Hi all. I have a mooring in Lavender Bay and given the substantial fixed costs associated with being the sole-owner of a yacht I'm thinking about setting up a syndicate.

I'm looking for advice on what people think is the best way to set up a syndicate, especially from people who have participated in or set up a syndicate before. Some of the questions I have are:

- What's the best way to allocate days (a random, fixed or preference system)?
- What level of experience should members be required to have?
- What legal structure should be used to create a syndicate?
- Does anyone know of any rule templates I could use?

My current thinking is that there would be 9 members in the syndicate, which would give everyone roughly 2.5 weekdays and 1 weekend day per month. The syndicate would run for 3 years after which the boat would be sold and the capital returned to members. I'm thinking we'd use a 30 to 38 foot monohull from the past decade or so, and I estimate one share would cost about $17.5k and the monthly cost would be around $150.

I'd appreciate any advice on whether this seems reasonable and if there are any pitfalls I should be careful to avoid. Also please feel free to PM me if you'd be interested in a syndicate like this.

I've only done it once and that was 50/50. IMO 9 people is too many for a private syndicate, the most I'd be comfortable with would be 4. If you are doing it with more than 4 make sure the budget includes everything professionally done i.e. it needs to be fully walk on and walk off then professionally detailed for the next person. This company caters to people who want to do their own syndicate boatequity.com.au/.

I have been in a private 3 person syndicate for 10 months and very happy with the way it's going.
I wouldn't what to be in a syndicate of more than four as you don't get enough use of the boat.Answers to your questions;
1) We allocate one week in every three, from Wednesday to Wednesday so you can have a long weekend. With four members it would be one week in every four. We have a yearly calendar to show which week is yours. We try and swap weeks amongst the group if someone can't use their allocated week for personal reasons other than bad weather. If you get bad weather you miss out and have to wait until your next allocated week.

2) Owners should have reasonable level of experience to suit the boat, no first timers.

3) We prepared a 6 page agreement that we all signed that detailed how the syndicate would run.

4) We prepared our own without a template.

The success of the syndicate is dependent on the attitude of the members. Getting members who have the right attitude is the hardest part, dealing with the other issues is the easy bit.

We manage costs via an app called Splitwise. All costs are shared equally.
We share the work load and recently took the boat out for antifoul and all owners worked on it to keep costs down. There was an option if someone didn't want to be involved in the out of water maintenance to pay someone to come in and do there share.Before the syndicate I had my own yacht for 11 years which I did enjoy but the 3 person syndicate is just as good.
Similar use at a third of the cost. Good luck.

I think seabird has got it right.

My 2 cents worth is that it is best to have an odd number of syndicate members rather than an even number. This prevents deadlocks when decisions have to be made.

For a yacht less than 40 ft, three members should be right. For a more expensive yacht over 40 ft, five members might be more appropriate and cost effective.

A syndicate where all members want to race during the season and evenly divide exclusive use time during the off season would be damn near perfect.

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cisco said..
I think seabird has got it right.

My 2 cents worth is that it is best to have an odd number of syndicate members rather than an even number. This prevents deadlocks when decisions have to be made.

For a yacht less than 40 ft, three members should be right. For a more expensive yacht over 40 ft, five members might be more appropriate and cost effective.

A syndicate where all members want to race during the season and evenly divide exclusive use time during the off season would be damn near perfect.

Good call Cisco
Whats your thoughts on how to decide crew / skipper positions when racing? week rotation, short straw, or best skipper helms every week?

I would be interested in a potential syndicate on Sydney harbour. I have lived around boats all my life. Done a fair amount of offshore and twilights but now I'm keen for a comfortable 30-40 cruiser to take out a young family and friends.. I would prefer a smaller syndicate of 3-5

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Craig66 said..
Whats your thoughts on how to decide crew / skipper positions when racing? week rotation, short straw, or best skipper helms every week?

Yes. One of those. You love asking difficult questions don't you Craig??

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cisco said..

Craig66 said..
Whats your thoughts on how to decide crew / skipper positions when racing? week rotation, short straw, or best skipper helms every week?

Yes. One of those. You love asking difficult questions don't you Craig??

I just like to tap into the wealth of knowledge available on here from the many wise old men