Its got to be better to have a share than no boat at all ,after all that youve put in to her and what you get out of it.The problem is getting the other co owners(suitable/reliable etc) and the agreement/ground rules right.And at worst if it doesnt work out you sell.

Ian

 

Its got to be better to have a share than no boat at all ,after all that youve put in to her and what you get out of it.The problem is getting the other owners(suitable/reliable etc) and the agreement/ground rules right.And at worst if it doesnt work out you sell.

Ian

sound advice. nothing to add:clap3:

 

forget it, unless its with close friends because when it gets expensive people will back out and leave some out of pocket, also if you sell it you can always look forward to a new one down the line when things pick up again, the boat is your baby would you really want others having thier say in its running?? move it on or down size for a year or two, im sure there will be another plastic fantastic that will catch your eye in the future :boat:

 

I think it could be a very good idea, lots of people want a boat but cannot afford the asking price/running costs alone, the hard part will be getting suitable investors.
You need people who preferably you know and get on well with who also understand there is more to boat owning than just buying it and fuel, but sure you already have worked that one out yourself.
Some very hard vetting of potential investors me think !

Good luck whatever way you decide to go, always hate to see people in difficulty as have been there and done it myself.

Regards, Rob.

 

Plenty of shared ownership arrangements in the leisure boat community, especially yotties, so it must work. Get contracts provided by a specialist and pick your co-owners carefully and you should be OK.

 

was tempted once myself with a very good mate never went ahead and have still got a friend
better to down size for a year or so get the boat on a trailer when you have the time and a bit of spair drop it in happy days

found this on the net to be honest could not find 1 postive in a boat share

taken of boat share site

For me, the "partnership" word in the arrangement is the red flag. Each partner is jointly and severally liable for the acts of the other as to third parties. Consider these questions before embarking on a boat partnership:

What if your partner accidently hits another boat while trying to dock the partnership vessel? .....you are personally liable for the 100% of the damage.

What happens if your partner authorizes repair work you planned to do yourself.....you are personally liable for the 100% of work he commissioned.

What happens if a guest of your partner is seriously hurt while out with your partner?.......you are personally liable (100%) and you will be a defendant on the lawsuit.

What if your partner tells a friend to "just stop by and look at hte boat", and he is hurt climbing on and off? You are personally liable for his injuries even though you knew nothing about the visit and may have even been out of the country.

What if there is a major storm that causes some damage to the partnership boat.........enough to make an insurance claim for the repairs? .......You are liable for 100% of the deductible.



Your liability is not limited to your pro-rata share of the ownership. Joint and several liability protects third parties and means that a partner can be held personally liable for all of the liabilities of the partnership.

I am in a marina that stores 100 boats in the water and another 500 or so in dry storage. There is only one partnership boat in the whole place........Why? It just does not work out the way everyone envisioned in the beginning.

The sharp shooters in town all look for new boats that are sold to partners because they all know the boats will be lightly used and will be on the market soon at cut-and-run prices.

In my case, if I had a problem covering the costs of the maintenance of my boat, I'd sell it and do something else before putting my entire net worth at risk in a partnership.:cold:

 

I agree with Salar but would add, put every little thing in any contract - are we talking shared trips or turns at having the boat, what happens if damage occurs - shared expenses or if one causes the damage, they pay etc etc

Sounds complicated but best if everyone knows exactly where they stand right from the off. There are many shared boats and it does work so is certainly worth considering.

I would also advise talking to folk who own, or previously have owned, shares in a boat before you decide and get their input re positives and negatives.

 

Do a web search on Fractional Ownership (which is the official term) and there are lots of ways of doing it. It is very common for more expensive toys like private aircraft, superyachts, foreign villas etc. It gets a lot easier if a third party is contracted to provide administration and maintenance, this adds to the cost (or reduces the savings) but could avoid a lot of hassle.

 

Hi Cascars,
I'm into wooden boats,so slightly different,but when it comes to fitting out in the spring there are a couple of boats down our way that are partnerships and all the joint owners are really nice people. But almost without exception the principal owner is the person always there,getting all those jobs done putting in the hours, and the other partners seem to put in little cameo appearances. I dont think they always lead to happy times on the water.
Also on the flipside the new partners feel that they cant necessarily do what they want without permission and maybe dont feel fully equal.
These are just my observations,youv'e got some hard thinking to do.
Burt

 

I think the key thing (apart from the issues already highlighted) is to find people with whom your own needs of the boat will dove tail. I was once offered a half share in a boat, that was already owned between two - I turned it down because it was the 'wrong' half on offer - I would have always wanted to use it at the same as the remaining owner.

