fractional boat ownership

wannabatc2 · 03-06-2010, 04:38 AM

new to the forum. i live in winston-salem. i wanted to start a thread to see what kind of interest there is in fractional boat ownership. my work schedule makes ownership of the type of boat i want unreasonable. realistically i would only be able to use a boat 12 to 15 weekends a year. 1 maybe 2 full weeks per year.

my thoughts are if 2 or 3 other people that are in the same postion as myself purchased a 30 to 50 thousand dollar boat and shared stoarage costs, maintenance costs, and depreciation it would make ownership realistic. ie storage costs in manteo for an indoor lift for a 25 foot boat are around 200/ month. divide by 3 or 4 and this looks much better. or store in a covered facility that you park it yourself for 60/ month.

i owned an airplane for 6 years and found much of the same problems as with the idea of boat ownership. the plane just didin't get flown enough. flying clubs are common and make airplane ownership much more reasonable.

what do you think?

allan adkins, od

Ice Cream Man · 03-06-2010, 06:51 AM

A wise old man once told me " That partners are good for only 2 things, ....... & one of them is dancing ! " ....... Enough said ......... ICM

wannabatc2 · 03-06-2010, 09:11 AM

follow-up. i noticed the introductions sections and posted my info.

i hear ya, ice cream man. i've had both good and bad partnerships. bad ones need no further discussion.

partnerships do continue to exist, ( with the possible exception of marriage and personal relationships ) however mostly due to necessity. i myself work 6 days a week and can only fish / recreate one day. my business dictates this. within the next few years i hope my practice will continue to grow and i will bring in a partner/associate which will allow my business to continue to grow ( i can only see so many patients per day and still do a good job ) but also allow me to take some time off with out neglecting my practice or patients.

the reality of my situation is i probably won't see a time in the next decade or maybe ever when i could afford to own the type of offshore boat i would like to have. a partnership is probably the only option for me.

just wondering if there are people in a like situation.

bridgeman · 03-06-2010, 01:07 PM

I've been down the road your thinking about travelling, used boat purchased and agreed that when the other is done with it that it be left full of gas, clean and any tackle that was all mine by the way damaged or lost replaced. Almost every time that I went to use the boat things needed fixed the tank was almost empty and tackle a mess, and that was with good friends! Imagine how you'd feel if you had to submit 1/3 of 1/4 the cost for a powerhead or a lower unit when you weren't even on the boat when it happened. Buy something you can afford yourself and fix it up or if you only fish offshore a few times a year charter...you'll be money ahead in the long run.

silver bullet · 03-06-2010, 01:18 PM

I think that you should look into renting a boat when you need one. Their are allot of boat clubs in south FL and I think you get a boat once a week or something. Just something else to look at, I don't think that I would want a partner.
Like what I always heard was, it is like your wife but you want be getting anything in return.

jpcanning · 03-06-2010, 01:43 PM

[quote=wannabatc2;2831164]my thoughts are if 2 or 3 other people that are in the same postion as myself purchased a 30 to 50 thousand dollar boat and shared stoarage costs, maintenance costs, and depreciation it would make ownership realistic. ie storage costs in manteo for an indoor lift for a 25 foot boat are around 200/ month. divide by 3 or 4 and this looks much better. or store in a covered facility that you park it yourself for 60/ month.

What would your cost be per year with a partner,on a 50k boat??

Sounds like what you need is someone to care for a boat that you own,rather than a patner.

Ice Cream Man · 03-06-2010, 07:11 PM

You may be better off chartering, after all the Capt. you hire should have everything needed for a successful trip. It would be less stressful & more enjoyable ........ ICM

Ft Myers Ken · 03-06-2010, 07:23 PM

It works great. Two of us share a boat (we are looking for a third). The key to a boat partnership is keeping the boat at a full service marine who cleans and fuels it. This handles the issue of always showing up to a clean boat with gas. I use the boat and refil to 1/2 tank... he does the same, so everyone is covering their own fuel. Since it's the marina's job to clean, flush and fuel up the boat- its a non issue.

As for repairs, we immediately fix anything that breaks and split the bill- no questions asked. We have a operating agreement that we created to cover these types of things and everything has worked out perfectly. The boat still is un-used ALOT!

The schedule works great, I have Saturdays, he has Sundays. Weekdays are fairgame for anyone...we left them as "open days."

So, yes.. you are on the right track.

JB2C · 03-06-2010, 07:45 PM

It works. But it's all about going into it with someone you know is responsible and reliable. And even then, you need to lay out the ground rules. Without ground rules, it's a problem situation waiting to happen. We sat up a calender and each took a week. No questions asked if it was your week to have the boat. If something broke while you had the boat out, you paid to fix it. Not the partner who wasn't even there. If both of us were on the boat and something broke, we split the bill. If one of us wanted to add something to the boat and the other did not, the person wanting the addition paid for it 100%. If the addition was agreed upon, we split it 50/50. Boat was always topped off with fuel after each use. We were friends and never had a problem with the situation. But there were a few times that it could have been, if we had not written out the ground rules.

