Where the money goes: new 50–60 ft yachts

Rough allocation of the retail price a customer actually pays. Figures are order-of-magnitude estimates for typical production / semi-custom boats, not a quote for any brand.

Percentages are of the customer’s all-in purchase price. Dealer margin, delivery, and taxes sit on top of shipyard cost. Sailboats carry expensive rigs; powerboats carry expensive engines and tanks; solar cats carry expensive battery / PV / inverter packages. Interior area is approximate enclosed living space (saloon, cabins, heads, galley), not deck area. Real boats vary ±30% by yard, country, options, and currency.

Cost category	Monohull — sail 55 ft production cruiser $1,250,000	Monohull — power (trawler) 54 ft long-range trawler $1,950,000	Catamaran — sail 50 ft cruising cat $1,450,000	Catamaran — diesel 55 ft power cat $2,400,000	Catamaran — solar 60 ft solar-electric cat $3,200,000
Sales / dealer commission	12%$150,000	11%$214,500	12%$174,000	10%$240,000	8%$256,000
Transportation & commissioning	2.5%$31,250	2%$39,000	3%$43,500	3%$72,000	4%$128,000
Taxes, duties & fees	1.5%$18,750	2%$39,000	1.5%$21,750	2%$48,000	2%$64,000
Hull, deck & structure materials	15%$187,500	14%$273,000	18%$261,000	15%$360,000	14%$448,000
Construction labor	18%$225,000	15%$292,500	17%$246,500	14%$336,000	12%$384,000
Propulsion, engines & rigging	8%$100,000	16%$312,000	9%$130,500	16%$384,000	5%$160,000
Electrical systems & wiring (batteries / solar / inverters on solar cat)	5%$62,500	6%$117,000	5%$72,500	6%$144,000	22%$704,000
Electronics, navigation & comms	4%$50,000	5%$97,500	4%$58,000	5%$120,000	4%$128,000
Plumbing, water & HVAC	4%$50,000	5%$97,500	5%$72,500	5%$120,000	4%$128,000
Interior, joinery, appliances & furnishings	14%$175,000	12%$234,000	15%$217,500	13%$312,000	12%$384,000
Naval architecture & engineering (amortized design cost)	1.5%$18,750	1%$19,500	2%$29,000	2%$48,000	3%$96,000
Shipyard overhead & profit	14.5%$181,250	11%$214,500	8.5%$123,250	9%$216,000	10%$320,000
Interior living area	600 sq ft	800 sq ft	1,050 sq ft	1,400 sq ft	1,700 sq ft
Cost per square foot (retail ÷ interior area)	$2,083per sq ft	$2,438per sq ft	$1,381per sq ft	$1,714per sq ft	$1,882per sq ft

How to read this: large number = share of what the buyer writes the check for; small number = dollars. Cats look cheaper per square foot because they deliver far more interior volume for a given length. Trawlers look expensive per foot because of displacement, tankage, and commercial-grade systems. Solar-electric cats shift a huge slice of the budget into batteries, PV arrays, and power electronics instead of diesel engines. “Parts” are spread across hull materials, propulsion, electrical, plumbing, and interior rather than a single line. Labor is yard construction labor only; dealer and design labor sit in other rows.