No Chase, No Charter?

A practical guide to qualifying chaseboat options.

The role of the chaseboat is emerging as a critical operational asset for modern superyachts. This shift reflects how yachts are used today and the fact that chaseboats are a commercial differentiator for clients when selecting yachts for charter. 

Following our recent contribution to the February 2026 Boat International ‘Cut to the Chase’ interview with SPARK co-founder Cyril Le Sourd, and recent feedback from active yacht crew, this article brings together market insight, operational reality and practical guidance into a single reference.

The aim is simple. To help owners, captains, brokers and managers understand what a chaseboat should really do, and how to validate whether a proposed solution is fit for purpose.

Why chaseboats matter

Yachts have grown significantly in size, complexity and guest expectation. Tender garages, however, have not grown at the same rate.

Volume has also been prioritised for guest-facing spaces such as beach clubs, spas and gyms. The unintended result is a growing disconnect between the mothership experience and the tender experience.

Guests step off a yacht designed for comfort, quiet and space and onto a platform that is potentially small, wet, noisy and limited in capability. Crew experience and charter broker feedback mirrors this with operational friction showing through in guest service quality.

Recent feedback from a 100m-class charter yacht operating in both the Mediterranean and Caribbean illustrates this clearly. Despite running a well-regarded production chase tender, sustained charter use has exposed limitations in reliability, range, access and serviceability that directly affect the yacht’s programme.

As charter schedules intensify and guest expectations rise, these gaps become difficult to ignore. 

A chaseboat is not a big tender

A true chaseboat is a separate operational platform, not simply a larger or faster tender. 

Properly conceived, a chaseboat changes how a yacht functions day to day. It allows all guests to be transferred together in comfort. It operates independently of garage constraints and more restrictive sea states. It extends the practical reach of the mothership without moving the yacht.

For the crew referenced above, the chase tender is expected to support stern-to boarding with the mothership, operate confidently at night, perform long open-water transits and run up to 1,000 engine hours per year under commercial charter conditions.

These demands sit far beyond the design brief of most dayboats.

As anchoring and distance-to-shore regulations tighten in key cruising areas, the chaseboat increasingly becomes the yacht’s primary interface with the destination.

Designed from the mission outward

In the Boat International interview, SPARK co-founder and design lead Cyril Le Sourd summarised the core issue succinctly.

“Logistical support, crew accommodation, making the yacht’s programme more efficient. This is why a chaseboat has to be designed from the mission outward.”

Many boats promoted as chaseboats are optimised for short coastal use or weekend cruising. They struggle with the multi-day, offshore and all-weather demands required to keep pace with a superyacht programme.

SPARK’s market research aligns closely with what crews are now formally specifying.

Clients want availability, crew want flexibility and efficiency. Protection from the elements, standing headroom, climate-controlled interiors, generous guest capacity, safe boarding at multiple heights and the ability to keep operating when conditions deteriorate are key requirements.

As Le Sourd puts it, “The chaseboat should work in 90 percent of situations.”

Commercial reality and reliability

A chaseboat supporting a charter yacht is part of a commercial operation. This has direct implications for coding, manning, insurance and operational limits.

Commercial compliance, defined operating limits, predictable manning requirements and transparent service obligations are baseline requirements.

Reliability and serviceability are often the driver for replacement owing to the maintenance burden. Service intervals, access and downtime matter when a platform is expected to deliver close to 1,000 hours per season.

If a chaseboat cannot sustain commercial duty cycles without disrupting the yacht’s programme, it is not fit for purpose which directly affects charter and service delivery.

The chaseboat ‘Swiss Army Knife’ test

The CHASE guide: a practical validation framework

To move the conversation away from branding and towards capability, SPARK uses a simple objective framework. If a boat does not pass the CHASE ‘Swiss Army knife’ test, it is not a true chaseboat.

C – Compliance

Can it operate legally and commercially in the intended charter environment?

Crew expectations today include clear coding pathways, defined passenger limits, realistic manning and no hidden operational constraints. Retrofitting compliance after purchase is costly and often compromises the boat.

H – Hybrid mission capability

A chaseboat must perform multiple roles well, not just one role adequately.

Real-world briefs routinely include guest transfers, big-limo movements, provisioning, luggage handling, swim days, evening cruises, watersports, toy operations, longer-range autonomy and dedicated crew accommodation. If the boat only excels in one scenario, it will quickly become an operational issue.

A – Access

Access is critical and frequently underestimated.

Crew feedback places strong emphasis on different boarding locations, low-speed control, station keeping, robust fendering and safe guest movement. Equally important is ease of water access, clear separation of working and leisure zones with layouts that function across different guest demographics, sea states and weather conditions.

If access is awkward, risk increases and usage drops.

S – Seating, shelter and shade

All guests must be seated comfortably, with protection from wind, spray and sun.

Exposed transfers or compromised layouts become design failures that show up quickly in client feedback.

E – Engineering and equipment

The boat must be engineered for long-range, full-season, multi-role use.

Commercial-grade systems, redundancy, sensible propulsion choices, extended service intervals and strong maintenance support in key cruising locations are core selection criteria.

Reliability matters more than speed or styling.

The Chaseboat Checklist summary

Redefining the modern superyacht ecosystem

The rise of the chaseboat redefines how a superyacht operates.

As summarised in the Boat Infernational article, a well-designed chaseboat unlocks anchorages, shallow bays, tight harbours and challenging conditions. It supports guest and crew transfers, provisioning, reconnaissance and shore access without competing with the yacht’s schedule.

Critically, dedicated live-aboard crew ensure the chaseboat is maintained, operational and ready at a moment’s notice, without pulling resources away from the mothership.

The result is greater autonomy, flexibility and responsiveness to real-time guest needs.

A real chaseboat supports and improves the mothership programme and as both market research and crew feedback shows, it always starts with a good operational brief.