Group / Syndicate Tips

[fov]

Hi,
Im pretty new to boating and im after some advise or pointers on where else to go to research.
Im contemplating starting a group/syndicate for a smallish boat on the ouse. Im thinking Sealine 24 or similar of maybe ~20 years old. Im not set on that specific boat but it does look a good balance of price to quality.
From a group perspective its an affordable but nice boat for day and maybe weekend cruises. Somewhere on the Ouse, fairly close to York.
Im expecting around £20k for the boat plus say £4k buying and starter fund so by 3 people thats £8k buy-in.
I think monthly (or annual split by 12 months) expenses ive got a fairly good grip of what they would be and I estimate £95 per month per person should be comfortable to cover and have some build up a fund for larger expenses.
Then the cost of running would be the fuel plus a few pounds per hour of engine time to cover running costs.
Ive done groups before in aviation and currently own an aeroplane as a group so ive a solid foundation of how these things go and issues that can arise. I do know it would need to be more prescriptive on a maintenance
schedule with a boat as with planes its set out how often they need to be serviced but I would utilise a very similar memoranum for the group so I think that document is fairly sound.

So my questions are essentially:
Are groups like this a thing? ive not seen them before really
Do you forsee any issues with the plan, or any comments, ways to do things better etc?
Where do people find other people to join groups? In aviation it seems to be a lot more advertised with site and forums just for groups and finding members.

Thanks

 

[Bigplumbs]

There are indeed groups like this in boating and you seemed to have thought it through very well. Let us know how you get on

The S24 is a very good boat I have had one now for 3 years

 

[petem]

People do run boats as syndicates (I own a third share of a Targa 34 in Spain for three years now).

Some tips for you:

1) Put together a decent syndicate agreement that covers things like:

Where the boat is moored
What happens if someone damages it
Upgrade policy
Exit mechanisms
How the boat should be left for the next person to use
Who is going to clean it
Any limits on personal use
Fuel policy (e.g. fill after use)
etc.

I have an agreement kindly drafted by another forum member that I can send to you.

2) Trying to get a syndicate together in advance of buying the boat is hard. You may have to buy the boat on your own or with one another and sell shares afterwards.

3) The S24 is a good boat for its length but is a bit of a 'starter boat'. You may find people outgrow it want to move on quite quickly.

4) Make sure you find like minded people (who can afford to pay for their share), who you like, to come in with you.

5) Buying and selling shares can be done via this website - http://www.boatsharefinder.co.uk/detail.aspx?id=f958ec8f-b6bc-4b5c-bb8c-8e3f46005f52. One of my partners is looking to sell his share if anyone is interested.

6) Three is a good number for a syndicate as it means the boat doesn't get hammered and you can be flexible about use.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[Croftie]

Mainly narrow boats but may give you a few pointers
https://www.boatshare.co.uk/

 

[jrudge]

Three of us one an aircraft so like you I have some familiarity with this.

I would say bear in mind a boat has personal belongings on it where as a plane is more like a hire car. So you need a plan on what to do with your stuff / booze -- which could be tricky on a small boat.

As other say there is the agreement of what happens etc - but I would treat this as a last resort. To me the biggest thing is getting on with / the likemindedness of your fellow owners.

Small things will grate. It was not filled up. It wasn't really cleaned, my booze has gone! But these depend on how it's done. Of course you might come back late and not be able to fill it. But if you tell the next user and Paypal him the money when he text you with the bill life will be simple!

I have considered buying boat shares and the biggest single things that puts me off is the method of allocation of time. This is often done on some sort of rota that shifts by a week each year. So you are stuck with what the algorithm gives you unless you swap which is uncertain.

With the aircraft we just had rules. No more than one weekend in 3 unless you emailed the others. We used a Yahoo Diary ( no idea if they still exist) so bookings were simple. Aircraft are similarly seasonal to boats. I knew my co owners when we bought. If you can do likewise then a mix of someone wanting school holidays and someone else wanting weekday afternoons is good.

In 10 plus years of 3 people in an aircraft syndicate we had not a single clash of dates so three is a good number in my view.

Good luck

 

[petem]

We have some simple rules regarding tea/coffee, food, booze, etc...

1) Try to leave a few beers, a bottle of Cava and some bottles of water for the next person.
2) If anyone leaves any food in the galley then don't expect it to be there on your return visit (there's normally crisps and nuts on board but I have a clear out every now and again).
3) If you're not happy with the above arrangement them put it in your bag and stow it away in your allotted place.

 

[Anakron]

Hi,
I Don't have any idea about the syndicate tips.

 

[fov]

Thanks all! Some great food for thought.
@petem if you could share that agreement that would be great. Would be good to compare and contrast and take some of the ideas no doubt.

Regarding time allocation, what we do currently is you can only book a 'session' (so i think it would need agreeing if that was one day or possibly one weekend) in advance. So it would be first come first served but you cant book all weekends in the summer or anything. That works well with the plane. Also means someone taking it for evenings in the summer cant monopolise it. Longer bookings are by group agreement with some level of expectation of maximum defined I guess.

Interesting points about food and drink left, that was something which hadnt crossed my mind!

 

[Bigplumbs]

Hi,
I Don't have any idea about the syndicate tips.

Very useful that was