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SeaHelp guide: “Everything about boats”: Joint ownership of a boat

Community of owners/holders: sailing yacht
© Miroslav Svetec

Sharing a boat, costs and enjoyment: owner’s association or joint ownership?

The dream of owning a boat is a big one for many of us. However, this wish often fails due to financial constraints or simply because there is not enough time to use your boat or yacht extensively. The disparity between being the proud owner of a boat and actually using it is often dramatically poor in reality.

Fact is: During a water sports season, a boat is usually only used for 20 to a maximum of 35 percent of the available time. The boat is there, but is not moved, which is bad for the engine, the technical equipment and the underwater hull with its uninvited adhesions, but also causes the owner at least discomfort at home.

These facts – exceptions prove the rule – do in principle speak against having your own boat, unless you charter a boat or share the joy of a boat with like-minded people. In this case, setting up a boat-owning or co-ownership community can be a good idea; at least it is worth considering and, in the ideal case, a practical alternative to buying or chartering a boat.

A joy shared is a joy doubled

In order to be able to share the costs of a boat and, not least, the joy of water sports with friends or extended family/acquaintances, clear agreements are needed. If a boat/yacht is to be used jointly for years, there are important points to be worked through that are essentially the same as those that need to be clarified when a “normal” boat is purchased: The type of boat, purchase price, financing if applicable, operating costs, use, maintenance and the preferred area are to be found before the joint decision is binding on all parties involved in a binding contract.

 

Community of owners/holders: motor yacht
© SeaHelp

 

Choice of area

In which country or area should the floating project be at home? The Mediterranean Sea and the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas offer different areas. From demanding, with corresponding nautical/seafaring challenges, to more sheltered areas with many bays/islands for a cozy vacation on a “floating vacation home” with generally moderate winds. This leads us directly to the next question.

Boat type

In addition to the general decision for a motorboat or sailing boat, sports or fishing boat, etc., the ideal boat size and the preferences of all participants must also be taken into account as far as possible; should day trips or extended trips be taken, the tendency is towards a cozy space miracle or a spartan racing goat, etc. Well, in addition to all these fundamental questions, there is also the emotional element.

No room for emotions

You develop a more or less close relationship with your own boat, but that doesn’t work with a shared boat. The individual demands and views on how to handle it can be too different: when is a boat clean, when are lines expertly shot and properly stowed? Even the deep scratch in the gelcoat on the port side wasn’t there four weeks ago, and why hasn’t the first-aid kit been refilled, etc.? Even “small” issues that may seem rather unimportant to some people, but are of great importance in terms of good seamanship for others, can become a real challenge/test and even a “no go” for a group of long-standing friends who have already weathered many a stormy crossing as a crew.

We are all only human with our idiosyncrasies and ideas, but none of us is perfect. Certain idiosyncrasies or personal preferences may not be particularly important on a charter trip and are tolerated as a bearable quirk during a relaxed week among friends, as long as no compromises have to be made in seamanship. Of course, it is a completely different matter if a boat/yacht is to be used together for years. Of course, it only works if the owners/partners know each other and also understand each other when problems arise during the use of the floating project, so that it does not quickly develop from a dream to a nightmare!

Questions upon questions

But before that happens, questions must be clarified among the interested parties in any case.

Participation: How many people (and in what proportions) have a share in the boat.

Financial framework: What is the size of the available common budget for the purchase of a boat and for running costs such as berth, insurance, and maintenance. Or should the boat be financed?

Contract: Once all the points have been clarified, a written legally valid contract be the basis for the ownership, operation and also the proportional use of the floating hobby. It also states how to proceed if a shareholder wants to withdraw or the community is to be dissolved.

Owners’ association or joint ownership?

The choice between the two options depends heavily on individual needs. If all members want to be equal owners of the boat, an owners’ association is preferable. Each co-owner can then freely dispose of their boat share, for example, they can also borrow or sell it.

If the aim is not to own part of the boat, but only to use it in a defined way, a boat management company could make sense, and you would not hold any shares in the floating object yourself. Regardless of whether you are considering a private boat community or not, professional partnerships for luxury yachts with captain and complete crew are also offered for attractive areas, where proportional weeks in the pre-, main and low season can be “bought” or shares in the company can be offered, but that is a different story in a different league.

Sharing a boat with friends

SeaHelp concludes: Using a boat in a community is a wonderful way to enjoy boating with friends and share the costs. If you have your own ideas about boats, areas, time, and fun, you should think about them in your own time and in your own environment. However, without legal advice and professional support up to the point of signing the contract, the realistic dream of a shared boat can be doomed to failure even before the first trial. Although the phrase “A problem shared is a problem halved” applies, the goal of a boat or yacht community must always be to increase enjoyment and quality of life, true to the motto “A joy shared is a joy doubled”.

SeaHelp guide topic “Everything about boats”:

Charter or Buy a Boat
Charter Purchase

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