At the Cannes Yachting Festival (CYF) last month, something occurred to us. As always, a wide range of yachts were on offer, with this year?s edition welcoming boats from 2.4 metres to 50 metres in size. Whilst general consensus is that anything over 30 metres is a superyacht, even these impressive vessels seem to pale into insignificance next to some of the gigantic 80 or 90 metre boats on display at Monaco Yacht Show (MYS). So does this mean that smaller yachts are now less  in demand" Certainly amongst the yachting industry?s biggest players, there seems to be an obsession with ever-larger boats. However, for the majority of us looking to invest in yachts or yacht co-ownership, a smaller vessel will provide more than enough of a venture.
With that in mind, here?s why you should invest in yachts under 30 metres, as confirmed by the boats we saw and companies we met at CYF.
Why should you invest in yachts of a smaller size"
Pay fewer crew salaries
Last year, YPI CREW reported that deckhands were recorded as earning between ?2,100 and ?3,000 per month, depending on the yacht and their experience. And obviously, the bigger the vessel you own, the bigger the crew you need to keep. You may be tempted to try employing minimal crew onboard a larger vessel to save money, but any experienced owner will tell you that all this leads to is an overworked and disillusioned crew, impacting the service you receive onboard.
Employing a complete crew to serve a decent sized...