Yachts and Boats for Sale in Kenya

Yacht Prices in Kenya: What Your Budget Buys

The figures are 2026 asking ranges for used boats. Catamarans and smaller cruisers dominate Kenyan listings, so the table below is weighted toward what actually turns up rather than aspirational flagship pricing.

At the accessible end, a Jeanneau Cap Camarat 9.0 center console suits dive and snorkel day trips out of Watamu or Malindi on simple outboard power, though its own pricing comes from a single sourced comparable, so treat the figure as indicative. Step up to a Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40 for overnight cruising range, or a Lagoon 42, a model that regularly retires from Seychelles and Mauritius bareboat charter fleets into private ownership along this same Indian Ocean coast. At the upper end, a Cape Town factory ordered Leopard 45 is a realistic, if less common, step up: treat that top tier as indicative for Kenya specifically and confirm shipping and landed cost with us directly.

Kenya's Coast: A Century of Yacht Club Culture

Mombasa Yacht Club has raced on Kilindini Harbour since 1910, and its clubhouse still runs a garden, restaurant and pool alongside a boatyard for privately owned boats. Kilifi Yacht Club, on Kilifi Creek, is locally described as home to almost every sailing yacht in the country, with a clubhouse and food and beverage facilities inside its own boatyard.

That club culture sits on top of a dive and game fishing charter tourism economy running through Malindi and Watamu, which is a large part of why smaller, entry level cruisers and catamarans dominate the listings here rather than large flybridge motor yachts.

Where to Berth: Kilifi Creek, Mombasa and English Point

Kilifi Yacht Club's boatyard is the main haul out and maintenance location on this coast, though there is no large scale refit capacity comparable to Cape Town, and crew tends to be sourced locally rather than through an international crew agency. English Point Marina on the Nyali side of Mombasa serves as a leisure marina and charter base, and Mtwapa Creek's La Marina jetty is a smaller landing site for calm water sunset cruises, with the Kenya Ports Authority reportedly planning an artisanal fishing port there that would add small scale marina berths.

Our best marinas in Africa guide sets these against the larger facilities in South Africa and Egypt, and our sailing the Indian Ocean from Mauritius guide is worth reading if you are considering a Kenya coast boat for a wider regional crossing.

Boats for Sale in Mombasa and Kilifi

Kenya's used-boat market is small and local, and most of it sits in two places. Kilifi Creek, home to almost every sailing yacht in the country, is where cruising sailboats and catamarans come up for sale, often after an owner finishes an Indian Ocean season. Mombasa, around the Mombasa Yacht Club on Kilindini Harbour and English Point Marina in Nyali, holds more motor boats and the older club racing fleet. Brokerage listings show Mombasa-area boats from about $50,000 to around $100,000, with a few Kenya-wide listings far above that.

Because so few boats are listed, many sales happen through the clubs before a boat is advertised. We ask around the creek and the club boatyards as well as checking listings, and every Kenyan boat we put forward comes with its KMA registration status confirmed.

Sportfishing Boats for Sale on the Kenya Coast

Malindi and Watamu are known for offshore game fishing, and sportfishing boats are a real part of what trades here: centre consoles and flybridge sportfishers set up for billfish, often sold with tackle and sometimes with a charter client base. When we assess one, we look at hours on the engines, the state of the fuel system and fish holds, outriggers and fighting chair mounts, and whether the boat is registered and insured for charter work if that is how it earns.

For a bigger boat that can run offshore in comfort, see our Bertram 61 Convertible guide. For a simpler dayboat for reef trips, the Jeanneau Cap Camarat 9.0 is a practical start.

VAT, Duty and Registering a Yacht in Kenya

Kenya's standard VAT rate is 16%, applied to the sum of the CIF value, duty and other applicable charges, one of the few figures in our dataset that is confirmed rather than a verify with a broker item. Duty itself runs under the EAC Common External Tariff, generally 0% to 100% with an average around 25%, but no yacht specific ad valorem figure was confirmed, so verify the correct HS classification and rate with KRA or a clearing agent for your specific vessel.

Since 14 February 2025, every importer must obtain local marine cargo insurance, a digital cover issued through KRA and the IRA, before customs clearance can be secured. This is a relatively new rule: confirm it is still in force and exactly how it applies to a privately imported yacht before you plan a timeline around it.

Registration is mandatory and absolute here in a way it is not in Egypt or Morocco: the Kenya Maritime Authority, KMA, requires every vessel used in Kenyan waters to register, with no exemption for a private yacht based long term at Kilifi or Mombasa. The paperwork runs through Form 28A for the registration application, Form 28B to appoint an authorized representative, and Form 46 to notify a proposed name.

How Buying Through Us Works in Kenya

We start with your cruising ground, Kilifi Creek for the sailing community, Mombasa for club culture and haul out, or Malindi and Watamu for a dive and charter focused boat, since each favours a different size and type of boat.

From there we shortlist from our full yachts for sale network, arrange a proper survey, hull moisture test on any catamaran, engine hours and service records on any inboard, and handle the KMA registration paperwork alongside the newer marine cargo insurance requirement so nothing holds up clearance at the port. See our yacht service in Kenya page for ongoing maintenance, our Kenya overview for the coastal lifestyle, and our yacht for sale in Mauritius page if a wider Indian Ocean cruising plan is part of your thinking.