Howdy pardner

CalebD · Mar 21, 2007

Hatcher. There may be some sailing 'club'

in the Annapolis area. These can be much cheaper than the so called 'fractional ownership' schemes which cost as much as an old boat. There is one here in NY that costs around $500+/yr or so to join. They will start you as a crew and you have to work your way up to being a skipper - which is admittedly a little annoying. The 'clubs' up here teach various certification courses which of course are extra.There is a great allure to owning a boat and being out on the water. There are also great expenses which you should know about before jumping into ownership. Start up costs are nothing when compared to years of maintenance and storage fees. I am sure you are aware of this already.I own an older 27' Tartan in partnership with an old college friend. It aint perfect but it works well enough for me. Without someone to share the costs in I probably would not own a boat of this size and weight. I also understood that any so called partnership will never be a partnership of equals before I signed up. We had a third partner who was unable to kick in for the yearly expenses and has therefore eaten up his initial investment in the boat. We are still friends though. I get to do most of the hull and fiberglass work (lucky me) and my partner is handy with electronics among other things. Our differences make us stronger most of the time. You do have to choose boat partners very carefully and it is not for many people who must always have things their way. There is a safety element involved in wanting to control things as well (eg., always obey Captain's orders - if there are 2 Captains on board who do you listen to? The one at the tiller.)I have another friend who has at least 3 partners in his Hunter 25. It is his boat but he sets up the budget, times of use and guidlines and of course does most of the maintenance (very little from what I could tell). He has done this for years and is clearly a cheapskate as am I. I think that most sailboats are owned by a single owner. I say this because when we go out there are always so many more boats at mooring than out enjoying a nice day. Time is the real unspoken enemy here as duties on land keep most owners from enjoying their boats even on perfect days, retirees excepting.

Ross · Mar 21, 2007

A boat that is large enough to walk the gunwales

has a place to prepare food, a place where two people can sleep and a place where people can deal with human waste disposal is large enough. To find a boat that will please two groups of people will cost more and be larger. If you have all of the afore mentioned obligations you probably don't have time for that large a boat and just need a nice little trailerable day sailer. I have very trustworthy friends that are free to use the boat if they like. they know where the keys are kept, have sailed on it and will always leave it better than they found it. We are friends and I would not risk such a friendship by suggesting a partnership. Rather like getting married and ruining a perfectly fine friendship.

scolil · Mar 22, 2007

Sailing Club

I have not been sailing long. I only have a super snark and I soon should have an old mac 26. In the mean time I have signed up with a local college sailing club. The club owns a small variety of boats that are available to its members. I will still have my boat which I will be able to make upgrades and such according to my pleasure, but I will also have access to several other boats to expand my experience or fancy. This system also provides an excellent opportunity to learn sailing. Once you have been checked out on one of the boats you are asked to post the time you would like to take out a boat. If any inexperienced sailors would like to hop aboard, they are welcome to do so.I have not been a member of the club long enough to see how well it works. So far they are good boats and the company has been great. I am assuming that a large amount of the work is done by a few of the members. Unfortunately so far I have been one of the many that does little of the work I am afraid, but this year that will be different

I guess this means I get the best of having my own boat and partnering!

Tom H31 · Mar 29, 2007

Parting thoughts on partnerships

It's obvious from the posts and survey results that I am in the minority. This season will be the 18th year of a very successful partnership in a Hunter 31. I have always maintained that we have all the fun at half the cost. In addition, with two of us working on the maintenance and upkeep, not only is the effort not as great, but we can usually figure out problems between the two of us. And our disagreements have for the most part been pretty minor. I strongly believe that with the right partner, co-ownership is a great way to go.

Howdy pardner

Weasel

CalebD

.

Ross

.

scolil

.

capn Bill

bill

SailboatOwners.com

Tom H31

.