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A 50m motor yacht in 2026 carries roughly $400,000 of water-sports inventory on board. Two jet skis, two Seabobs, an eFoil or a hydrofoil board, two stand-up paddleboards, a couple of kayaks, a tow tube, a wakeboard with a tow rope, scuba kit for six to eight divers, a small fleet of snorkel gear, and a paddle-tennis or pickleball setup on the foredeck. The 2026 inventory is roughly twice what the same yacht carried in 2018, partly because guests expect it and partly because brokers have started listing the inventory in detail and clients now compare yachts on toy lists.
What the broker does not always show is which toys are included in the base charter rate, which sit in APA, which are paid extras with material per-day costs, and which are slow or expensive to launch and retrieve. We work through the categories, the per-day costs, what we have seen used in practice, and what we would skip.
Categories: included, APA-funded, and paid extras
There are three layers in the toy budget.
Included in the base charter rate. The hardware itself. Two jet skis, the Seabobs, paddleboards, snorkel kit, towables. The yacht owns this inventory. The base fee covers its use during the charter, including reasonable wear and tear.
APA-funded. The fuel and consumables. Jet ski fuel, eFoil battery charging (when shore-power-fed rather than yacht-fed), scuba tank refills if the yacht does not have an on-board compressor, instructor day-rates if the yacht engages external instructors. Water-toy registration fees and harbour-master permits where required.
Paid extras. Toys the yacht does not own. Hired jet skis where the yacht's toy fleet is limited. External kitesurfing instructors. Scuba master charters. Wakeboard or surf coaching. Helicopter water-ski tow (yes, this exists). These hit a separate invoice through the broker or through APA, depending on the booking route.
The fault line that catches charter clients is at the second layer. The toys are "included" in the sense that the hardware is on board, but the fuel and the registration and the instructor are not. A week of heavy jet-ski use can absorb €3,000 to €6,000 of APA in fuel alone.
The 2026 standard inventory by yacht size
We have looked at the toy lists on roughly 80 charter yachts in the 35m to 90m range. The pattern below is the median 2026 inventory, not the maximum.
35m to 45m motor yacht:
- 1 to 2 jet skis (often a Yamaha FX or Sea-Doo GTI)
- 1 to 2 Seabobs
- 1 eFoil (Lift, Fliteboard, or Audi e-tron foil)
- 2 stand-up paddleboards
- Snorkel kit for 8 to 10
- Tow tube and water-ski set
- Often no on-board scuba; scuba arranged shoreside
45m to 60m motor yacht:
- 2 to 3 jet skis (often a mix of FX SVHO and a kid-friendly VX)
- 2 to 3 Seabobs (F5 SR is the 2024-26 standard)
- 1 to 2 eFoils
- 3 to 4 paddleboards (often inflatable and rigid mix)
- 2 kayaks (sit-on-top)
- Wakeboard, slalom water-ski, tow rope and harness
- Snorkel for 12 to 16
- Often on-board scuba compressor and 4 to 8 tanks
- Paddle-tennis or pickleball foredeck kit (the 2024-26 addition)
60m to 80m motor yacht:
- 3 to 4 jet skis
- 3 to 4 Seabobs
- 2 eFoils plus 2 hydrofoil boards
- 4 to 6 paddleboards
- 3 to 4 kayaks
- Full water-ski set including barefoot ski and wakeboard tower
- 16+ snorkel sets
- On-board scuba compressor, 12+ tanks, dive deck
- Inflatable trampoline or floating slide
- Paddle-tennis and sometimes a foredeck putting green
- Often a small sailing tender or RIB-with-mast for sailing instruction
80m+: The above plus a small submarine on a select few (a Triton 1650 or similar three-person personal submersible at $3M to $5M asset value). The submersible is not standard. Helicopter-assisted water-ski tow on yachts with helipad infrastructure.
Jet skis: the headline toy
Jet skis are the most-used charter toy and the most-watched line in the APA. A 2026 Yamaha FX SVHO burns roughly 25 to 30 litres of fuel per hour at active recreational use. A family of three running two machines for four hours a day is burning around 60 to 90 litres per day per machine, or €120 to €200 per machine per day at marine fuel prices (€2.00 to €2.40 per litre in the Med in 2026).
A week of heavy jet-ski use on a 50m charter typically lands at €3,000 to €5,000 in fuel through APA.
The yacht side requires:
- Registration paperwork in each cruising country
- Insurance riders
- Captain or designated officer to brief and supervise guests
- Recovery kit on board (most jet ski losses happen during recovery, not use)
Some yachts cap jet-ski use to certain hours, particularly in Italian and French marine-protected zones where engine-noise restrictions apply. Captains who set this expectation pre-charter avoid frustrated guests at mid-week.
Seabobs: the most-used toy that produces no fuel bill
The Seabob F5 SR is the 2024-26 standard. Battery life is 60 to 90 minutes at moderate speed, charged from the yacht's house power in roughly 90 minutes. The yacht side cost is essentially zero (the power is already running). The damage cost is the issue: a Seabob is roughly €18,000 to replace, and the impact-damage rate on charters is higher than most clients realise. Guests run them into rocks, hulls, and other toys regularly.
