Boat share..??

[STIG]

For me it is the lack of spontaneity that does it for me too - for various reasons this year we've had to chop and change when we took leave and which weekends we could or could not go to the boat often at short notice - this wouldn't work if 'my' slot didn't tie in with when both of us where able to take time off work...

 

but it suits some and that's fine too...

 

That is clearly the next step for a boatsharer , to buy their own boat, either because their lives have changed to the extent they have more relax time or that they merely want more time onboard. Sometimes odd weeks or half weeks are available to the syndicate if a member chooses not to use their allocation. Its still cheaper than lashing out 50/60k. If you look on the boats2share website, most owners that are selling their share are doing so because they are buying own boat. Quite frankly I can`t wait and am actively seeking

[David Mack]

If you wish to use a boat every weekend, at short notice or do something with it that co-owners might object to, then a shared ownership boat is not for you.

 

Not necessarily. Although most shared ownership boats seem to work like timeshares where you have your alloted weeks, it is perfectly possible to have a shared ownership scheme where you actually go boating with some of your co-owners!

 

David

[carlt]

it is perfectly possible to have a shared ownership scheme where you actually go boating with some of your co-owners!

That sounds like the worst form of hell, for me.

 

I would never go on holiday with anyone, other than swmbo and the kids.

 

I don't even like spending the night at my parents' house, never mind share a boat with strangers.

[Dawnie]

If you wish to use a boat every weekend, at short notice or do something with it that co-owners might object to, then a shared ownership boat is not for you.

 

I would rather go camping in my caravan or tent, than stay in a hotel, somebody else's holiday home or B&B. The same goes for my boating holidays.

 

If I wanted to return to canal holidaying then I would buy a small, 4 berth cruiser, which would cost less than a timeshare boat, to keep and run, yet fulfil all my needs, for family holidays, and also giving the added freedom of taking weekends away, whenever I felt like it, too.

We left sharing, which worked for us at the time but I could see the way the wind was blowing and got out and did exactly what Carl says he would do here

 

That sounds like the worst form of hell, for me.

 

I would never go on holiday with anyone, other than swmbo and the kids.

 

I don't even like spending the night at my parents' house, never mind share a boat with strangers.

Remembering the people we shared with I can only agree with this too!!!

[Bigmac]

This subject has no right or wrong answer. It all comes down to peoples preferences and circumstances. We first hired in 2005 knowing very little about the subject and were lucky enough to have a wonderful week on the Staffs & Worcs which got us absolutely hooked. Had the weather been poor, who knows where we would be now. We followed that up with hiring in 2006 and 2007 and then ventured into 'shared ownership' and ultimately owned a three week share in two different boats which enabled us to have a minimum of 6 weeks holiday a year. For us shared ownership was always going to be a stepping stone to outright ownership. We both still work full time and so have a limited amount of time to cruise. The 3 years we had of sharing were generally a good experience (until the demise of Ownerships, although we were lucky and lost very little compared to other owners). We were fortunate enough to be involved with two groups of owners who communicated well and we certainly made some long lasting friendships along the way. The costs of shared ownership for our weeks last year compared to hiring worked out at well under 50% of what it would have cost to hire, so obviously it made financial sense to us.

We have now taken the big step and agreed the purchase of our own boat and have been lucky enough to sell both our shares in very quick time. The costs are obviously going to be much higher, but with our mooring only 25 minutes drive from home, we are going to be able to please ourselves when we go out and when we get back, which to us is invaluable. This is our choice and suits us at this time.

I would not turn anyone away from shared ownership if the circumstances suit the individual - that is what really counts.

Edited November 27, 2010 by Bigmac

[STIG]

This subject has no right or wrong answer. It all comes down to peoples preferences and circumstances. We first hired in 2005 knowing very little about the subject and were lucky enough to have a wonderful week on the Staffs & Worcs which got us absolutely hooked. Had the weather been poor, who knows where we would be now. We followed that up with hiring in 2006 and 2007 and then ventured into 'shared ownership' and ultimately owned a three week share in two different boats which enabled us to have a minimum of 6 weeks holiday a year. For us shared ownership was always going to be a stepping stone to outright ownership. We both still work full time and so have a limited amount of time to cruise. The 3 years we had of sharing were generally a good experience (until the demise of Ownerships, although we were lucky and lost very little compared to other owners). We were fortunate enough to be involved with two groups of owners who communicated well and we certainly made some long lasting friendships along the way. The costs of shared ownership for our weeks last year compared to hiring worked out at well under 50% of what it would have cost to hire, so obviously it made financial sense to us.

We have now taken the big step and agreed the purchase of our own boat and have been lucky enough to sell both our shares in very quick time. The costs are obviously going to be much higher, but with our mooring only 25 minutes drive from home, we are going to be able to please ourselves when we go out and when we get back, which to us is invaluable. This is our choice and suits us at this time.

I would not turn anyone away from shared ownership if the circumstances suit the individual - that is what really counts.

Well said

[andrewcooley]

 

I would not turn anyone away from shared ownership if the circumstances suit the individual - that is what really counts.

 

 

What an interesting discussion. There are currently well over 200 shared ownership boats in the UK, mostly with 12 owners in their syndicates - and mostly each owner is a couple or a family. That's around 5,000 folks enjoying their boating through shared ownership. It's certainly not 'time-share'. With shared ownership, the members of the syndicate own the boat completely - they don't buy holiday weeks.

