Things to look for in a share boat

[davem399]

8 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Funny, lots of share boats I see have a big notice in the window advertising shares for sale

Our boat has had a share up for sale for several months now.  In previous years, shares have been bought up in a matter of days or weeks.  I wonder if it’s the case that now folk are able to holiday abroad, holiday boating is cooling off somewhat?  I was on board a couple of weeks ago and the hire base where we stay had quite a few boats still at the base.  Back in June, all of their boats were out.

 

I think it sometimes depends on how many weeks are left in the year for a share to sell quickly, or not.

[haggis]

12 hours ago, Annie cariad said:

Yet to meet anyone on a share boat that was not either trying to pretend it was not a share boat or worse were snobby about own boat ownership v hirers ...we it's only one step up.

We obviously never met as I often told other boaters that it was a shared boat. Not all our fellow sharers were so inclined and I remember arguing with another boater that we hadn't just bought xxx s boat. The other boater had been in the company of the other owner the week before and had been told that it was their boat. Which I suppose in a way it was. 

[Alan de Enfield]

 

All very good advice if you are starting up a new share boat - but it looks to me as if this is looking to buy a share in an existing boat so you will be pretty much 'stuck' with whatever / whichever way they operate.

 

All good questions to ask tho' so your friends can make an informed decision as to if THAT syndicate meets their needs and expectations.

[ditchcrawler]

Ask if people other than the share holders can use the boat. ie. family, friends etc.

[PeterScott]

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Ask if people other than the share holders can use the boat. ie. family, friends etc.

Yes good question. Clearly Ok to have friends/family on a collective trip. It's the question when the unmissable-work/dodgy-knee/demised-aunty event intervenes. ...

 

Your elderly cat has just been expensively sorted-out and the vet-practice nurse has always wanted to try a canal boat. And is free for the week next Friday and (dear fellow-owners) it will surely  be OK to let them use the boat ...

 

Our experience advises against, even if nobody noticed that big dent in the water tank until it leaks next year... 

[ditchcrawler]

@Telstar17 how did it go?

[Telstar17]

On 29/10/2022 at 18:09, ditchcrawler said:

@Telstar17 how did it go?

 It went well thank you for asking - the boat seems is good condition for being 13 years old. unfortunately, their contact from BCBM was unable to make it due to another boat breakdown but we were shown around by another member of staff from the hire boat base that ABC operate at Anderton marina. she was unable to answer the questions they had but they managed to get answers via email from BCBM who have been really good from what I have seen. while they were having a wander i managed to have a look at the handover and issue log which seemed reasonable - the boat maintenance checklist was always filled out and with only minimal issues this year which is reassuring. they have decided to press on with the buying process and may be attending the AGM which is due very shortly!

 

would like to thank everyone for their help and a lot of the discussion here was passed on to my friends who have duly asked BCBM or are ready to ask the owners at the first meeting.

 

would recommend BCBM so far based on my limited experience, but we will really see when they get out on the canal more in Phoenix!

and just to add we had lunch in a pub near Anderton called 'the spinner and bergamot' which was fantastic!

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Telstar17 said:

   they have decided to press on with the buying process and may be attending the AGM which is due very shortly!

 

At least they will find out what the rest are like.

[Machpoint005]

On 29/10/2022 at 11:54, haggis said:

We obviously never met as I often told other boaters that it was a shared boat. Not all our fellow sharers were so inclined and I remember arguing with another boater that we hadn't just bought xxx s boat. The other boater had been in the company of the other owner the week before and had been told that it was their boat. Which I suppose in a way it was. 

 

Gongoozler: "Is this your boat?"

 

Share owner: "Yes, just under five feet of it". 

 

 

 

 

[andrewcooley]

On 28/10/2022 at 23:33, Annie cariad said:

Yet to meet anyone on a share boat that was not either trying to pretend it was not a share boat or worse were snobby about own boat ownership v hirers ...we it's only one step up.

