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A 5-year refit on a 50m yacht runs $1.5M to $3M. A 10-year refit runs $4M to $8M. A 20-year structural refit runs $8M to $14M. On an 80m yacht the same three tiers run $4M to $7M, $9M to $16M, and $18M to $35M respectively. The spread inside each range is set by the scope (what is actually being touched), the yard (Northern European yards are 30 to 50 percent more expensive than Mediterranean and Caribbean yards on comparable work), and the season (booking refit time in the September to April off-season costs roughly 15 percent more at the top yards because demand exceeds supply).
This is a working buyer's and owner's guide to the cost of those three refit moments. If you are about to buy a 12-year-old hull on the brokerage market, the 10-year column is the one that matters. If you own a 6-year-old yacht and are planning the first major haul-out, the 5-year column is yours. We have written separate guides on 50m purchase cost and 80m purchase cost for buyers comparing new-build against refit-and-go.
What a refit actually covers
There is no industry-standard definition of "refit." The word is used to describe a $300K bottom paint and a $30M full strip and rebuild, sometimes by the same broker on the same day. We use the term in three bands.
5-year refit. Class survey for commercial yachts (every 5 years for MCA and Lloyd's Register), bottom paint, anode replacement, watermaker and HVAC service, generator service, tender service, soft goods refresh in saloons and cabins, paint touch-up, and a partial repaint of the boot-top and upper hull as needed. Typical scope: 4 to 8 weeks. Class survey ticks the box; the yacht returns to charter or owner use with no significant change in capability.
10-year refit. Full repaint, every system either serviced or replaced, often new generators, often new tenders, often a tender garage rework, partial interior refresh including bathrooms, possible electronics overhaul, possible bridge upgrade, possible tank inspection. Some owners use the 10-year window to add a sub-six gym or a beach club expansion. Typical scope: 12 to 20 weeks.
20-year structural refit. Hull plating inspection, possible re-engining, full electrical strip and replace, full propulsion overhaul, frequently a lengthening (the "stretch" that has become more common since 2018), interior reimagined, exterior styling sometimes redone. This is when the yacht either commits to another 20 years or becomes uneconomic to refit and goes to a different buyer who will take her for a fraction of the cost and do the work. Typical scope: 9 to 18 months.
A surprising number of owners and buyers conflate the three. The cost of the wrong scope at the wrong moment is the most common refit blow-up we see on this site.
2026 refit cost by LOA and scope
The table below is indicative for steel-hulled motor yachts in 2026. Aluminium hulls run 10 to 15 percent higher on paint and structural work. Sailing yachts run differently because the rig is a separate large-line-item ($500K to $3M every 15 to 20 years).
| LOA | 5-year refit | 10-year refit | 20-year structural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30m to 39m | $400K to $1.0M | $1.5M to $3.5M | $3.5M to $7M |
| 40m to 49m | $1.0M to $2.0M | $3.0M to $6.0M | $6.0M to $11.0M |
| 50m to 59m | $1.5M to $3.0M | $4.0M to $8.0M | $8.0M to $14.0M |
| 60m to 69m | $2.5M to $4.5M | $6.0M to $11.0M | $12.0M to $20.0M |
| 70m to 79m | $3.5M to $6.0M | $7.5M to $14.0M | $15.0M to $28.0M |
| 80m to 89m | $4.0M to $7.0M | $9.0M to $16.0M | $18.0M to $35.0M |
| 90m+ | $6.0M to $12.0M | $12.0M to $22.0M | $25.0M to $60.0M+ |
[VERIFY: 2026 refit cost data from MB92 group, Lürssen, Pendennis, and Amico — request Q1 2026 commercial figures]
What drives the spread
Two yachts of the same LOA, going into refit in the same year, with the same nominal scope, can come out 40 percent apart in final cost. The spread comes from five places.
Paint. A full topside repaint on a 60m yacht is the single largest line item in most 10-year refits. Awlgrip-equivalent paint over a sanded and faired hull at a top yard runs $2,500 to $4,000 per square metre of finished surface. A 60m yacht has roughly 1,800 to 2,400 square metres of paintable topside. The math is $5M to $9.5M on paint alone before any rework of dings and craters. Owners who try to economise on paint regret it within 36 months when delamination appears.
Engineering hours overrun. Yards quote labour at $90 to $160 per hour depending on yard and trade. The 5-year refit is usually tightly scoped and runs to plan. The 10-year refit usually does not, because the bridge electronics overhaul reveals that the AV is also a decade out and the owner agrees to do that too. Add 20 to 35 percent to the original quote on any 10-year and 20-year refit as a working assumption.
Owner-supplied items. New tenders ($800K to $4M each in this bracket), new toys, refreshed art, new uniforms, new linen, owner's-supplied gym equipment, and the AV system are typically owner-supplied and not in the yard quote. On a 10-year refit these often add 20 to 40 percent of the yard quote.
Class and flag changes. A 10-year refit is often the moment owners reflag (Cayman to Malta or Marshall Islands, MCA to RINA), redo the class society work, or upgrade the commercial certification. Each step is a real cost: surveyor fees, modification work to meet new rules, and class society dues. Budget $200K to $800K on top of the refit number.
Yard premium. Lürssen refit, Feadship refit, Pendennis, and Amico Genova will quote 30 to 50 percent above MB92 La Ciotat for nominally identical work. The premium is partly skilled labour cost, partly project management depth, partly the yard's willingness to take the risk on the timeline. For 20-year structural work on a top-yard hull, the premium is usually worth paying. For a 5-year service refit, it is not.
