Recreational sailing yacht business in Lithuania

“Narūnas from Klaipėda bought his yacht 12 years ago in Poland for 22 thousand euros. But the sailor increasingly finds himself thinking that he needs to sell it. “I will never get back the money I invested, including my work.

 

If you live a somewhat normal life, you should be able to collect about 2,000 euros per month.

 

Sometimes it works out for three summer months, but not at other times of the year.

 

Let's do the math. The income is about 6,000 euros.

 

A place in Pilies uostelis costs about 2,500, if you pay the full amount at once - 10 percent cheaper.

 

Plus all kinds of repair costs.

 

You have to pay 120 euros for a crane to lift the yacht out of the water, and the same amount to lower it into the water.

 

Paint to cover the underwater part of the yacht. This adds up to an additional 1,000 euros.

 

There is no serious business,” Narūnas said in disappointment.

 

“The competition consists of larger and smaller boats that have appeared, which sail for a short time, but quite cheaply. They will take some mother and child for 20 euros per hour... These “carry away” a lot of customers.

 

However, even larger motor ships cannot compete with yachts when it comes to beauty, with sails spread out that would look nice in photos. Any bachelorette party or any other celebration will look more beautiful on a yacht than on a speedboat or similar boat,” Narūnas listed the advantages of a sailing yacht.

 

According to the Klaipėda resident, this year an hour of sailing on his yacht costs 110 euros.

 

“Last year it cost 90 euros. The price includes the captain’s services, fuel, and coffee. The service has become more expensive due to inflation and the increased cost of port services. In the past, you could pay for a place in the port for half a year, and in the winter you could take the yacht out and store it somewhere in the yard. Now you can also store the yacht in the yard in the winter, but you still have to pay for a place in the port for the whole year. With winters like these now, I could sail in the winter or early spring. But the port remains frozen in ice. No one breaks it, so you can’t sail anywhere,” Narūnas said.

 

Currently, there are about 300 berths for ships in Klaipėda Pilies Port. Some of them are moored in the Pilies moat, others in the basin near the cruise ship quay."