Or, if you're going to share it with someone who'll regularly come out with you, how will you share being the skipper? - if it's always you, the other owner would always feel like he's going out on a mate's boat instead of a boat that's half his.

Of course the ideal partner would be someone who doesn't worry about the costs but never wants to go out in the boat! - I knew someone who shared ownership of a boat on this basis - but eventually the 'sleeping' partner pulled out.

 

I was always told that no ship sinks as fast as a partnership :laugh:

 

was tempted once myself with a very good mate never went ahead and have still got a friend
better to down size for a year or so get the boat on a trailer when you have the time and a bit of spair drop it in happy days

found this on the net to be honest could not find 1 postive in a boat share

taken of boat share site

For me, the "partnership" word in the arrangement is the red flag. Each partner is jointly and severally liable for the acts of the other as to third parties. Consider these questions before embarking on a boat partnership:

What if your partner accidently hits another boat while trying to dock the partnership vessel? .....you are personally liable for the 100% of the damage.

What happens if your partner authorizes repair work you planned to do yourself.....you are personally liable for the 100% of work he commissioned.

What happens if a guest of your partner is seriously hurt while out with your partner?.......you are personally liable (100%) and you will be a defendant on the lawsuit.

What if your partner tells a friend to "just stop by and look at hte boat", and he is hurt climbing on and off? You are personally liable for his injuries even though you knew nothing about the visit and may have even been out of the country.

What if there is a major storm that causes some damage to the partnership boat.........enough to make an insurance claim for the repairs? .......You are liable for 100% of the deductible.

Your liability is not limited to your pro-rata share of the ownership. Joint and several liability protects third parties and means that a partner can be held personally liable for all of the liabilities of the partnership.

:

Surely that's what insurance is for, whether you own it individually or as a partnership?

 

I'm with LooseGoose on this one. Did it once many years ago, albeit with the wrong person, who left me in a world of financial *****. Virtually came to fisticuffs in the end.

Goose said it well. There are surely better times ahead and always lots of boats for sale. In the mean time, I'm sure there are plenty of members on this forum would make sure you got a days fishing now and again.

 

Hi Cascars,
I'm into wooden boats,so slightly different,but when it comes to fitting out in the spring there are a couple of boats down our way that are partnerships and all the joint owners are really nice people. But almost without exception the principal owner is the person always there,getting all those jobs done putting in the hours, and the other partners seem to put in little cameo appearances. I dont think they always lead to happy times on the water.
Also on the flipside the new partners feel that they cant necessarily do what they want without permission and maybe dont feel fully equal.
These are just my observations,youv'e got some hard thinking to do.
Burt

glad to hear I'm not the only one! I own half a wooden boat but do 100% of the work, and seem to accept 100% of the stress and worry as well - resentment becomes an inevitability

I guess I'm at an extreme with what I'm undertaking, and a shiny new boat (that's anything from this century!) would have a different set of needs and requirements

I do know partnerships that work, but those are ones where the folks involved almost always fish together, and the maintenance bits tend to get done together day before and day after trips - seems to work ok for them

the thing with them though is they knew each other very well before boat owning steamed over the horizon so they were already aware of the foibles of each other personalities

not sure I'd be happy with the selling (or buying for that matter) a share in a boat from someone I didn't know well, the falling out seem a bit high to me

 

would you buy a ferrari to share with a group of other people ? probably not, and for the same reasons as a boat - your boat becomes your pride and joy, and frankly anyone else having a say in it is akin to letting them sleep with your wife...

 

stay well clear as if its anything like when my own brother borrows the boat he uses all the consumables always demages some thing and its always mee who has to repair and pay and always seems to think he knows whats best even tho he dont know anything about boats
now he dosent borrow it any more and i get moaned at from other people in the family due to me not lending it
you will be left out of pocket and may even loose some friends along the way [may be good for some ]
also know 3 other brothers who have a boat together and theres 2 who like to do the fishing and expect the boat to be ready when ever they want it and 1 that is always spending £ s and all his time maintaining her
and she is your toy which i dont think at that price ide trust with anyone unless i was there especialy if you dont know them much
sell her and hopefully you can get another in the future or downsize for the mo as others have said
hope all goes well and you back on the sea soon

 

hi all
most of them want to play but not pay, sold my boat just, was offered partnership before i sold her by a good friend, but i knew it would not work, took him out, never once did he offer a drum of diesal, walked off the boat never cleaned the deck of fish guts ect.
most of the people who ask are the same do not see them at,lift out or antifoul stage, my advice sell it and buy another, when the sweat of your own brow, in your buisness takes off regards

 

Sharing, crock of sh*t

AL ..

