narrowboat share

[Timx]

Hi,I but a boat share for a couple of k, and use it for three yrs b4 I buy my own when I retire, I pay about 50 pound a month maintenance, after the 3 yrs I sell my share, and maybe even lose half of cash.As i spend about 2 to 3 k a year at the moment hiring, its a fantastic idea, isnt it ?....any thoughts,?? from those that have done it..

[Boatingbiker]

In my view, if you buy a share at the bottom end of the market for £2ooo, which will buy you into an older boat then maintaintance/licence fees etc will cost you more than £50/ month. Also at that end of the market after 3 years you may get more than 50% back on your purchase costs.

 

Suggest you go and have a long chat with one of the management company's and have a look over boats in your price range.

 

We had a share for over 12 years and throughly enjoyed it. It was cheaper than hiring, with more holiday's per year and certainly far cheaper than owning your own boat outright and is a natural step between hiring and owning your own.

 

You must be prepared to join in the sharing element especially location, week selections and 11 other people who at times can seem to be pulling in different directions

[adam1uk]

We had a shared boat for about four years before buying our own. It is a great idea compared with hiring -- more holiday for less money, plus you get to know the boat and have a real sense of ownership. Down sides are that you can't just use the boat when you want, and you are sharing, which means dealing with other people.

 

If you're buying a share for just a couple of thousand, it'll be one of the older boats so try to find out what work has been done in the past few years, and what work might be required in the near future. Find out how really big expenses will be paid for: some syndicates start building up an engine fund, for example, so the maoney is there if the boat needs a new engine; others would just expect the current syndicate members to pay at the time.

 

As well as looking at the management companies (ABC, BCBM, Ownashare etc), consider private syndicates. The running costs are likely to be less because there'll be no management fee, but you might need to get more involved because the money, maintenance etc needs to be managed. When OwnerShips collapsed, our syndicate went private, and saved a lot of money. Many of the owners also quite liked the greater involvement of running the boat -- although some people just want to turn up and go, so it's not for everyone.

 

All in all, it's a great stepping stone between hiring and owning.

[mrsmelly]

Hi,I but a boat share for a couple of k, and use it for three yrs b4 I buy my own when I retire, I pay about 50 pound a month maintenance, after the 3 yrs I sell my share, and maybe even lose half of cash.As i spend about 2 to 3 k a year at the moment hiring, its a fantastic idea, isnt it ?....any thoughts,?? from those that have done it..

 

A friend of mine has a share in a privately run 65 footer. Its a fairly old but well maintained boat. He paid 2k for his share and gets two weeks useage per year. He pays 300 pounds a year for maintainance etc and has been pleased for several years now. Their syndicate is lukier than others in that they have a very secure FREE mooring which helps with cost I suppose.

 

Tim

[WJM]

Surely it is nothing more than renting - but for possible small money saving you surrender all of your choice and flexibility?

[alan_fincher]

Surely it is nothing more than renting.....

I don't understand that comment ......

 

You buy a 10th, (or a 12th, or whatever) of something for a set sum and get a 10th, (or a 12th or whatever), of the use of it, for as long as you own that share.

 

If you want out, you can sell on your share at current value to someone else.

 

The arrangement is not for everybody, but we have good friends who have been share boaters for very many years, (they had a share in the very first Challenger boat, and still do - having survived the "Rimmer" experience), and it suits what they want to do very well.

 

No other way could you get (say) 4 weeks boating a year in a good quality boat, (theirs is 70 foot, back cabin and "trad" engine), at the kind of money it costs our friends. If you can live with the arrangements for the weeks you get, and where the boat is based, (which changes by negotiation between all owners), it is hard for me to see how people who couldn't commit to their own boat could do any better.

[WJM]

If I was prepared to take my holidays on dates dictated to me then I would want the flexibility to go wherever I wanted to go - one year boating, another year climbing a mountain! And if I am going to 'own' a boat then I want it sitting there waiting for me whenever I want it.

 

So I guess it is a lifestyle thing!

[alan_fincher]

If I was prepared to take my holidays on dates dictated to me then I would want the flexibility to go wherever I wanted to go - one year boating, another year climbing a mountain! And if I am going to 'own' a boat then I want it sitting there waiting for me whenever I want it.

 

So I guess it is a lifestyle thing!

It's also that what you have will cost you anything up to 10 times as much per year, and you are presumably affluent enough and will make enough use of your pride and joy to be prepared to pump that much money into it.

 

Many people who love boating simple cannot justify (and often afford!) the massive costs associated with both buying, and running a boat, and this arrangement works for them, whereas outright ownership would either be impossible, or simply not sensible.