Most share owners are very happy to explain about the way their scheme works and there about 2,500 families who go boating this way, getting 3-4 weeks a year boating for about the same cost as a single weeks high season hire.  We don't sell shares (or anything else), but our site, boatshare4u.co.uk, currently lists around 75 shares on offer from management companies and owners in self-managed syndicates.  This is up a bit from last year, but still well below pre-covid levels, when there were generally between 100 and 120 shares on offer.

 

Our site also has an FAQ section on shared ownership, which is a good place to start for anyone considering shared ownership.

[ChrisRichmond94]

Very useful thread!

[granary_bread]

Apologies for reviving an old thread; I find it better that creating a new thread that follows a similar question.

 

I currently hire a boat once a year, but will be looking to increase that in the next five or so years.

 

(I actually have an opportunity to take on a 72ft Colecraft trad with lister JP2M engine, but that's way too much for me in many respects!)

 

Reading through this thread, it seems that private syndicates are the way to go, IF you strike lucky with a good bunch of shareholders. 

On this basis, do syndicates tend to keep minutes of their AGMs? My thinking is that by seeing previous minutes, I could sniff out any trivialities that end up taking centre stage, serving as a warning of what may come. 

 

Also, what is the policy about letting family members etc use the boat? If I'm going to own something, I'd prefer it not to be 'let' to people who effectively have no accountability. 

When the boat is handed from one owner to the other, in the way hire car companies do, do shareholders tend to do a visual inspection and note down any defects etc they find, reporting them before the weeks cruising begins? 

[ditchcrawler]

4 minutes ago, granary_bread said:

Apologies for reviving an old thread; I find it better that creating a new thread that follows a similar question.

 

I currently hire a boat once a year, but will be looking to increase that in the next five or so years.

 

(I actually have an opportunity to take on a 72ft Colecraft trad with lister JP2M engine, but that's way too much for me in many respects!)

 

Reading through this thread, it seems that private syndicates are the way to go, IF you strike lucky with a good bunch of shareholders. 

On this basis, do syndicates tend to keep minutes of their AGMs? My thinking is that by seeing previous minutes, I could sniff out any trivialities that end up taking centre stage, serving as a warning of what may come. 

 

Also, what is the policy about letting family members etc use the boat? If I'm going to own something, I'd prefer it not to be 'let' to people who effectively have no accountability. 

When the boat is handed from one owner to the other, in the way hire car companies do, do shareholders tend to do a visual inspection and note down any defects etc they find, reporting them before the weeks cruising begins? 

Most private syndicates have their own rules about who can use the boat, I was in one where one member wanted to rent out a couple of weeks of his share and remember it wont be your boat that their family are using, it will be all the owners boat. Like was checking for damage who are you going to tell, they haven't hired it from a company, they are part owners of it. I would suggest that most sydicates keep minutes of their AGMs but I doubt you could get hold of them. Once its shared ownership, its not all yours.

 

[haggis]

1 minute ago, granary_bread said:

Apologies for reviving an old thread; I find it better that creating a new thread that follows a similar question.

 

I currently hire a boat once a year, but will be looking to increase that in the next five or so years.

 

(I actually have an opportunity to take on a 72ft Colecraft trad with lister JP2M engine, but that's way too much for me in many respects!)

 

Reading through this thread, it seems that private syndicates are the way to go, IF you strike lucky with a good bunch of shareholders. 

On this basis, do syndicates tend to keep minutes of their AGMs? My thinking is that by seeing previous minutes, I could sniff out any trivialities that end up taking centre stage, serving as a warning of what may come. 

Some may and some may not. When we shared a boat, the "minutes" tended to be a list of what was to be done and who would do it. 

1 minute ago, granary_bread said:

 

Also, what is the policy about letting family members etc use the boat? If I'm going to own something, I'd prefer it not to be 'let' to people who effectively have no accountability. 

Again this depends on the agreement for that particular boat. We started out with no restricyions but instroduced some after gear box problems after an owners family had used the boat. 

When the boat is handed from one owner to the other, in the way hire car companies do, do shareholders tend to do a visual inspection and note down any defects etc they find, reporting them before the weeks cruising begins? 

