The benefits of sharing a boat

[Guest]

We own our cruising boat, but we share a 16ft launch.

The launch is kept "in commission" all year round; our co-owner uses it to get to boats on the river (he is a broker) and we use it to get to the mooring in summer, whilst we both use it for picnics and short expeditions. We have never, yet, both wanted it at the same time.

What I am starting to notice is that sharing a boat is rather a good idea. Any maintenance gets done faster, because the co-owners keep each other up to the mark, and talking about the boat and what needs doing is good fun.

Anyone else got any thoughts or experiences?

 

[Guest]

My experience is similar.

I co-own the Thistle with another student in my graduate program. I put more of the money up for it, and have wound up being sort of the "principle owner," in part because does other things like rock climbing and hang gliding. So it's worked out that I pretty much have first choice of when to use it. We frequently race it together, when he's around. (He's in Spain this year.) I suspect he might like to have used it while I was doing the river trip last year or while I was at nationals, but he didn't say anything, and I guess he went hang gliding instead. He did quite a few of the Wednesday night races, which I can't do because I work late that night. And we're both pretty responsible about maintenance, so it hasn't been a problem.

 

[Guest]

See my reply to an open general question to boating.

Sharing a boat.

I do share a boat. I share with a good friend. He prefers to go out fishing etc when I go out.

I like to repair tinker and maintain things - he does not. I therefore get to know the repairs etc are done right and he knows I will do or get them done right. We spilt costs so it seems to be "cheap" boating.

You have to have the right co-owner. I don't have a written agreement but suggest that people wishing to share boats should particularily when one wants to move etc.

 

[Guest]

It\'s the way to go

I've shared my last three boats with the same chap and its worked extremely well though we break most of the rules and don't take the advice I have written about in YM.

At their best, partnerships cut the cost, cut the work load, keep the boat active and in good condition and can provide built in crew. With more owners there are more skills available so less need to call in expensive craftsmen. Usually you will get as much sailing in as you would if you were sole wner because few of us sail every weekend.

However, there are down sides and even some of the advantages are two-edged. Maintenance and repair sometimes don't get done so quickly because there is disagreement over how to tackle it. The yacht is often not equipped exactly as you would want it for the same reason. In order to satisfy both/all partners, more equipment and more work might be done than is strictly necessary, thus increasing costs. You cannot call the boat your own nor leave your personal kit on board nor take a weekend away as short notice. Without the sense of personal responsibility, the boat may not get the TLC a sole-owner would give.

Informal partnerships can work between the right people, but when partnerships disolve or hit problems it is always best to have a detailed agreement to refer to so that arguments are kept to a minimum.

In my experience the best partnerships are either two or a group with a proper management structure. Three is a difficult number and four often have problems reaching concensus unless one is accepted as the senior partner.

 

[Guest]

It\'s the way to go

I've shared my last three boats with the same chap and its worked extremely well though we break most of the rules and don't take the advice I have written about in YM.

At their best, partnerships cut the cost, cut the work load, keep the boat active and in good condition and can provide built in crew. With more owners there are more skills available so less need to call in expensive craftsmen. Usually you will get as much sailing in as you would if you were sole wner because few of us sail every weekend.

However, there are down sides and even some of the advantages are two-edged. Maintenance and repair sometimes don't get done so quickly because there is disagreement over how to tackle it. The yacht is often not equipped exactly as you would want it for the same reason. In order to satisfy both/all partners, more equipment and more work might be done than is strictly necessary, thus increasing costs. You cannot call the boat your own nor leave your personal kit on board nor take a weekend away as short notice. Without the sense of personal responsibility, the boat may not get the TLC a sole-owner would give.

Informal partnerships can work between the right people, but when partnerships disolve or hit problems it is always best to have a detailed agreement to refer to so that arguments are kept to a minimum.

In my experience the best partnerships are either two or a group with a proper management structure. Three is a difficult number and four often have problems reaching concensus unless one is accepted as the senior partner.

 

[Guest]

Can\'t imagine sharing the "main" boat

She's ours! OURS, I SAY! Don't even really like having friends work on her (as some volunteer to do) because for them its a chore and for us its a labour of love. But I've shared a couple of dinghies successfully. Works best when its something you wouldn't use enough to justify owning outright but like to have anyway.

 

[Guest]

A year later...

I share a 35footer with 2 friends and its fantastic. Not once have I not been able to use it when I want as we although we have a rota, we swap around as we feel fit.

All costs are divided by 3

A great example was yesterday where my friend went down to the boat to see all was well and found the battery flat. He called me (I was coming back from a meeting in Birmhingham) and together we worked out what to check/do and problem solved.

Without him or me, I'd have gone down this weekend and had my sailing time reduced, mucking about with the electrics.

Our boat is one of the few in shamrock quay who actually seem to go out. All the others just sit there all year long (that or they leave just after us and come back just before us...unlikely!)

