You are standing on the quay in Antibes with a coffee, looking at a line of white hulls. One is 24 metres with a single deck and two crew. Four berths down is a 90-metre with a helideck, a beach club and twenty-eight crew. Both are called yachts. Almost nothing about working on them is the same.
What counts as a superyacht
There is no legal definition of "superyacht". The word is a market term. What matters to you as crew are the regulatory thresholds, because they decide how the vessel is manned, how it is surveyed, and what your working life looks like.
| Threshold | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| 24 m load line length | The usual entry point to commercial yacht codes (such as the UK/Red Ensign Large Yacht Code). Below it, a yacht is generally treated as a small craft. |
| 300 GT | Manning and equipment requirements step up; more formal safety and radio obligations apply. |
| 500 GT | A major step. Full ISM Code safety management system, a Safety Management Certificate, more senior certificated officers, and a much more documented operation. |
| 3,000 GT | Higher-tier officer certification; typically the very large yachts. |
Gross tonnage (GT) is a measure of enclosed volume, not weight. A wide, tall 40-metre can be over 500 GT while a slim, low 45-metre sits under it. Never assume tonnage from length.
The main types
- Motor yacht (M/Y) — the majority of the fleet. Displacement, semi-displacement or planing hull.
- Sailing yacht (S/Y) — fewer, often with a more technical deck crew and tighter interior spaces.
- Explorer / expedition yacht — long range, heavy tender and toy capability, high-latitude itineraries.
- Support / shadow vessel — carries the toys, tenders, submersibles and sometimes extra crew for a mothership.
- Classic yacht — restored older vessels, often sail, with a heavy varnish and brightwork workload.
Size bands and what they mean for the interior
| Band | Typical interior team | Character of the job |
|---|---|---|
| 24–30 m | 1–2 interior crew | You do everything: service, laundry, cabins, provisioning. Very little specialisation. |
| 30–50 m | 2–4 interior crew | A chief stew plus stews; some split of service and housekeeping. |
| 50–80 m | 5–10 interior crew | Clear roles, dedicated laundry, sometimes a dedicated service stew. |
| 80 m+ | 10–20+ interior crew | Purser, heads of department, junior roles are narrow and specialised. |
Bigger is not automatically better. A large yacht gives you structure, a clear career ladder and someone to learn from. A small yacht gives you breadth, autonomy and far more contact with the owner — and nowhere to hide.
Onboard Notes
- Learn to say "metres" and "GT" rather than "feet" in a European interview; both are used, but the paperwork is metric.
- The GT figure is on the vessel's certificates, not in the brochure. If a recruiter tells you a boat is "just under 500 tons", that is a manning statement, not a flattering one — it usually means a leaner crew and longer hours.
- Refit and shipyard periods happen on every size of yacht. The glossy photographs are perhaps a third of the year.
- This course is preparatory study only. It supports your understanding of GUEST Unit 23 material; it does not itself award a GUEST certificate.