We had end of holiday report forms on which was noted any problems and what had been done about them . Depending on the problem, the yard where the boat was moored may have been instructed to fix the problem. For this to happen, of course, the boat had to be moored at a yard where they were geared up to doing repairs on turn round days. For example, if they had their own hire fleet. 

We started off with OwnerShips then left them and did our own management.  but that involved having owners happy to take on taks like secretary, treasurer and maintenance person. 

[granary_bread]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Most private syndicates have their own rules about who can use the boat, I was in one where one member wanted to rent out a couple of weeks of his share and remember it wont be your boat that their family are using, it will be all the owners boat. Like was checking for damage who are you going to tell, they haven't hired it from a company, they are part owners of it. I would suggest that most sydicates keep minutes of their AGMs but I doubt you could get hold of them. Once its shared ownership, its not all yours.

 

Cheers. My words were probably not the best; I completely understand I will co-own the boat. But the feeling stands in that I'd only want co-owners taking the boat out.

[Alan de Enfield]

41 minutes ago, granary_bread said:

Cheers. My words were probably not the best; I completely understand I will co-own the boat. But the feeling stands in that I'd only want co-owners taking the boat out.

 

 

You are a minority owner - if the rest of the syndicate say 'its ok' then you can do nothing.

If the majority of the syndicate vote to have the boat based in Glasgow for the next year and you want it in the South because you live in London - tough.

 

If you want to control things then you either buy at least 33 / 64 ths of the boat or give up on the idea.

 

You may be better saving your money and either saving upto buy your own boat or just spend it on hiring a boat each year.

[granary_bread]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

You are a minority owner - if the rest of the syndicate say 'its ok' then you can do nothing.

If the majority of the syndicate vote to have the boat based in Glasgow for the next year and you want it in the South because you live in London - tough.

 

If you want to control things then you either buy at least 33 / 64 ths of the boat or give up on the idea.

 

You may be better saving your money and either saving upto buy your own boat or just spend it on hiring a boat each year.

 

At no point have I stated I want to "control things". I entirely understand that decisions would be made via a democratic process, whatever that may look like.

 

I would imagine that if the syndicate are largely based say the south side of the Midlands, then they wouldn't move the boat to Scotland. That said, I'd be open to most locations as it gives opportunities to explore the wider network. 

I'd also imagine that before committing, it would be quite apparent as to what the other syndicate members' feelings are with regards to non-members being able to take the boat out by themselves. 

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, granary_bread said:

At no point have I stated I want to "control things".

 

 

Aplogies I must have misunderstood your previous posts

 

 

1 hour ago, granary_bread said:

If I'm going to own something, I'd prefer it not to be 'let' to people who effectively have no accountability. 

 

 

And

 

1 hour ago, granary_bread said:

I'd only want co-owners taking the boat out.

 

[haggis]

13 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

You are a minority owner - if the rest of the syndicate say 'its ok' then you can do nothing.

If the majority of the syndicate vote to have the boat based in Glasgow for the next year and you want it in the South because you live in London - tough.

 

If you want to control things then you either buy at least 33 / 64 ths of the boat or give up on the idea.

 

You may be better saving your money and either saving upto buy your own boat or just spend it on hiring a boat each year.

What a sad post from someone who has never owned up to sharing a boat. 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

33 minutes ago, haggis said:

What a sad post from someone who has never owned up to sharing a boat. 

 

 

We had a share boat - but not for long.

Check the boat is left full of fuel, toilet emptied etc - it never was.

Ok - maintenance weekend - who turns up ? Me

Payments due - sorry we'll be a bit late this month.

The individuals can promise anything and be so enthusiastic until it comes down to actual work or paying

 

We obviously were hoodwinked (young and naive)

I'd never tell someone not to consider a syndicated boat, but if you tell them of some of the 'real life' problems they can at least be aware.

 

I'd suggest that its far better than saying "don't worry, everything is rosy in the share boat garden, you'll get what you want"

[churchward]

2 hours ago, granary_bread said:

Apologies for reviving an old thread; I find it better that creating a new thread that follows a similar question.

