boat share

rugrat · 28 June 2006, 18:23

i am considering sharing a boat with a friend,
this way i could have twice the boat for half the money.
also the fuel/maintenance costs would be halved.
any thoughts?
pros/cons

Poly · 28 June 2006, 18:47

relatively common in the yacht world. The advice there seems to be to put it in writing and agree up front how you will split the costs etc (e.g. if you go out on your own and you ding the prop who pays to get it fixed? if you leave 1/2 a tank of fuel do you expect 1/2 a tank of fuel in return? etc) Also what about usage - how will you agree who uses it and when? What happens when one of you wants to leave (i.e. sell) - do you sell your share? - does the other party have the right to buy it first? how will you work out the value?

I think PBO and Sailing Today have both had articles about it - and the general conclusion is it is a good idea provided you plan it properly and agree everything in writing up front regardless of how good friends you are. This is as much about forcing you to discuss and agree the details as it is about having something to fall back on if it all goes wrong.

jlanng · 28 June 2006, 19:02

A couple of my friends own a small RIB together. Has it's pros and cons of course. Helps if you both have the same attitude about maintenance etc.

Limey Linda · 28 June 2006, 20:09

Do not think you can get twice the boat for half the money. One or the other and there are long term risks involved.

vince · 28 June 2006, 21:09

Me and GL doing exactly this. It halves the costs of everything, and means you can have a better boat. But everything should be in a contract, even down to who gets the boat if one dies

!
What you could consider is to set up an account at the bank each owner puts in a set amount of money in each month by D Debit, and then if something goes wrong with boat, you buy it out the fund and nobody`s scrattin around for dosh. It does work, as long as its thought out and written down.

Hugh Jardon · 28 June 2006, 21:18

if you share with someone i would have thought you could get twice the boat for the same money or the same boat for half the money......does that make sense

Searider · 28 June 2006, 21:18

You both need to have the same outlook on what you want from the boat and to what standard it should be maintained.

Both pay into an account for the maintainance.

Kind of doing this with my brother - no contract but working well.

Regarding fuel - you have to own up to what you've used and always make sure there's enough in the tank for what the other partner might want to do when it's their turn.

Scrumdown · 28 June 2006, 21:25

I've been in a boat share for the past 18 months and have just left it. I was just bought out of the deal as the others wanted more useage. Make sure you can get access though when you need the boat to match your holidays! I work in the education sector and i was losing use of the boat as my weeks fell when I was in work etc.

Also consider equipment - how many lifejackets do you need? We all bought our own for the number of people we took with us etc.

With regards to fuel as we used plastic 25ltr cans we all bought our own cans and just took them with us - so you only ever used your own fuel (for long journeys used to borrow the others)

PM for anymore ideas etc

G L · 28 June 2006, 21:29

Its a good idea. I've found you seem to go out on the boat with your mates, so you might as well let them pay for it as well.

Mollers · 28 June 2006, 21:33

I have known of two boats with shared owners and in both set ups those involved have said 'never again'. The whole concept rarely works unless all parties concerned are extraordinarily fair and sensible people. Classic gripes are 'Who scratched it?', 'Who left beer cans in it?',' I left it full of fuel, Why isn't it now?', ' How come you always get it when the sun shines?' and on and on. Good luck.

JCW · 28 June 2006, 21:46

I am just coming out of a very successful and pleasurable Ribshare agreement with Bern Hanreck. We drafted an ownership agreement at the start of the partnership but we have never needed to use it.
If you are like minded people and agree to maintain the boat and be open and honest with each other it can be a success and cost saver.
The only reason I am pullng out is due to an imminent house move.
Bernie is looking for another parntner (advert in ribs for sale), if you are looking for a good boat and trustworthy partner, Bernie is your man.

rugrat · 29 June 2006, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh Jardon

if you share with someone i would have thought you could get twice the boat for the same money or the same boat for half the money......does that make sense

yeah what ever, you know what i mean

Alan · 29 June 2006, 15:25

I had a boatshare arrangement for my first RIB. Three likeminded friends, equal shares on a new boat/used engine. (BWM DS21). It worked well and we never fell out. We had a master spreadsheet where we recorded maintenance/equipment expenses and every so often totted up who was ahead and who was behind in spending money and settled up. Running costs - fuel and two stroke primarily, were split between whoever was using the boat on the day.

Our arrangement was a little different insasmuch as my friends were less experienced boaters than I so effectively I ran the boat - arranged/carried out maintenance and servicing and they paid their share of the bills. I often ended up physically doing much of the work but I also used the boat far more than either of them. (I dont think they ever took the boat out without me!) so I effectively got most useage of a boat but only a third of the purchase/running costs (excl. fuel). Marriage/children/not being able to dive anymore meant that neither of them was able to use the boat as much as they envisiaged at the outset.

We sold up after 3-4 years and split the funds equally. No fallouts and still all great friends. I would recommend a statement of principles/agreement, particularly on cost sharing and who does what, but would have no hesitation on doing it again with the right people.

In fact I think at one time I tried to persuade JCW to buy a half share in Blue Ice

but the size of the tow vehicle required was an issue. For anyone looking for a half share in a very tidy RIB in the Essex area I would suggest they talk to Bern about La Bamba. He's a thoroughly decent chap!

The Warners · 16 February 2007, 13:06

Hi

We are thinking of offering a half share for sale tas we don't use it enough which is a waste of such a lovely boat Does anyone have a sample agreement that I could use as a basis, or know where I might get one?

Cheers

Rosie

howe · 16 February 2007, 13:32

In my experience it can work very well. I share a Scorpion and having done an agreement where we had thought a lot about use we have found that on many occaisions we use the boat together.
I agree that you need to have a similar perpective on the level of spend as things always seem to cost a bit more than you'd expect. For example we spent as much fitting a new Lowrance GPS as it cost to buy.
As far as fuel goes, we always leave it full which takes judgement out of the equation although on a future boat I'd like twin tanks so that we don't always run so heavy.
I'd recommend it and given that most of us use a Rib for 75/100 hours max that leaves a lot of hours unused.

tim griffin · 16 February 2007, 19:03

What about lynx sports club www.lynxsports.co.uk where you join for x amount per year and get the use of a Scorpion .
Seems that this is another option for some

donutsina911 · 16 February 2007, 19:38

or charter a rib when you want one...the Lynx option at £411 up to £587 per day seems expensive, even if the RIBs are decent...

toby4594 · 16 February 2007, 19:48

Nice kit I must agree, but 7K for 20 days its a lot of money .

Millermob · 19 February 2007, 08:45

That equates to £350 for a days charter, not bad considering others charge £500+.

Freddie

thorper · 19 February 2007, 10:17

I co-own my boat with Andy, and split the costs 50/50. We put everything in a contract (including what happens if one of us dies!), which states what happens if we disagree or want to buy each other out.

As other people have said, you need to have the same motivation to make it work and be honest with each other. I rarely use the boat without Andy, so splitting the fuel is easy.

I suspect if you do own it with more than 1 other person you can then get into the debates about who damaged it etc., but if there is just 2 of you thats quite straightforward!

Finally its worth making sure that you're both able to financially commit to the boat for a number of years, and both regularly put money in a shared bank account for the boat. It makes paying for parts and servicing much easier!