Patric Daccache, Independent Yacht Advisor in Dubai

What independent means here

Independence is a practical position rather than a slogan. I am not selling you a yacht, and the value of my contribution does not depend on a transaction completing. That allows me to say the unwelcome thing at the moment it is still cheap to hear it, which is usually before travel, survey fees and emotional commitment have accumulated.

Most buyers I speak to are not short of inspiration. They are short of resistance. The market is exceptionally capable at presenting possibility and noticeably less consistent at explaining exposure, and the gap between those two things is where expensive surprises live.

Evidence over atmosphere

The method behind everything I write is simple to describe and demanding to practise: treat every material statement as a claim, and ask what would have to exist for it to be true. A refit should resolve into a scope of works and dated invoices. A service history should resolve into records. An operating estimate should resolve into categories, with the exclusions named. When a claim resolves into nothing, that is not a scandal, but it is a fact you should be holding when you decide what to pay.

Reading yacht listings critically

A listing is written by someone acting for the seller, and reading it well means separating description from assertion. I spend a good deal of time on price history, time on market, the language used around refits and maintenance, and what a listing conspicuously does not mention. None of this requires suspicion of anyone’s motives. It requires only the habit of asking the file to speak for itself.

The role of specialists

I do not replace a surveyor, a marine lawyer, a tax adviser or a technical manager, and buyers should be wary of anyone who claims to. What I do is help you brief them properly, sequence their involvement so money is spent in a sensible order, share findings between them, and make sure no gap survives because each party assumed another had covered it.

Being willing to pause or walk away

The most useful sentence in a yacht purchase is often that this is not ready yet. Pausing is not indecision; it is a way of keeping the next expense from being committed before the last question is answered. Walking away, recorded properly with the reasons, is a legitimate and sometimes excellent outcome. A documented decision not to buy has saved buyers considerably more than any negotiation I have been involved in.

General education and transaction-specific advice

The book and the workbook are educational. They explain how the market works, what the incentives are and what evidence to require, and they are written so a first-time buyer can use them without insider vocabulary. They are deliberately not advice about your particular yacht, your jurisdiction or your tax position. Those questions need someone reading your actual file, and they should be answered in writing by a specialist who is accountable for the answer.

Where the writing sits

Everything I publish extends the same approach. What They Don’t Tell You Before You Buy a Yacht is the long-form argument. The 93 questions to ask a yacht broker turn it into a conversation you can actually hold, and the yacht buying due diligence guide sets out how the answers are verified before survey and contract.