again, plus anything noticed on passage. These two pages end the "that scratch was already there" argument before it starts, and they are the first thing an insurer asks for.
7. Owner's Pre-Departure Checklist
- Documents aboard: registration and tonnage certificate, insurance policy, radio licence, transit log where applicable.
- Mechanical: engine service current, shaft seal dry, batteries healthy, bilge pumps and float switches working.
- Safety: liferaft in service, lifejackets, flares in date, extinguishers, EPIRB if fitted.
- Fuel and water: tanks topped up; on a boat that has been standing, filters checked.
- Practical: spare key, berth details, fenders and warps aboard, valuables removed.
8. The Process: Quote → Preparation → Passage → Handover
- Quote: send route, length and dates; you get an itemised written quote with exclusions stated plainly.
- Preparation: insurance confirmation, documents and crew list, weather window, departure protocol.
- Passage: position and photo updates over WhatsApp; AIS link on longer legs.
- Handover: arrival protocol, engine hours and fuel recorded, findings in writing; balance settled before signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
9. Send your route, get an itemised quote in 2-3 working days
Departure and arrival port, length and a date range is all we need. Exclusions are stated plainly.
Related Pages
Prepared by SurveyYat, ABYC Professional Member, 149 GT Yacht Captain. Last updated: September 2026.
Tools and related pages
Hand your boat to someone who cares about it as much as you do.
Qualified captain · written contract · photographic handover and arrival record
You can find a cheaper quote to move your boat from one port to another. We would rather spell out what the difference pays for.
What the difference pays for
- Authority to skipper for pay
- An amateur licence (the Turkish ADB) covers the holder's own leisure use; it does not authorise taking someone else's boat for payment. Our deliveries are run under a 149 GT Yacht Captain licence and STCW. In an inspection, an accident or an insurance claim, that is the first document anyone asks for.
- A written contract
- Route, dates, fee, who pays for what, cancellation and weather-waiting terms are signed before departure. A handshake deal leaves you with nothing when something goes wrong.
- Handover and arrival records
- Hull, engine hours, fuel and equipment are photographed when we take the boat and when we hand it back. No "was that scratch there before?" on arrival.
- Pre-departure checks
- Engine, cooling, fuel, steering and safety gear are checked before we leave. Problems get fixed in port, not offshore.
- The captain makes the weather call
- We do not sail into bad weather to meet a schedule. You are told the decision and the reason; the first 24 hours of waiting are free.
Where a cheap delivery gets expensive
- Insurance. Your policy states who may operate the boat and with what qualification. Before handing it over, ask your insurer whether damage is covered when someone without that qualification is at the helm. We confirm in writing, before every delivery, that the policy covers the passage.
- Engine and gearbox. Long hours at the wrong revs, a missed cooling fault, or a machine pushed hard in bad weather can cost many times the delivery fee.
- Grounding and propeller damage. A night passage into an unfamiliar anchorage or a rushed port entry can put the boat in a yard for the season.
- Paperwork. Missing transit log, clearance or port records leave the boat waiting in port, and a waiting boat costs money.
The delivery fee is a small fraction of what your boat is worth. A few hundred euros saved is small next to the bill for a single mistake.
Whoever you choose, ask these five questions
- Which licence entitles you to skipper for pay? May I see it?
- Do you give a written contract?
- Do you keep a photographic record at handover and arrival?
- Do you run technical checks before departure?
- Will we confirm together that my insurer covers this delivery?
Anyone who answers yes to all five takes the job seriously. We answer yes to all five.
Price bands and what sets the price are on this page.
Downloadable forms
The forms we use for this are free to download and fillable.
Which marina is the boat in?
Travel lift capacity, dry storage and winterising, with sources, are collected in the marina directory.
Continue with this topic
- What sets the price?: Service fee and owner's costs set apart, with a worked example.
- Weather window: Criteria and decision points.
- Watches and fault management: Crew and spares on a long delivery.
Also in: Deutsch · Nederlands · Français · Русский · العربية
Notes from the field
- On a boat that has sat on its mooring for a long time, the first lumpy sea stirs up sediment in the tank and blocks the fuel filter. We check the filters before departure and carry spares.
- If the engine has not run for a season, we recommend replacing the raw-water pump impeller before departure; dried-out vanes can break in the first hours.
- We take the handover photos from the same angles at departure and arrival, which makes any difference easy to compare.