What is the payment schedule for a yacht charter?

A yacht charter payment schedule follows the MYBA standard: 50% at contract signing, 50% eight weeks before the charter starts. The first 50% locks the boat off the market. The second 50% covers the final commitment window. APA gets paid separately, usually by wire 14 days before embarkation; it sits in the captain’s operating account, not the broker’s. Crew gratuity is paid at the end of the charter, in cash or to the captain’s account. Some brokers split the schedule differently for short or last-minute charters — 100% at signing if booked inside eight weeks. The 50/50 split is the working assumption for everything beyond two months out. The booking process walks through each payment.