Seeking advice on boat partnerships

rkchambers · #1 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

I'm new to this site and fairly new to sailing (two years into it) so I apologize if this subject has been covered before.

I'm not ready to take the plunge of full boat ownership.
I see 6-7 way partnerships in late 70's early 80's boats offered and wonder what I should be looking for in the arrangement and, more importantly, what are the signs that I should run away?

I'm looking for a boat in a slip where my significant other and I can daysail then overnight in the slip once or twice a month.

I live in San Diego so maintenance doesn't involve anything related to winter.

Thanks for any input!

Rich

sailingdog · #2 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

Rich-

If you really want to explore this, you might want to look at the corporate vendor-affiliated sharing programs like Sailtime. Hunter, Catalina and Beneteau have programs IIRC. This may not be what you're looking for, but it is at least worth looking at. However, they will generally only offer recent model boats from the vendor that they are affiliated with, and with boat prices as they are, it may be more expensive than buying an older boat and owning it outright.

Zogumwesterly · #3 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

I would never consider a boat partnership, but maybe a program like SD was talking about would be good. I think one of the companies is called sailtime. Though I'm not crazy about the Idea of timeshare, it might be a good first step.

sailingdog · #4 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

The only thing is, since the sailboat partial ownership programs is that they are all recent model boats, and as such, far more expensive than an older boat of similar size in many cases. If one were to buy an older boat, you could probably buy the boat and pay for the slip, insurance and maintenance costs for what the sail partial ownership programs would cost you a year.

Owning an older boat, rather than sharing a boat, would also mean that you could use the boat at your convenience, rather than have to schedule around the other owners. Also, owning the boat means you can leave your personal possessions on the boat, rather than having to cart them on and off the boat every time you use it.

rkchambers · #5 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

Thank you SD and Zogum.

SailTime has a base in San Diego and I have spoken with them twice. I like their program and will likely get into a Hunter 33 with them in the next 6-9 months if a good private (and cheaper) doesn't present itself.

The cost of SailTime is reasonable, equal to the slip fee of an owned boat, and having a newer boat with the whole deal spelled out in a contract means no surprises.

That said, I'm still interested to hear what people think about alternatives.

Rich.

sailingdog · #6 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

Glad to help...

<This post was really just to inflate my post count...

>

Pamlicotraveler · #7 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkchambers

That said, I'm still interested to hear what people think about alternatives.

Rich.

Buy a boat with good friends...it would be frustrating to own a boat with strangers, especially people who didn't respect it the way you did.

Jeff_H · #8 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

I have a partner in my boat. It is a long time friend with a lesser share in the boat. It has worked out very well for me. He is a very experenced sailer, we had a detailed partnership agreement, as it turns out he rarely uses the boat (I actually wish that he would use the boat more) but it all works out.

My best advice is to only partner up with someone that you know very well. The idea of partnering up with 6 or 7 partners sounds like a recipe for disaster. At most I would recommend no more than 2 other partners and even then that is bound to be problematic if you are a new sailor, which means that you are more likely to bag up the boat than the other partners in the deal. Given the small amount that it sounds like you intend to use the boat I would start out with renting boats to develop your skills and then look into a partnership or ownership of a small simple boat.

Respectfully,
Jeff

tommyt · #9 (**permalink**) 08-23-2007

I agree with Jeff. Partners are a great thing when you divide the costs initially, but when the faimilies don't get alon, or you do all the work, or they leave the boat looking like hell, the partnership can go down hill very quickly.

If your only desire is to do some daysails and a few overnights a month charter is your best bet. Talk to a few of the local charter companies and find a way to cut the daily costs. Guarantee them X days a year, break it out by month if that is better for both of you, and attempt to be flexible. Do get yourself a guarantee of boats from X to Y feet so you are comfortable, and allow yourself to sail what they have available when you want it.

Most charter companies have lots more boat days available then they have customers for those days. Especially in todays economy. What used to be a weeks charter is now more likely 4-5 days. The charter company, and the owners, want revenue. You have it. Find a way to make all of you happy.

My first larger boat sailing experience was in a deal similar to what I am suggesting. I think that I bought into a "club" for $2000, and that got me something like 18 segments on boats from 30' to 37'. I could put two segments together to get a full day and overnight on the boat.Lots better than $3-600.00 a day for the same boats.

It was harder to plan far ahead, but I cannot think of a time that I decided at the last minute (which is how most of us live our lives today) that I wanted a boat and did not get it. In sailing, the last minute is better anyway if you are local. How do you plan on sailing on Tuesday, 3 months from today? Will the wind blow? The sun shine? The sky fall?

Sometimes I think I should have stayed with this deal. Lots cheaper! A friend walked onto the dock next to my slip yesterday carrying a West Marine catalog. His comment " I have not spent my $300 this week, what should I buy?"

sailingdog · #10 (**permalink**) 08-24-2007

Another option is a sailing club, like the Boston Sailing Center. A membership costs $XX per year, and allows you the use of boats on a reservation basis. Also, you don't do any maintenance on the boats, as that is handled by the club. Finally, they usually have a range of boats that you can pick from... The BSC starts with Solings and Sonars for daysailing, all the way up to a C&C 38 and Bavaria 38 for weekend trips.

If you have a club or sailing facility in your area that offers something like that, it is probably well worth checking out. It is probably less expensive than chartering. One other major advantage of doing something like this, is you can sail on several different types of boats, and get a much better idea of what you do like, don't like, want, don't want on your own boat, which can vastly simplify the boat buying selection process when you do decide to step up and buy a boat.