The major refit yards in 2026
The yard choice often matters more than the scope choice. The shortlist for serious refit work in this market is small.
MB92 La Ciotat and MB92 Barcelona. The dominant Mediterranean refit operator. La Ciotat handles up to 200m. Barcelona handles up to 190m. Strong on paint, strong on integration, average on project management discipline. Pricing is 20 to 30 percent below the Northern European yards. Booking lead time runs 12 to 24 months for prime September to April slots.
Lürssen Refit. The German yard's refit division runs out of Bremen and Rendsburg. Top-tier, top price, top discipline. Best place to refit a Lürssen and a defensible place to refit a Feadship or an Abeking. The premium runs 35 to 50 percent above MB92.
Feadship Refit. Aalsmeer and Makkum. Specialist on Feadship hulls and aluminium structural work. Will refit other yards' hulls but the value is highest on a Feadship.
Amico Genova. Italian yard, strong on Italian builds (Benetti, CRN, Codecasa, Sanlorenzo). 60m to 150m capacity. Faster decisions than the Northern European yards, more variable execution.
Pendennis Falmouth. UK yard, particularly strong on Royal Huisman, Vitters, and high-end sailing refits, also competent on motor yachts up to 90m. Sterling pricing has made them more competitive since 2024 for non-European-flagged yachts.
Rybovich West Palm Beach. The Caribbean and East Coast US winter refit alternative. Capacity to 90m. Quality is uneven on top-end paint work. Project management is strong on shorter scopes (5-year and partial 10-year). Owners who base in the Caribbean often use Rybovich for the winter work rather than crossing the Atlantic.
Damen Yachting Refit (Vlissingen). Strong on the Amels-built fleet and on commercial-grade work. Pricing is below Lürssen and Feadship, above MB92 group.
We are deliberately not naming refit yards we would pass on by name on this page, because the bar at the lower end of the market is reset every year by ownership and management changes. The shortlist above is the one we use when our readers ask for a referral.
How to budget a refit
The working method we recommend for buyers and owners is this.
Pull the last two surveys and the last class report. If they exist, they will tell you 60 to 70 percent of what needs to be done. If they do not exist or are more than 3 years old, commission a fresh hull and propulsion survey. Cost: $40K to $150K for a 50m to 80m yacht. Worth it.
Quote three yards. Not five. Five gets you confusion. Three gets you a usable range. Use MB92 as the anchor for cost, Lürssen or Feadship Refit for the upper bound, and Amico or Pendennis as the second comparable depending on hull origin.
Build the budget at quote plus 25 percent contingency for 10-year work, plus 35 percent for 20-year structural. The yards that finish on quote are rare.
Lock the paint scope before the contract. Half of all refit overruns we see come from the paint scope expanding during the work. Decide topside-only, full hull, or full hull plus boot-top before you sign.
Calendar the work around your charter season. A 12-week 10-year refit started in October finishes in time for January Caribbean. Started in March, it costs you the entire Mediterranean season and roughly $5M to $8M in foregone charter income for an 80m. The cost of bad scheduling exceeds the cost of bad scoping.
Refit versus replace
The question most buyers above 60m face at the 20-year mark is whether to refit or buy a different yacht. The math is rarely the only consideration but the numbers anchor the conversation.
A 2005 80m yacht at $40M asking price, taken to $34M, refit at $25M, totalled out at $59M, has a 20 to 25 year remaining useful life and a depreciation profile better than a $150M new-build over the same horizon. The reason owners do not always take this path is that the refit is 9 to 18 months of disruption and the result is still a 2005 layout. The new-build is a clean sheet. The cash-equivalent value of a clean sheet on an 80m is real and is the deciding factor for most owners with a 10-plus year horizon.
We would refit if you love the hull, the layout works, and the brand is one of the top yards. We would replace if the hull is a second-tier name, the layout is a fight against modern use cases, or the propulsion is a known problem. The 20-year refit on a wrong-yard hull is the single worst money decision we see on the brokerage market.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a yacht refit cost? A 5-year refit runs 1.5 to 3 percent of yacht value. A 10-year refit runs 4 to 8 percent. A 20-year structural refit runs 10 to 20 percent. Specific dollar ranges by LOA are in the table above.
How long does a yacht refit take? 6 to 10 weeks for a 5-year, 12 to 20 weeks for a 10-year, 9 to 18 months for a 20-year structural. Add 20 to 30 percent on quoted timeline as a working assumption.
Where are the best refit yards? MB92 La Ciotat and Barcelona for cost-competitive Mediterranean refits, Lürssen Bremen and Feadship Refit for top-end work, Amico Genova for Italian-built hulls, Pendennis Falmouth for sailing and mid-size motor, and Rybovich West Palm Beach for Caribbean-based owners. The right yard depends on the hull, the work scope, and the season.
Can I charter the yacht during a refit? No. The yacht is out of class and out of commission during refit. Owners who depend on charter income should calendar refits in the off-season window (October to April for Med-based yachts, May to October for Caribbean-based).
Will a refit increase the yacht's value? A 10-year refit recovers 60 to 80 percent of its cost on resale within 24 months. A 20-year structural refit recovers 40 to 70 percent. A 5-year refit recovers very little, because it is expected maintenance, not improvement.
What is the most overlooked refit cost? Owner's supplies, art, and crew costs during the refit. The yard quote covers the yard work. The other three commonly add 25 to 50 percent to the all-in number.
When is a yacht too old to refit? When the yard estimate exceeds 50 percent of the asking price plus a 15 percent contingency, and the yacht is not from a top-five builder. At that point the math favours different inventory.
Last updated 2026-05.