Most charter contracts list the Seabob at its replacement cost in the damage schedule. A clear pre-charter brief from the chief stew on how to operate and dock the Seabob reduces the incident rate materially.
eFoils and hydrofoil boards: the toy that overpromises
eFoils (Lift, Fliteboard, Audi) are the 2022-24 toy that every yacht added and that almost nobody learns to use on a one-week charter. The learning curve is real. Two days of dedicated practice with a coach gets most adults to stable cruising. Most charter weeks have neither the focus nor the calm conditions for the practice.
We have seen the eFoils sit unused on at least half the charters we have data on. The exception is families where one or two members already foil and bring their own equipment.
Hydrofoil boards (the wake-foil variety, towed behind the tender) have a similar pattern. They get more use because the tow does the work and the foiling is the secondary skill, but they still demand coaching and calm water.
If your party does not have prior foiling, do not select a yacht for its foil inventory. Select for the jet skis, Seabobs, and paddleboards your family will actually use.
Scuba on board: the differentiator above 50m
On-board scuba compressors and a small dive deck are the increasingly common 50m+ feature. The 2026 charter clients who dive want to dive from the yacht, not from a shoreside dive operator. A yacht with on-board compressor, a tank rack of 12 to 16 tanks, a dive ladder on the swim platform, and a divemaster on the crew can run the dive program in-house.
The APA line is modest if the yacht has its own compressor: fills are time and electricity. If the yacht does not have a compressor, dives are run through shoreside operators at €80 to €150 per tank fill, with an additional charter or instructor fee if needed.
Scuba certification matters. The yacht's insurance requires verified PADI or SSI certification for each diving guest. Bring the cards.
Tow toys and the wakeboard tower
Yachts with wakeboard towers (most 50m+ motor yachts in 2026) run a tender or RIB as the tow boat. The tender fuel for tow use is a real line in APA. A 5m tender on a 350hp outboard burns 35 to 50 litres per hour at tow speeds. An afternoon of wakeboarding burns €60 to €90 in tender fuel.
The wakeboard, slalom ski, kneeboard, tow tube, and barefoot ski (if equipped) are all included. Tow ropes and harnesses included. The coaching is included only if a crew member with the qualification is on board; external coaches are paid extras at €300 to €700 per day in Med peak.
Paddle, pickle, and the foredeck conversion
The 2024-26 addition to standard inventory is the foredeck conversion to a paddle-tennis or pickleball court. On yachts with a 12m+ foredeck, the court fits and the game has taken off with families. The kit is included; the conversion is captain-set on demand.
This is the most-used toy we have seen added in five years. Half the families that book a 50m+ yacht with this setup use it daily.
Paid extras: the per-day numbers
External hires that show up on APA or on a separate invoice:
- Jet ski rental from a shoreside operator (when the yacht's machines are limited): €400 to €800 per day in Med peak
- Wakeboard or surf coach (external): €300 to €700 per day
- Kitesurfing instructor and gear: €350 to €700 per day
- Diving guide / divemaster (external): €300 to €600 per day plus tank fills
- Sailing instructor for the foiling tender or sailing dinghy: €350 to €600 per day
- Helicopter water-ski tow (yacht must have helipad and helo): €5,000 to €15,000 per day
- Submarine dive (where the yacht carries one): not chargeable to the client but operationally heavy; some captains limit to one or two dives per charter
These are paid extras, not included. The broker should price them at quote time if the family is likely to want them.
What needs work about toy lists
We would push back on a broker who emphasises eFoil inventory as a selling point for a family that has never foiled. The toy will sit on the swim platform for the week.
We would push back on a captain who does not run a day-zero briefing on jet-ski use, Seabob handling, and tender safety. The most common toy incidents we have seen come from inadequate briefing.
We would not select a sub-45m yacht for a family that wants serious diving, sailing instruction, and wakeboard coaching. The deck space and crew bandwidth limit what is possible. Above 50m the program runs in parallel; below 45m it has to be sequenced.
We would skip the helicopter water-ski tow except as a one-off novelty. The cost-per-thrill ratio is the worst on the toy list.
The honest disclosure
Toy inventory varies yacht-by-yacht and updates seasonally. The numbers in this piece are as of May 2026 from charter contracts, broker brochures, and APA reconciliations on charters we have data on. The companion pieces on tender fuel pass-through, helicopter use, hidden charter costs, and APA explained cover the surrounding cost lines. For the destination context, our /charter/ pages cover the routings where the toy use lands. For shore-side dinners after a long water-toy day, barsforkings.com covers the marina bars and shore venues across the headline destinations.
FAQ
Are jet skis included in a yacht charter? On most 40m+ charter yachts the jet skis are owned by the yacht and the use is included. Fuel is paid through APA.
What is the most-used charter water toy in 2026? The Seabob. Easy to use, no fuel bill, and almost every charter guest is in the water on it within an hour of arrival.
Are eFoils worth selecting a yacht for? Only if your family already foils. Without prior practice, the toy sits unused.
How much does a week of heavy jet-ski use add to APA? €3,000 to €5,000 in fuel on a 50m charter with two machines in active use.
Can we bring our own scuba kit? Yes. Most captains accept guest-supplied kit with prior notice. Bring certification cards.
Is the submarine a real thing? On a small handful of yachts, yes. Triton makes the dominant superyacht-spec submersible. Operations are heavily restricted and the dive count per charter is small.