 

Only my opinion but that boat is yours no matter if you get paid to share it or not. If you had bought 1/2 the boat from the off as a share it might be different. I think you would find it very difficult to let someone else take it out I know I would.

 

Some years ago I was in a partnership on a 28ft twin engine Colvic which we had on Loch Lomond, everything went well the 1st year, great weekends spent up on the Loch, But after the 1st year things went a bit pear shaped, when we wanted to go up and spend time on the boat ourselfs the other couple would fancy tagging along etc etc.

We had a falling out over mooring costs, originally we were on a wet mooring costing £400 per year, the other couple put boat on a marina mooring costing over 1k a year (without informing us) repairs etc it always seamed to be me doing them, things might work out for you if you get the right partner Terry, but be wary, it didnt work out for us in the end I sold up and moved on, lost a couple of grand on the boat .

Would I go into a partnership again, simple answer NO

 

lots of negatives but very few positives it seems.
i think i agree with the majority on this one. it would be very hard to "let go" and accept other peoples ways on something you will always consider "yours".

we bought our boat between 4 family members who have fished together for 30 years coarse, beach and boat so we knew each others personalities well. a small boat is not the place for fall outs and bad atmospheres. for us it works great but we are in a different position as it has always been "ours" not "mine" or "his".

someone mentioned trailing and if you have one and can store it somewhere cheaply then maybe that would be the prefered option. suppose it depends if you need some cash or just to reduce your outgoings.

 

It'll probably be best to sell, and downsize to a trailable boat of strength and competence.
That way, you get another learning curve to climb ( always a source of amusement ), ackers in the bank, and a boat to take anywhere.
A fighting retreat is always better than an ignominious rout.
Cheers,
Davey.

 

This is a very interesting thread Terry, well done for starting it.

I had a boat share years ago with a close friend. We bought a Bayliner Trophy between us. The guy i bought it with was not into fishing as much as me, so he hardly ever came out, but he stumped up half for everything (apart from fuel). It worked for us as we were close mates and went to school together. As mentioned before, there are pitfalls, but if you get the right person i cant see it being a problem. Also "to many cooks spoil the broth" so if you can keep it as just a 2 way partnership it has more chance of being successful.

That said, after spending time at sea with you in the summer, and several conversations in-between, its obvious you know your way around a boat and you are not a liberty taker. Miss Molly is moored in Dover you are welcome to take her out now and then, no problem, just let me know (but you will have to put your own Diesel in!) Rob

 

Most of the negative anecdotes appear to be based on informal arrangements, or at least not truly fractional ownership. As with anything, if it not done properly there is a good chance it will go wrong. Plus, I think it would be difficult to sell a share in a boat you own, it is always "yours" in your mind.

 

As Rob has just said, a very interesting post Terry.

Sorry to hear that you are thinking to sell or go into a partnership with your boat.

I shared my first boat (a Nab 21) with a good friend and we had four years of completely problem free fishing and boating. Nearly always used it together, occasionally I went alone or took my friends out and even more occasionally he took it out alone or with his friends. If this happened a lot he or I would add more of the share of the fuel costs (on account at Sovereign harbour). We used to have an arrangement where one paid the marina fees and the other paid all maintenence, fuel, insurance etc, then at the end of each year we'd sit down over a beer, work out who'd paid more and settle up the difference. Never had a problem, but we had known each other for a long time before sharing a boat, and trusted each other in our boating ability and sea sense.

We bought this boat together from the off and as others have said it could be different for you now that this boat has been your baby and you are considering inviting someone else into a share of it. We sold it very well in the end.. bought for 1K and sold for 8.5k! so had 4 years cheap fishing.

I have the same dilemma now so I'm not the best person to offer you advice.... I have a Hardy 20 sitting at home which I don't have time to use due to catching up with a backlog of work. Presently not enough funds to justify having it in the water costing me an arm and a leg ..... Do I sell it or go into partenership (which I am at the moment considering again) or just carry on waiting till I have more time and money... After all it costs me nothing at home. We'll see.... You'll know when I start putting up catch reports..

Good luck with whatever you do, but choose your partner carefully if you go that route. Perhaps consider selling the boat and embark on a partnership with another cheaper boat, that way you release funds, the other person won't feel the boat is not half his, and you still have access to a boat yourself.

All the best
Jonty