 

[Guest]

The benefits????Have You No Shame,,,,,,? of sharing a boat

I know it goes on, I suspect that even otherwise normal people get up to the oddest things in the privacy of their own marina berths, but Please,,,,,,young people might be listening. Oh, fine,,, I admit that in our teens we swap and change, perhaps just among friends, perhaps including total strangers (a risky game this.), but when we grow up, we settle down. We find, if we are lucky, The One True One,,,,,,, and when we do the idea of renting out part of her time is plain unthinkable. One Man, One Boat,,,,,, you know it makes sense.

Ian.

 

[Guest]

The benefits????Have You No Shame,,,,,,? of sharing a boat

I know it goes on, I suspect that even otherwise normal people get up to the oddest things in the privacy of their own marina berths, but Please,,,,,,young people might be listening. Oh, fine,,, I admit that in our teens we swap and change, perhaps just among friends, perhaps including total strangers (a risky game this.), but when we grow up, we settle down. We find, if we are lucky, The One True One,,,,,,, and when we do the idea of renting out part of her time is plain unthinkable. One Man, One Boat,,,,,, you know it makes sense.

Ian.

 

[Guest]

It works for us too.

Three couples in the partnership. Every year a calender is drawn up, your week - his week - my week etc, the Bank Hol weekends are for everyone ie you can't take your mates cos all six berths may be full and we will argue about where we are going on Friday night. If we want a fortnight we negotiate with the others who will also want a fortnight. We were friends first and the basic rule is that the friendship is more important than the boat. We have a boat that we couldn't otherwise afford, we have a walk on berth that we couldn't otherwise afford, six people to do the work and all thoe bills are divided three ways. On my weekend it IS my boat when I'm not there its somebody elses. If I want a Yoeman Navigator and they don't, I buy it for myself. We each have our own dedicated locker for personal gear. It may not be perfect but life's a compromise.

 

[Guest]

The benefits????Have You No Shame,,,,,,? of sharing a boat

I know it goes on, I suspect that even otherwise normal people get up to the oddest things in the privacy of their own marina berths, but Please,,,,,,young people might be listening. Oh, fine,,, I admit that in our teens we swap and change, perhaps just among friends, perhaps including total strangers (a risky game this.), but when we grow up, we settle down. We find, if we are lucky, The One True One,,,,,,, and when we do the idea of renting out part of her time is plain unthinkable. One Man, One Boat,,,,,, you know it makes sense.

Ian.

 

[Guest]

Oops!

A triple posting,,,,, how did I do that? Sorry!

 

[Guest]

How did you find your partners?

We're advertising to sell half the boat at the moment (only within the Yacht Club), but little interest so far. Is it possible to locate strangers, or do you need to start out friends? Do children fit into the equation?

 

[Guest]

YES!!!!! nm

*

 

[Guest]

Re: Whatever happened to monogomy.

I would never be able to look her in the eye again if I shared her. You know the feeling when the passage has been a bit of a slog and you finally get alongside, lines ashore and put the kettle on. You tidy away the charts and bits of paper and enjoy the stillness. Sometimes I even talk to her out loud. 'Well done old girl' and a pat on a bulkhead somewhere.

We care about each other. She looks after me and I look after her. I buy good varnish and good sandpaper and take my time doing the myriad of jobs that arise. She likes this.

Even as she is at the moment with the rig off her she still responds kindly to the winter work programme. She keeps me warm and the water still runs from the taps and the stove works to heat the water.

Sharing her would seem to me to be a betrayal. She is not just an object, she is a sanctuary and a dream. A dream of a different future.

She certainly isn't for sharing.

 

[Guest]

Re: Whatever happened to monogomy.

The world is full of exciting things to do, why restrict yourself just to sailing. It is pretty wonderful but so is scuba diving, visiting Ancor Watt or even drinking a pint in an English country pub after a good walk with friends. This isn't a dress rehearsal - get a fuller life.

 

[Guest]

Sharing a boat has to be a hefty compromise.No-one would share their house or their car so why would they want to share their boat. If the only way I could go sailing was to share the use of a boat with someone then I'd charter occasionally.

 

[Guest]

Re: A year later...

Sounds like self serving justification. So your logic is that people who don't have to share don't have to sail or maybe the implication of your message is that because they don't have to sacrifice the pleasures of sole ownership they are somehow not "proper" sailors.

 

[Guest]

Re: Whatever happened to monogomy.

Glynn, we can enjoy all those things as well (altho the depths of Cambodia doesn't appeal), I was merely giving some reasons for NOT sharing ones boat.

Surely some of the by-products of having a boat is that you get to go on lovely country walks...and you get to go diving!

Having a boat does not diminish your life, it extends it in all directions.

 

[Guest]

But would you share the charter?

If one can afford to charter without sharing then one can afford boat ownership without sharing.

Chartering is fun, but it misses out half the point of sailing. The boats are characterless, the cruising is handed to you on a plate, you do more or less the same circuits around the same anchorages/marinas as everyone else.

And maintenance, choosing what equipment you want to carry, choosing your ideal boat etc. is (maybe more than) half the fun.

Although I don't share I can see real advantages - they sail the boat out to the target cruising ground, you sail it back; sharing maintenance etc.

Of course sharing is to some extent a compromise. A better solution would be to have two or three times as much money.