Partnerships...what to do and What Not to Do.

[geary126]

Hey there.

I'm debating buying a Catalina 30 with some friends. And I want to keep both the boat and the friends.

As the ringleader, I'm prepared (and willing) to pitch in more than the 1/4...but would appreciate suggestions from anyone who's a partner (or used to be a partner).

How many is too many? We're looking at 3-4 partners, most married, with various levels of interest among the spouses. Monthly fees would be mooring + insurance + 25$ (for fund, below)/ N.

can you mix equity with non-equity partners?

If somebody wants out, what's the fairest way to let them go? I was thinking, partners agree on value of the boat, multiply that by starting percentage....and that's what you get back. Disagreements on value? Hire a surveyor, repeat procedure.


I was thinking about establishing a boat fund, like 2k, right from the start, to go towards maintanance, etc. so we all contribute to buying the boat, plus 2k, divided by [n number of people]

How about breaking up the usage time? I was thinking, we use an internet calendar. Can you be lose with the allocation [pick whenever, or do last minutes stuff] or is it better to be CLEAR / FIRM (like draw lots for weeks in spring summer fall), and you get that week?

How do you make sure people do their share of maintanance?

Thanks,

Tom

[sailingdog]

Might be worth checking out SailTime and see how they run their agreements, since it is essentially what you are trying to do. If you can get a hold of their paperwork, it would give you a rough framework, although a bit more formal than you probably want, for the basic document.