How to assess a yard properly, beyond the brochure and the show stand.
Match the yard to the yacht
Yards specialise by size, material and type. A builder with an outstanding record in thirty-metre composite yachts is not automatically the right choice at sixty metres in steel. Look for delivered yachts closely comparable to what you intend to build.
What to verify
Delivered reference yachts you can visit and owners or captains you can speak to; on-time delivery record; class and flag experience for your intended registration; financial standing and the refund guarantee arrangements protecting stage payments; in-house versus subcontracted engineering and joinery; and after-sales and warranty support in the regions you will cruise.
- Comparable delivered yachts, seen in person
- References from owners, captains and engineers
- Schedule record on recent projects
- Financial standing and refund guarantees
- Class and flag experience
- Warranty and after-sales presence
Talk to captains and engineers
The most reliable assessment of a yard comes from the people who have run its yachts for five years. They know how systems were engineered, how warranty was handled, and whether the yard answered the telephone once the final payment had cleared.
Contract and protection
Stage payments should be protected by refund guarantees from an acceptable bank. Contract terms on delay, performance, warranty, liquidated damages and dispute resolution matter enormously, and belong with a maritime lawyer experienced in shipbuilding contracts.
Our position
We hold no exclusive dealership, we are not agents for any yard, and we do not rank builders. We assemble the evidence and the team, and we tell you who we act for.
Questions
- Does Lund Group recommend particular builders?
- We do not rank yards. We assess evidence against your brief and coordinate independent technical review.
- What protects my stage payments?
- Refund guarantees from an acceptable bank, as provided for in the construction contract. Take legal advice on them.
This guide is general information about how the yacht market conventionally works. It is not legal, tax, financial or insurance advice, and it does not describe the terms of any specific yacht. Qualified advisers should be engaged on anything material, and rates, prices, availability and access are confirmed in writing before anything is committed.