 

Once a share boat is getting a bit long in the tooth, (but is still well maintained), you can get 4 weeks boating holiday a year, (every year), for a tiny fraction of the cost of hiring. Plus, because the boat is part your own, people tend to show a high sense of pride in them, and collectively keep them very well presented.

 

It wouldn't be for me, but I understand very well why it is for others.

[fee666]

Hi, I had a share in a shared ownership boat for about 4 years and it worked really well. it meant i could spend more time on the cut without spending lots of money!

the average cost per year for me was between £1,000 and £1,500 which for 4 weeks a year boating is good value for money as you can spend that on just one week sometimes.

After our 4 years we decided to buy our own boat as we had a bit more time available to spend on the boat and wanted to be able to use when we wanted like weekends etc.

 

I think its a great way to get more time boating but you wont always be able to go when you want!

 

Oh and i brought my share for £3,000 and sold it 4 years later for £2,500

 

hope that helps

[WJM]

10 times is an exaggeration - but like I said, it is a lifestyle thing - I would rather have one week on my own terms than four weeks dictated to me. It is a choice.

 

And that is ignoring the 'Shed Factor' - every man needs a shed, and he is not going to want to share his shed!

 

I was just expressing an alternative view.

Edited July 19, 2012 by WJM

[churchward]

Surely it is nothing more than renting - but for possible small money saving you surrender all of your choice and flexibility?

No it's not the same as renting. The syndicate own the boat rental or a timeshare you don't own any of the assets. When you buy a share in a boat you can sell your share when you want out and get at least some of your money back.

 

We had a share in a boat before we bought our own. we found it a very economic way to get 4+ weeks canal holidays and in the end sold our share at a price very close to what we paid for it 3 years earlier. So the eventual cost was pretty much just the maintenance and management fees which averaged out to about £1000 per year. Given we had a minimum of 4 weeks each year that represented a good reduction on just renting.

 

There of course are compromises to be made. You can't just decide I fancy going out to the boat this weekend or changing which week you go on the boat for a week or two on a whim or last minute. There are all the other owners to consider and agree maintenance spend and other things with. It is not always easy to come to an overall agreement.

 

If I was prepared to take my holidays on dates dictated to me then I would want the flexibility to go wherever I wanted to go - one year boating, another year climbing a mountain! And if I am going to 'own' a boat then I want it sitting there waiting for me whenever I want it.

 

So I guess it is a lifestyle thing!

It does come down to choice and whether you can make the necessary compromises that come with share ownership.

 

However it isn't just choice for some it will be a matter of being able to afford to have a boat sitting idly by for the majority of the time.

 

I thinka as Alan says futher up share ownership isn't for everyone but it can be a very good and satisfying choice for some people.

 

I wouldn't want to go back to it having now bought a boat of my own but I can say I enjoyed it at the time, it served a purpose and it made a lot of economic sense.

Edited July 19, 2012 by churchward

[adam1uk]

I would rather have one week on my own terms than four weeks dictated to me.

 

Your choice of the word 'dictated' shows that you don't have any experience of shared ownership. No-one 'dictates' when you have the boat -- there's an agreement between the owners about who get what weeks. Different sysndicates have different ways of doing this, and there's often a way of people who need to have school holidays being guaranteed them. Our syndicate used the Ownerships system, where there's a rota which changes each year, so sometimes you get the whole year to choose from, and sometimes a lot less. However, I'm not aware of any syndicate which 'dictates' which weeks people have, or where they go in them.

[WJM]

These things are relative - being told in January that I must take my holidays in August simply does not work for me, such is the nature of my work. To me that would be a dictation. So for people with very unstructured working lives a timeshare would be a problem; a point worth considering for the OP.

[churchward]

These things are relative - being told in January that I must take my holidays in August simply does not work for me, such is the nature of my work. To me that would be a dictation. So for people with very unstructured working lives a timeshare would be a problem; a point worth considering for the OP.

Your choice of language and the use of "dictate" doesn't quite sit right but I catch your drift re having a work situation/lifestyle that does not allow a prediction of when to take holidays far in advance and fix those dates is a difficulty when in a owners syndicate.

 

Depending on the syndicates method of booking it is entirely possible to have a lot of choice about when you book and take your weeks on the boat. It is possible to swap weeks among willing owners too but of course that becomes difficult the shorter notice able to be given.