I would do it again, but only with a very select few folks. However, with the schedule you have right now, I'd also recc chartering. Find a good captain and mate that are willing to share their knowledge, not just take you offshore and crank on a reel so that you learn not much. You get a bigger boat to fish, none of the upkeep and expense of owning a boat, no boat cleaning at the end of the fishing day, and no hassles over partners.

wannabatc2 · 03-07-2010, 05:45 AM

sincere thanks for all the replys. it seems people have made this work. i was thinking along the lines of the marina service and storage, filling the tank ( marina does this automaticlly ) after partners use which they pay for, and establishing a maintenance fund tht everybody pays in to on an hourly basis based on the engine hour meters. and find an attorney to draw up the papers that has done similar contracts like flying clubs, etc. spelling out the particulars so everyones interests are protected.

for now i'm going to look at the charters. i like the idea of captain and mates that would teach you the ropes. didn't know they existed.

think i'll also try to meet up with some local people. i saw a post about the triad waterman meeting at firehouse in kernersville. maybe somebody would like to learn a little about flyfishing i could trade flyfishing knowledge for coastal fishing tips.

Ft Myers Ken · 03-07-2010, 07:29 AM

Our partnership is 3 years old now, and has worked out wonderfully. Ironically- the boat still is UNUSED 5 days a week. For the money we save by splitting- we are each able to have other toys and also pay for the full service dry-rack! Dan and I have enjoyed shared ownership so much, and will be in more boats together in the future.

As for things breaking, I couldn't imagine having an arrangement where you get stuck with a bill if something breaks "while you were on it"- and to me, that just doesn't make sense. We've both owned boats for 20+ years so we really understand that things like windlass, toilets, snaps, latches and livewell pumps sometimes just "give up", and break/stop working. It really doesn't matter who was on it... it was bound to break/quit eventually.

You hardly ever know when something broke... just that it's broken now, so I can't see any partnership working where folks try to assign blame. To me, that's bad policy destined for a failed partnership.

We call it our WHO CARES, JUST FIX IT arrangement, and it works out best because there's no finger pointing or hurt feelings.

Again, having a Marina Staff that keeps it clean and fueled is 90% of having a happy experience! It's always clean- so no bitchin!

Good Luck!

wannabatc2 · 03-07-2010, 08:06 AM

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As for things breaking, I couldn't imagine having an arrangement where you get stuck with a bill if something breaks "while you were on it"- and to me, that just doesn't make sense.

have to agree with this. can't imagine getting stuck with a new powerhead because it failed while i or other partner was using the boat. what about all the wear and tear that happened for the previous 1300 hours of use.

i think this points out the importance of finding like minded people to partner with. of course i see the viewpoint of a situation where every time you went to use the boat something was broke or amiss mostly from one partner. this also points out the importance of having an equitable "out" if necessary.

i would not be a partner with a boat that i could not buy out the partners if all went awry in order to prevent a large monetary loss from a "distress" sale.

Ft Myers Ken · 03-07-2010, 08:17 AM

Remember, whatever you have in the arrangement the others do as well! So, if you focus on arrangement where you can leave easily, then understand that the others could leave easily also. Partnering in a depreciating asset is good, because you get to split the loss. Easy out partnerships aren't good on a depreciating asset, because then someone could leave another holding the bag. More important than having an "out", is having a solid "STUCK-IN". You want everyone involved to be stuck for their responsibility, unless another elects to accept it.

You want you're partners to be married to that boat. Which means you are too.

Aqua Loco · 03-07-2010, 10:40 AM

charter, charter, charter.. I was in your shoes at one time, and I can tell you it will be a lot less stress if you go on a charter. No maint., No worries about finding fish, and most of all no clean up. You would also be helping out the charter boats that make a living out there, put bread on the table.

stupidwhitecat · 03-07-2010, 06:33 PM

Why not consider joining a boat club?

wannabatc2 · 03-08-2010, 03:58 AM

is there a boat club available in the outer banks area? what about wilmington?

stupidwhitecat · 03-08-2010, 11:03 AM

http://freedomboatclub.com/

This is the one I have heard of. I am just aware of them, I have no experience, good or bad things to say about them. It sounds like what you are interested in. There are others out there. I would ask around and see if anyone has an experience with a specific club. You join a club and pay a monthly membership fee, the club has a fleet of boats they loan out to members. Then you don't have to worry about maintaining it, storage fees etc.

ZIGZAG · 03-08-2010, 11:55 AM

Charter? I went on a headboat out of Carolina Beach years ago, I waited and thanked the captain after the trip, the thanks wasn't for the trip, it was for making up my mind the next time out I would be on my own boat and it has been for 25 years, partnerships can work both ways but no 2 people can wear one boat out just from normal use.

robbiedon · 03-10-2010, 01:18 PM

I have heard on the radio of some companies doing this but I haven't heard of the doing it at the beach. If I was going to do it I would have someone draw up a contract like a time share. I would have the boat at a marina that would clean it, fill it with gas, and dry stack it when it came out of the water and perform all the service on it. If you are going to do fracional shares then all that should be figured in the price. I don't think it sounds like a bad idea if it is handled correctly and everything is spelled out in the contract.

Ft Myers Ken · 03-10-2010, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbiedon

I have heard on the radio of some companies doing this but I haven't heard of the doing it at the beach. If I was going to do it I would have someone draw up a contract like a time share. I would have the boat at a marina that would clean it, fill it with gas, and dry stack it when it came out of the water and perform all the service on it. If you are going to do fracional shares then all that should be figured in the price. I don't think it sounds like a bad idea if it is handled correctly and everything is spelled out in the contract.

Thats what we do. Only 3 of us involved though (well, 2 of us and we are looking for the third now).