Melbourne bound Mark

Hello,

I am looking to find up to another 3 people (possibly may be 2 as there is currently somebody already interested at this time) who would like to share the cost of buying and running a boat.

I feel it would give those involved a real boost in their and their families leisure time having access to do something like this but keeping the cost to a minimum.

The initial thought is to put equal amounts of $12,500 (total of $50,000 with the 4 involved) for the boat which will buy a 25 to 30 foot 4 berth cruiser which would act as a great family boat which you could even stay overnight on if a trip up the coast was planned (this sort of thing(http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mustang-2...item2312a1593f .)

The intention would be to have the boat stored at St Kilda marina initially (and then the new Marina that is being built at Wyndham) so that it is just a drive up and cruise off set up rather than having to tow and launch the boat and worry about where the boat would be stored.

Obviously all the running costs for the boat (apart from petrol that you use personally) would be split including sourcing the boat and paying for an inspection which I think would be very prudent.

I think this would be a very cost effective option to own a boat and you would still get reasonable usage time of a minimum of a week or weekend every four weeks – there are many companies that operate this sort of venture but take huge profits from it and often require very large capital input – the beauty of this is that it replicates that with no profit and for minimal outlay but would still result in a big change in your lifestyle.

If anybody needed to opt out for any reason you would just sell your share. The intention would be to draw up a full legal contract between the parties so it would be a safe proposition for all (I already have a copy of a similar agreement that I was sent from somebody who had organized the same thing in Queensland).

Most boats seem to be sat idle for most of the time so this way having a week/ weekend useage every 4 weeks I feel that those involved would get good useage for their outlay.

Any interested parties please get in touch.

Cheers,
Mark.

ozzieeagle

What a great idea .... I really like it. Wrong time for me unfortunately... 100 pct concentrating on our very drawn out renovations.

I would have definitely ran this idea past the wife otherwise though.

I love boating.... Good luck with this.

Melbourne bound Mark

Another option if a group is established and all are agreed is to look at importing a boat from America.

This would result in ownership of a newer boat and if after a year or so one of the parties decided it wasn't for them or their circumstances changed then they could well end up making a profit on selling their share.

As an example -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...item27bce6540c

Plus if/when the American dollar continues to slide this would become an even better proposition.

themerlin

Good Idea, one weekend in 4 sounds ok but I find with the weather it's hard to plan that far ahead. If you have two windy weekends in a row then thats 12 weeks before you get to use it.

You also need to trust the others, someone could damage the boat in a way that is not noticed then all of you are stuck with the bill.

And with the US boats, some are designed for fresh water lakes and don't get on with salt water.

Buzzy--Bee

G'day Mark. You may be already aware, there's an outfit in Docklands who do timeshare on boats -

http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/

Might be worth a look?

BB

roaringmouse

You were looking at this 18 months ago, along with a caravan share - not getting anwhere with yet I'm guessing?

Melbourne bound Mark

Hi,

no just didn't pursue it as I didn't have my permanent residency at that time so thought it would just be another thing to unravel if we ended up not getting it.

Now we have it then I'll push on with it. As I mentioned I have one guy interested at this point just need two more and we are good to go.

Melbourne bound Mark

Hi,

yeah these are one of the ones I was referring to in my original post.

Costs a fortune for very little use and no capital in the boat.

In my view a complete waste of money whereas hopefully this will not be.

Melbourne bound Mark

Then the option is to pay 4 times as much and have the boat at your beck and call - this is part of the situation but as it is not a sailboat not so much of an issue on the bay if the wind kicks up a bit.

In terms of damage it will be insured just as you would a car.

JAJ

The legal contract needs to cover a variety of scenarios. What if it gets damaged and needs repairs? What if one of the owners doesn't want to pay running costs, wants to sell, dies, goes bankrupt, or whatever? What will govern who gets to use the boat if two owners want to use it at the same time?

Shared ownership arrangements like this can cost both a friendship and money if not thought through at the outset.

Buzzy--Bee

Mate, even with a power boat there are many many weekends where the car parks at the boat ramps are empty as it's just too rough to go out. There's chop and there's swell, normally not at the same time. In St Kilda marina if you get a southerly or westerly it can make it rather lumpy at any time. Your boat should be able to handle this but bashing along in a lumpy sea isn't very enjoyable and you'll soon get bored of that.

We launched 25 times in the last year, 5.5m power boat, at a cost of $271 per launch I've calculated, not including extra fuel for the tow vehicle which of course you won't have. Several of these launches have been in inland lakes, if the weather's nasty on the bay you do have that option on a trailerable. Also with a trailer boat you can choose where to launch, we normally launch from Patterson River but if that is lumpy then St Kilda or Safety Beach Marina.

Just some extra fuel for the thought fire!

BB

ozzieeagle

There would have to be a Pro Forma document that you can add/alter for this scenario somewhere.

hoofie2002

Look at the way this is done for aircraft sharing. I would imagine the issues are identical i.e. insurance, maintenance, storage. Fixed cost per month to cover these and then a hourly cost per use [fuel, engine time etc].

I've discussed doing this with a couple of friends but it's never quite got off the ground. If you think how much time a boat spends sitting idle it makes a lot of sense.

The ownership agreements MUST be drawn up by a lawyer just to make sure everyone knows where they stand.

Have a look at this for a starting point.

Melbourne bound Mark

Hi,

I do have a contract from an operating boatshare that was drafted up by a lawyer.

Covers all of the points raised (and in earlier posts).

At this stage not looking to get into the detail just to find another 2 or 3 people who are interested and want to move things forward then the detail can be discussed so that everybody is happy and if necessary can be tailored to suit.

Melbourne bound Mark

Not sure if this potential GFC round 2 is a good thing or a bad thing for my boat scheme?