After 10 years of owning my 33 ft yacht I sold it 2 years ago for various reasons, but now I'm eager to back on the water.
Rather than buy outright again I want to explore the concept of a private syndicate of up to 4 owners.
All ownership costs would be shared and usage would be one week a month.

Clearly there are many advantages with this arrangement.
My first sailing experience was in a 4 owner syndicate and it worked well with the owners often sailing together and swapping allocated weeks around when someone had something else on.

If there is anyone who is interested in commencing a new private syndicate of four or if an existing owner wants to sell off a 25% share in their yacht please send me a PM.
The arrangement could also work if someone wants a 50% ownership, they just buy 2 shares. This would allow them to sell one share if they want to reduce their usage back to one weeek a month.

Further info:
Capital cost of 30k to 40k per 25% share to purchase a yacht valued between $120k to $160k
Yacht to be a 35-40 ft monohull yacht , must fit on a 12m berth
Yacht purchase will occur once the membership of the syndicate is in place.
Ongoing costs of approx $4,000 per year for each 25% share.
Excess from yearly ongoing costs would go into a sinking fund for future upgrade work.
Yacht would be based in Manly or Cleveland Marinas in Brisbane.
Legal document would be prepared to formalise title of each owner.
Usage calendar would be prepared 12 months in advance.
Owners encouraged to swap weeks amongst the group.


Thanks
Vince.

Over 200 views and no responses!
Sounds like nice way for getting value from your sailing dollar. Lots of organisational challenges in terms of how you structure your access, blocking dates, going on short/medium trips etc. but nothing insurmountable.
Someone brought up the "smart boating" syndication a few weeks ago, which looks like a commercial venture doing the same sort of thing. Might be worthwhile getting a look at their contracts and policies for ideas about how to make it work in a fair and orderly way. The biggest issue I see ( once you have your syndicate/partners/co-op members ) is what happens with days people cannot use the boat, does it sit idle? is someone else able to use it but they have to swap a day for it etc.

I look forward to hearing how it goes, a middle ground between full ownership with underutilization and pay-per-use chartering.

DrogueOne,
Thanks for your comments.

In my previous private syndicate if the owner couldn't use the boat during their allocated week we would send a email to the other owners advising the boat was available.
The plan would be use the same system in this syndicate to ensure the boat was being used.

I'm surprised the private syndicate is not more popular given the following benefits:
1) Lower entry & ongoing costs
2) Depeciation of the capital purchase cost is shared across all owners
3) Provides willing sailing companions (my wife has loss interest)
4) The boat is being used regularly
5) Funds available to make improvements
6) Easier to sell 25% share than 100%
7) Can afford to have maintenance undertaken by professionals rather than yourself.(no more applying antifouling)
8) You get to sail a better yacht than you would if buying yourself.

Of course there are negatives but if people come into the arrangement with the right attitude and understand all owners have equal rights it will work.
I see more positives in a private syndicate than negatives especially if there is only four shares.

Hi Seabird

It sounds like their are a lot of positives but what happens if one of the shareholders damages it (either minor of major) , are they alone responsible for the cost of repairs or is it shared among the owners

Regards Don

I personally think the reason it isnt more popular is becuase if you dont have a system that works, it can turn into disagreements and arguments quickly. You hear plenty of stories of that happening. I dont want to be a downer i was just stating my opionion. If it works for you and everyone enjoys the boat, as you said it is a cost effective way of getting on the water. As long as everyone is happy, which at the end of the day is what matters most.
Cheers,

I think you would need to have partners that have similar expectations on how the boat should be kept and how it should be left after using it

Regards Don

I have been a boatshare tragic being in four boat shares and owning multiple boat at one time.
A obvious mental illness but one that has brought me immense pleasure, and no regrets.
All have been a successl and a few observations are below.
Alway choose sailors with some experience.
Choose nice people to share your syndicate. There maybe debatable issues in the future and so reasonable people are a necessity.
Have set of rules that clearly define all aspects of the boatshare. If you don't things may come back to bite you
The system I prefer is one day per week and a long weekend every month.
Make direct debits for the monthly fees into a nominated account.
Ask to see six months credit card statement to see if they make payments on time.

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Donk107 said..
Hi Seabird

It sounds like their are a lot of positives but what happens if one of the shareholders damages it (either minor of major) , are they alone responsible for the cost of repairs or is it shared among the owners

Regards Don

Don
The agreement that owners sign up will include a clause that a owner who has a accident resulting from poor seamanship would be responsible for paying the insurance excess.
Insurance excess resulting from accidental damage would be shared amongst owners.

Costs to repair accidental minor damage would be shared amongst owners.