 

I currently hire a boat once a year, but will be looking to increase that in the next five or so years.

 

(I actually have an opportunity to take on a 72ft Colecraft trad with lister JP2M engine, but that's way too much for me in many respects!)

 

Reading through this thread, it seems that private syndicates are the way to go, IF you strike lucky with a good bunch of shareholders. 

On this basis, do syndicates tend to keep minutes of their AGMs? My thinking is that by seeing previous minutes, I could sniff out any trivialities that end up taking centre stage, serving as a warning of what may come. 

 

Also, what is the policy about letting family members etc use the boat? If I'm going to own something, I'd prefer it not to be 'let' to people who effectively have no accountability. 

When the boat is handed from one owner to the other, in the way hire car companies do, do shareholders tend to do a visual inspection and note down any defects etc they find, reporting them before the weeks cruising begins? 

Having a share boat can be very effective as a way to get more weeks per year at a better price.  The most important thing about a syndicate are the people in it.  You do not have to be best pals but it helps to be in tune with what you want from the boat and go about it.

 

We had a share for a few years when I still worked and it was a very good way to get on the cut for 4-5 weeks a year.  We sold the share when it came time to buy our own boat (for close to what we bought it for) and the cost over time was a real bargain compared to hiring through the same period.

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to anything but as long as you can be flexible and go with the flow it will work out fine.  

 

As I recall the syndicate rules for our share boat was that the shareholder had to be on the boat but of course, you could take friends and family with you. It will be worth checking what the specific rules are for any share boat you are considering joining. Also worth checking what the process is for booking your weeks each year and how vacant/canceled weeks are dealt with.

Edited July 9, 2023 by churchward

[granary_bread]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Aplogies I must have misunderstood your previous posts

 

 

 

 

And

 

 

You do realise you can want something that has certain parameters without wanting to control it?

 

"I want to eat at a restaurant that only has green tables" doesn't mean I want to buy the restaurant and only have green tables in it. I'd just go to a restaurant that only has green tables. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by granary_bread

[haggis]

36 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

We had a share boat - but not for long.

Check the boat is left full of fuel, toilet emptied etc - it never was.

Ok - maintenance weekend - who turns up ? Me

Payments due - sorry we'll be a bit late this month.

The individuals can promise anything and be so enthusiastic until it comes down to actual work or paying

 

We obviously were hoodwinked (young and naive)

I'd never tell someone not to consider a syndicated boat, but if you tell them of some of the 'real life' problems they can at least be aware.

 

I'd suggest that its far better than saying "don't worry, everything is rosy in the share boat garden, you'll get what you want"

I can understand a bit why you responded as you did as you seem to have had a pretty rough deal. In recent years when most shared boats are managed by a company I think  things like this  are not allowed to happen . The share agreement is all important. 

[granary_bread]

19 minutes ago, churchward said:

Having a share boat can be very effective as a way to get more weeks per year at a better price.  The most important thing about a syndicate are the people in it.  You do not have to be best pals but it helps to be in tune with what you want from the boat and go about it.

 

We had a share for a few years when I still worked and it was a very good way to get on the cut for 4-5 weeks a year.  We sold the share when it came time to buy our own boat (for close to what we bought it for) and the cost over time was a real bargain compared to hiring through the same period.

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to anything but as long as you can be flexible and go with the flow it will work out fine.  

 

As I recall the syndicate rules for our share boat was that the shareholder had to be on the boat but of course, you could take friends and family with you. It will be worth checking what the specific rules are for any share boat you are considering joining. Also worth checking what the process is for booking your weeks each year and how vacant/canceled weeks are dealt with.

Thank you Some great advice there 

 

Can I ask why you sold your share? 

[churchward]

3 minutes ago, granary_bread said:

Thank you Some great advice there 

 

Can I ask why you sold your share? 

It was just that with retirement imminent we had the time and fortunately the money to buy our own (used) boat and 15 years later we are still going strong.