The boats are expensive to keep up.
Most of the boats are either owned by charitable trusts, or syndicated ownership.
The costs though of participation on trust owned boats is incredibly modest. Some labour painting and scaping, plus fixing stuff that breaks, like the heads, as well as about £13 a sailing day, preferably paid by subscription. Because they are locally important heritage classics onboard sponser advertising is frowned upon, but commercial suppliers do find ways of supplying at less then fully commercial terms.
The boats are heritage buff magnets, but the skippers