 

I'm lucky enough to own a share in Sundowner with my wife. I'm even more fortunate to be an Area Manager for BC Boat Management, which manages about 50 boats for their syndicates. That enables me to spend days like today checking on the heating on some of the boats to help keep the frost out, something the individual owners wouldn't be able to do on a regular basis, scattered as they are across the UK and from as far afield as the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

 

BCBM doesn't own any part of my boat, and I cruise for three of four weeks a year. If I owned the whole boat, I wouldn't be able to use it for much more than that. At one time we did own two shares and couldn't use the 6 to 8 weeks.

 

There are lots of different ways of allocating the weeks each year. About half of the shared ownership boats in the UK were once in the Ownerships scheme and use a booking system based on a rotating list of owners, so that everyone gets a fair choice of weeks.

 

If the idea of shared ownership interests you, there's a whole lot of information here. And if you want to see for yourself what sort of boats these 5,000 folks actually share, come along to the Annual Boat-Share Show at Braunston on 19th and 20th March. Perhaps I'll see you there.

Edited December 4, 2010 by andrewcooley

[Onemoretug]

Hi I strictly agree its better to save towards your own boat rather than invest in a boat share. Who on earth would want to pay some greedy company over £2,000 a year for 1 boat for a syndicate. The thought of a share boat not being able to keep same stuff to enjoy for next time you come because otherwise it will not be their next time, or knowing that the next share holder does not have quite a lot of boat experience and thrashing the boat, hitting the bankings.

 

I think the best solution for boat share would be for 2 people to go 50/50 and keep it that way splitting all cost each have half a year each or individual months. Surely this is better than a company managing the boats.

[churchward]

Hi I strictly agree its better to save towards your own boat rather than invest in a boat share. Who on earth would want to pay some greedy company over £2,000 a year for 1 boat for a syndicate. The thought of a share boat not being able to keep same stuff to enjoy for next time you come because otherwise it will not be their next time, or knowing that the next share holder does not have quite a lot of boat experience and thrashing the boat, hitting the bankings.

 

I think the best solution for boat share would be for 2 people to go 50/50 and keep it that way splitting all cost each have half a year each or individual months. Surely this is better than a company managing the boats.

Rather strong for your first post? Do you have personal experience of paying that much?

 

In my own experience as I posted above it worked very well for us. We did not pay anywhere near £2000 per year for maintenance and management. In anycase many boat shares are organised privately between the owners.

 

However like many things boat share has its advantages and disadvantages. It inevitably is a compromise. I do not regret having a share in a boat for a while as it was a very good way of taking 4 weeks or more of canal holidays a year for less money than it would have cost hiring. I also do not regret the freedom of now owning my own boat.

[Teadaemon]

Hi I strictly agree its better to save towards your own boat rather than invest in a boat share. Who on earth would want to pay some greedy company over £2,000 a year for 1 boat for a syndicate. The thought of a share boat not being able to keep same stuff to enjoy for next time you come because otherwise it will not be their next time, or knowing that the next share holder does not have quite a lot of boat experience and thrashing the boat, hitting the bankings.

 

I think the best solution for boat share would be for 2 people to go 50/50 and keep it that way splitting all cost each have half a year each or individual months. Surely this is better than a company managing the boats.

 

What makes you think that a boat management company is being 'greedy' by charging for it's services?

 

Managing a shared boat takes somebody's time, and a not insignificant amount of resources. If a group of owners do not wish to do this themselves, then they're going to need to pay somebody to do it for them, and that somebody is only going to do so if it is worth their while. Whilst I don't have any real-world prices for shared ownership boats on the canals, I have recently seen the cost breakdown for a shared-ownership boat on the Broads (a 38 foot GRP motor cruiser) and the total costs for each of the 12 owners came to just over £2,000 per year. These included moorings, tolls, insurance, breakdown cover, maintenance, and a reserve to cover unforeseen costs and improvements to the boat. The amount charged for management was approximately £400 per owner, or a total of £4,800 per boat per year. Not a lot really when you start to look at the costs associated with running a management company (and assume that anyone running such a company does actually want to turn a profit, rather than doing it out of the goodness of their own heart).

[andrewcooley]

 

Who on earth would want to pay some greedy company over £2,000 a year for 1 boat for a syndicate.

 

 

Sorry to let the facts spoil the argument, but BCBM charges just £400 per share per year including VAT. It has a contract with the syndicate for a year, which can be renewed at each syndicate AGM, and that contract involves a service level agreement. All the details and example budgets can be found here or here

 

Of course shared ownership isn't for everyone. But if you want to take at least some of your holiday each year on a boat, then clearly you get more for your money than you do by hiring - and you spend a lot less than you would if you had a comparable boat of your own. BCBM works on the principle that it's your boat, your money and your choice. Nobody takes part unless they want to, and we don't tell anyone what to do - although we're always there to give help and advice when it's needed.

[stort_mark]

Another advantage of owning your own boat is that you get to spend far more money on all the damn things that go wrong (multiply by factor of four is you have a BMC engine) or break.

 

You get the additional feelgood factor from knowing that you are keeping substantial parts of the Midlands in a job and numerous factories open across Asia.

 

 

With boatsharing, of course, you get good-looking women chasing after you though. Swings and roundabouts.