Whenever you’re talking yachts, Russia inevitably pops up. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich owns three, and nouveau riche Russians are eagerly snapping up yachts—impatiently. Once the builder has laid the keel of a yacht, it can take as long as four years to finish the boat. Some former Soviet-bloc buyers are purchasing positions in the order line; others in a greater hurry are simply buying used boats that are in good condition. “Now people will pay twice as much as they cost to build,” says Sanderson. “Especially Russians, because they’ve got a lot of money and they don’t want to wait.”

“A unique, top-of-the-line boat—you can sell it,” Sanderson says.

So how does one go about purchasing a preowned megayacht? First, a client meets with a broker to discuss his or her needs. Once the broker finds a yacht that piques the buyer’s interest, the next step is to make an offer. After the owner has accepted the price, the buyer usually puts up a 10 percent deposit to hold the yacht. The broker then brings in a team of nautical surveyors to inspect the boat from stem to stern and report back on their findings. If the vessel is deemed shipshape, the prospective buyer takes it out on a sea trial. If all goes well, he or she then writes a check.

“The process takes several weeks sometimes,” says Yacht Solutions’ Murphy. But for those who’d rather sail than oversee construction, that’s better than waiting several years. “A lot of people want something that’s turnkey,” he adds. “They can hire their captain and go anywhere they want to go, whereas someone commissioning a new yacht might be doing imaginary cruising for well over a year.”

And buying a used yacht doesn’t have the stigma of, say, buying a preowned Toyota.  

“The captains and the crews make the boats what they are,” Murphy says.