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Donk107 said..
Hi Seabird

It sounds like their are a lot of positives but what happens if one of the shareholders damages it (either minor of major) , are they alone responsible for the cost of repairs or is it shared among the owners

Regards Don

Maybe the shareholder has the option to pay for the cost of repair or pays the insurance excess if the damage was their fault, eg, Slamming into a jetty.
If damage was caused under normal use the syndicate shares the cost, eg sail shredding.
???

Beat me by seconds

In my current shareholding in the Swarbrick 26 two crew members have had minor 'bumps'. This has then been repaired at antifouling time.
Another significant positive with boatshare is the ability to keep your boat at a berth instead of on a mooring for a quarter of the cost..
This is particularly appreciated by the wives of partners and guests. Also it can be a great place to have drinks on in the afternoon without leaving the berth.
The higher the value of the yacht the moire likely you are to get partners who want their boat to be at a berth.

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seabird said..
After 10 years of owning my 33 ft yacht I sold it 2 years ago for various reasons, but now I'm eager to back on the water.
Rather than buy outright again I want to explore the concept of a private syndicate of up to 4 owners.
All ownership costs would be shared and usage would be one week a month.

Clearly there are many advantages with this arrangement.
My first sailing experience was in a 4 owner syndicate and it worked well with the owners often sailing together and swapping allocated weeks around when someone had something else on.

If there is anyone who is interested in commencing a new private syndicate of four or if an existing owner wants to sell off a 25% share in their yacht please send me a PM.
The arrangement could also work if someone wants a 50% ownership, they just buy 2 shares. This would allow them to sell one share if they want to reduce their usage back to one weeek a month.

Further info:
Capital cost of 30k to 40k per 25% share to purchase a yacht valued between $120k to $160k
Yacht to be a 35-40 ft monohull yacht , must fit on a 12m berth
Yacht purchase will occur once the membership of the syndicate is in place.
Ongoing costs of approx $4,000 per year for each 25% share.
Excess from yearly ongoing costs would go into a sinking fund for future upgrade work.
Yacht would be based in Manly or Cleveland Marinas in Brisbane.
Legal document would be prepared to formalise title of each owner.
Usage calendar would be prepared 12 months in advance.
Owners encouraged to swap weeks amongst the group.


Thanks
Vince.

G'day Vince,
There is a org called Yachtshare that used to park opposite me in Manly, they seemed very organised and the yachts were always maintained and well looked after. They could be a good barometer to measure against.
One thing worth thinking of, as part of their syndicate model there is a mandatory practical sail training course that is handled by the local RYA school that all new owners must complete. That struck me as very smart and a way of instilling a commonality of at least the basic skills amongst the owners in case you run into the type that likes exaggerating their level of skill somewhat.
Best of luck with your endeavours!
SB

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Bundeenabuoy said..
Choose nice people to share your syndicate.

+1. I've not been in a BoatShare Scheme, but have seen enough of similar schemes to know that the most important thing is the culture, not the system. "Nice" folks can make a bad system work. "Not nice" folks can make a good system fail. So, find the right folks, with similar expectations and the "right" attitude. Then, formalize the system with the right docs, signatures, bank accounts etc. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/2009-beneteau-oceanis-46/SSE-AD-5695346/?Cr=18

Found your boat, now you need 3 partners to sail her home

Interesting thing..

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Craig66 said..
www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/2009-beneteau-oceanis-46/SSE-AD-5695346/?Cr=18

Found your boat, now you need 3 partners to sail her home

Did you happen to find the extra odd twenty grand it will cost to bring it home?

Had a friend describe his experience with a syndicate, said it was a bit like living in a unit block, there is always one strata nazi.
He couldn't get out quick enough.

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UncleBob said..
Had a friend describe his experience with a syndicate, said it was a bit like living in a unit block, there is always one strata nazi.
He couldn't get out quick enough.

Yeah I guess it wouldn't be for everyone. I know it's not for me. FreeRadical seemed to have a very well run syndicate and the group had an interesting dynamic.

My problem with syndication would be the spontaneous response to getting up to a perfect sailing day 'C'mon, lets go'

I guess one major benefit is you can buy a quarter share in a boat that is four times the value of what you could pay buying yourself.
Another major benefit is being able to berth the boat rather than having it on a mooring. Usually berthing fees for a 38 footer are around $16000 divided by four is $4000. This is a figure that many will happily pay for the privilege of walking onto their boat.
Having said all that, I am happy being the only owner of my latest purchase especially being fully retired.

This might give you some ideas.
yachthub.com/list/boats-for-sale/used/boat-share/swarbrick-s80/251921

There is nothing that compares to owning your own boat and not having to answer to anybody about how you run it.