LOA (Length Overall)

What is LOA?

LOA is the headline length quoted on every yacht specification sheet, brokerage listing and marina booking form. It is the headline dimension for size, segmentation, regulation and cost, but, critically, it is not always measured the same way.

Under ISO 8666 (the civil benchmark for small-craft principal data), LOA is the maximum length of the hull including structural fittings such as integral bulwarks and hull/deck joints, but excluding non-structural extensions: bowsprits, anchor pulpits, davits, swim platforms, rudders, outdrives, fenders and rubbing strakes. Under the brokerage and marina convention (used by most yacht-data platforms and port authorities) those same fittings are typically included. The same yacht can be 49.8m by one definition and 52.4m by the other.

LOA sits within a wider family of length measurements that recur on class and class-equivalent documentation: LH (Length of Hull, ISO 8666, hull only), LWL (Length on Waterline, drives hull speed), LBP (Length Between Perpendiculars, used in naval architecture), Lloyd's / Rule Length (a derived class length) and Load Line Length (the regulatory length defined under the IMO Load Lines Convention 1966). Of these, Load Line Length is the one that triggers the 24m superyacht regulatory threshold, not LOA itself.

Why it matters for yacht owners

For an HNWI buyer, LOA determines which marinas can berth your yacht, which regulatory regime applies, how much you pay in port dues, and which market segment your yacht trades in. Mediterranean marinas price berthing in euros per metre of declared LOA per night; insurance premiums scale with LOA × beam; charter rates tier by LOA bracket.

Yachting has hard market-segment lines at 24m, 30m, 40m, 50m, 60m, 80m and 100m+. Crossing each line resets pricing, broker commissions and operating costs. A 49.9m yacht and a 50.1m yacht can carry meaningfully different cost profiles, since 50m is where many ports trigger pilotage and 500 GT typically arrives, bringing more demanding STCW crew certification.

Buyers should also understand "vanity LOA": an extra metre of bowsprit or swim platform can lift a yacht into a higher size bracket on paper without adding usable interior volume. The drop transom is genuinely useful as a beach club, but it is measured, declared and charged for as length.

Key facts

• ISO 8666 LOA excludes non-structural bowsprits, pulpits, davits, swim platforms, rudders, outdrives and fenders.
• Brokerage and marina LOA typically includes those same fittings; the two figures can differ by 2-3 metres.
• The 24m regulatory threshold for the UK MCA Large Yacht Code (now consolidated into the Red Ensign Group Yacht Code, REG-YC, from 1 January 2019) is load line length, not LOA.
• Length-measurement matrix: LOA, LH, LWL, LBP, Lloyd's / Rule Length and Load Line Length each have distinct definitions.
• Market-segment breakpoints driven by LOA: 24m, 30m, 40m, 50m, 60m, 80m and 100m+.
• Notable LOAs (sources vary by ±0.3-1.0m): REV Ocean 195m, Azzam 180.6m, Eclipse 162.5m, Dilbar 156m.
• LOA in new-build contracts is typically expressed as approximate ("abt"), with delivered length governed by shipyard and class-society construction tolerances rather than a single industry-wide figure.
• The 500 GT threshold (more demanding STCW crew, additional SOLAS items) is typically reached around 45-50m LOA, though the trigger is enclosed volume rather than LOA alone; many yachts above ~50m are deliberately engineered (narrow superstructure, open decks) to stay below the threshold.