Donors close for different reasons. The vessel is no longer fitting the program. A tax event needs a noncash deduction in the year. A brokerage listing has run its course. Three profiles drawn from real donations we have closed through The International SeaKeepers Society. Identifying details have been generalised at the owners’ request.
Owner had listed the vessel for fourteen months. Brochure ask at the start of the listing was $2.6M. Two reductions had taken it to $2.1M with no serious offer. Vessel was in current class, well-maintained, but in a market segment where similar tonnage had softened. Carrying cost was running roughly $24,000 a month.
Qualified appraisal addressed all four pillars. Sales comparison: three closed comparables in the prior eighteen months, $1.7M to $2.3M. Replacement cost: a comparable new build estimated at $9.2M, depreciated for age and condition. Vessel condition: current class, recent paint, machinery hours documented. Charter-income approach: comparable charter rates in Mediterranean summer, Florida and the Caribbean winter, with a real summer-shoulder season.
Appraisal landed at $2.15M. Donor in the 37% federal bracket realised roughly $796,000 in tax savings across the donation year and one year of carry-forward. Closing occurred fifty-eight days from signed letter of intent. Carrying cost stopped at title transfer. Alternative path — selling the vessel six to nine months later at $1.7M, less commission and carry — would have netted the owner approximately $1.36M.
Owner had a significant tax event in the donation year — a private business sale closed in Q1. Vessel was clean, current with class, no deferred maintenance. Brokerage was an option, but the owner needed the deduction recognised in the current tax year to offset realised gain. A six-month brokerage listing would have missed the window.
Appraisal weighted sales comparison most heavily — sport-fish in this size range trades on an active retail market with abundant comparables. Four closed sales in the prior twelve months supported the range. Charter-income approach was a secondary check. Vessel condition added a modest premium for documented maintenance.
Appraisal at $1.4M. Donation closed in forty-one days from letter of intent — the fastest path of the three profiles because vessel condition required no remediation and disposition was straightforward. Donor applied the full deduction against ordinary and capital gain income in the year of the gift.
Long-time owner, vessel had been the family's flagship for over a decade. Owner reaching the point where active ownership was no longer a fit. Brochure ask was $1.6M. Vessel was in good condition with one foreseeable refit cycle ahead — paint, rig inspection, sail wardrobe — totalling roughly $250,000.
Sailing yachts in this size range trade on a thinner comparables base than motor yachts. The appraisal weighted replacement cost more heavily — a comparable new build from a European yard estimated at $7.8M, depreciated. Sales comparison drew on closed sales over a thirty-month window with adjustments for condition and equipment. Charter-income approach was applied with care given the thinner commercial charter market for sailing vessels of this size.
Appraisal at $1.55M, after condition adjustment for the foreseeable refit. Vessel placed in a three-year bareboat lease to a qualified operator running a sailing program in the Caribbean, qualifying for significant intervening use. Donor at the 37% federal bracket realised roughly $573,000 in tax savings. Closing occurred seventy-two days from letter of intent — slightly longer than average because of the bareboat-lease structuring.
None of the three was a distressed donation. Each owner had options. Each chose donation because the arithmetic, on their own situation, produced a better outcome than the alternative. Each appraisal was commissioned by the owner, conducted to USPAP, and addressed all four valuation pillars. Each closing involved the owner's CPA, who reviewed the methodology and approved the deduction structure before the letter of intent was signed.
In Paul Madden's own words.
Why You Should Donate Your Yacht · The Yacht Channel · YachtDonations.net
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