Edited July 20, 2012 by churchward

[Timx]

Good replies thanks, I was curious to know any horror stories, but everything seems to be positive if it suits your needs,I take on what you say, but as op I only want it for three yrs, I can usually get holidays I want,and seems a cheaper option then spending 2 or 3 k a year hiring, particularly if its a cc rather than going back to original boat yard each time to start.Suppose i could buy in then the boat goes tits up and i lose out, but with all things you take a bit of a chance,but i am only looking at bottom of market,one im looking at is over twenyt yrs old but has had a new engine fitted in last five.There seems to be a few on the market, if anyone knows a good site, i would be interested to have a look there, will be a month or so till i decide.Also private syndicates appear to be better than managed, any thoughts on that would be interesting to know from the experienced out there....

[churchward]

Good replies thanks, I was curious to know any horror stories, but everything seems to be positive if it suits your needs,I take on what you say, but as op I only want it for three yrs, I can usually get holidays I want,and seems a cheaper option then spending 2 or 3 k a year hiring, particularly if its a cc rather than going back to original boat yard each time to start.Suppose i could buy in then the boat goes tits up and i lose out, but with all things you take a bit of a chance,but i am only looking at bottom of market,one im looking at is over twenyt yrs old but has had a new engine fitted in last five.There seems to be a few on the market, if anyone knows a good site, i would be interested to have a look there, will be a month or so till i decide.Also private syndicates appear to be better than managed, any thoughts on that would be interesting to know from the experienced out there....

Here are a few to have a look at

 

http://www.boatshare.co.uk/

 

http://www.bcbm.co.uk/shares/

 

http://www.abcboatshare.com/

 

http://www.ownasharecruising.co.uk/

[warwickshireman]

I would strongly suggest that before buying in you go to an owners meeting to get to know the other people you'll be dealing with. Particularly so if it's an independent syndicate.

 

Friends of mine own their own boat, moored at the end of their garden, but almost never use it simply because it's always there. If something comes up at short notice or the weather is dodgy they cancel their plans to go cruising. They do this year after year! If your dates are fixed well ahead chances are you will actually get out on the water even if does rain.

[Paul C]

Boat share management companies regularly do shows - its worth going to one of them. You get to see many boats in one place at the same time, and chat with lots of owners (shareholders) too. They will often 'let slip' info that you'd not receive from the management firm.

[Timx]

Here are a few to have a look at

 

http://www.boatshare.co.uk/

 

http://www.bcbm.co.uk/shares/

 

http://www.abcboatshare.com/

 

http://www.ownasharecruising.co.uk/

Thank you

[ditchcrawler]

We were in a shared ownership scheme for 8 years, half the time managed and half self managed. The cost saving when self managed was fantastic for a small amount of work. I worked offshore at the time and was able to take all my holidays fitting in. With my shift Rojas, it depends on the other owners and system used to allocate weeks.

[Mrs Trackman]

For us, a share in an older private boat was one of the best things we have ever done. We found out such a lot about boats, boat maintenance, (not me but I can talk the talk sometimes), it didn't cost us a lot, we had only been able to hire rarely before as it is so expensive and we gained new friends.

We only came out of the share after my husband was made redundant and we realised we had much more time to boat. We were originally a small group with 5 shares. Everyone has to want it to work and be prepared to put time in. Allocation was flexible. It's a great way to get to see more of the system.

[Richard T]

We are in the same share that the Trackmans were. Its still going strong, this is the 10th season for it. We bought an old boat - built in 1986 - which was in need of quite a lot of work. Fortunately several of us are handy with the tool kit and over several winters the boat was upgraded. It will never be a gin palace but it usually does what it was built for. We do most of our own maintanance relying on boatyards or the more complex bits - like servicing the injectors. We have an agreement which all owners sign and new members are given the chance to meet the rest of us before comitting to buying a share. To be fair as shares have been bought and sold the new members have all been known. We have an AGM at which the time allocation is agreed - but this is flexible so there are few disputes. We also agree the cruising area(s) for the year - the boat often leaves its home moorings at Easter and doesn't return until the end of October. Cost wise we get upto 10weeks boating for the cost of two weeks hire.

[matty40s]

I see the share boats more than I see the hirers in my journeys. The hire boats tend to stick to rings or out-and-back again cruises whereas the share boats tend to have a flexible itinery which may start in late Feb and end in late nov....or continue all year round.

Having a flexible group of people who talk and agree on a cruising plan can let you see parts of the system you wouldn't see from a single location as a boat owner. It also allows for stoppages occuring (lock X has collapsed, we are now going to do the X and Y navigations).

I am amazed at how many boats sit in marinas for 48+ weeks a year and don't move, and when they do they see the same route they saw last time.