Is Starting a Fractional Boat a Good Idea?

[Cheeky Monkey]

Details:We love to sail and love to golf. We are tormented by the fact that we love to golf and we love to sail. Private golf club = 8K a year (I am being nice). Private boat = 10Kish.We have a 26 ft Hunter that was fun last year on Green Bay. Door County is amazing. We live 5 hours from Door County.We want a bigger more comfortable boat to enjoy on the big water maybe 2 or 3 weeks a year plus a weekend or 2. We live on the St Croix River on the West Side of Wisconsin and can't stand such a small sailing area. But this is where we will put our boat this spring.We only really care about 2 weeks of sailing on Green Bay and Lake Michigan but that cost is $4000 to Charter a big enough boat to be comfortable. In the end we own nothing and spend a lot of effort following someone else's rules.We would love to find 3 couples willing to drop 3K each for a fractional deal= boat payments/maintenance/mooring or slip, on a mid model (2000 to 2004) 38 to 44 foot boat (~130K) placed in Fish Creek Wisconsin (+ us = 4 X 3000= 12,000).How do I make this happen? Is this a bad idea? Is this a great idea needing someone to start the ball?We look at bigger boats 2 or 3 times a week. My wife is getting tired of my pipe dream having no actions.Mr Wizard... get me into a bigger boat!!!

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Details:We love to sail and love to golf. We are tormented by the fact that we love to golf and we love to sail. Private golf club = 8K a year (I am being nice). Private boat = 10Kish.We have a 26 ft Hunter that was fun last year on Green Bay. Door County is amazing. We live 5 hours from Door County.We want a bigger more comfortable boat to enjoy on the big water maybe 2 or 3 weeks a year plus a weekend or 2. We live on the St Croix River on the West Side of Wisconsin and can't stand such a small sailing area. But this is where we will put our boat this spring.We only really care about 2 weeks of sailing on Green Bay and Lake Michigan but that cost is $4000 to Charter a big enough boat to be comfortable. In the end we own nothing and spend a lot of effort following someone else's rules.We would love to find 3 couples willing to drop 3K each for a fractional deal= boat payments/maintenance/mooring or slip, on a mid model (2000 to 2004) 38 to 44 foot boat (~130K) placed in Fish Creek Wisconsin (+ us = 4 X 3000= 12,000).How do I make this happen? Is this a bad idea? Is this a great idea needing someone to start the ball?We look at bigger boats 2 or 3 times a week. My wife is getting tired of my pipe dream having no actions.Mr Wizard... get me into a bigger boat!!!

 

[higgs]

Buy your own boat

And go up to it on weekends in the Door and live on it like a cottage. Take an early Friday and you will be there for a full Saturday when you can get in your golf fix. Do another 18 on Sunday morning and drive home. Sail when you are not playing golf - like Sat evening. Having a golf and a sailing addiction is a tough thing to deal with. Fortunately, I am not a golfer and I am not faced with your dilemma. Life presents us with some cruel choices, doesn't it?

 

[higgs]

Buy your own boat

And go up to it on weekends in the Door and live on it like a cottage. Take an early Friday and you will be there for a full Saturday when you can get in your golf fix. Do another 18 on Sunday morning and drive home. Sail when you are not playing golf - like Sat evening. Having a golf and a sailing addiction is a tough thing to deal with. Fortunately, I am not a golfer and I am not faced with your dilemma. Life presents us with some cruel choices, doesn't it?

 

[Paul F]

Tuff One?

Owned a larger boat in Racine for 10 years with two friends. The partnership worked great. But, we were friends before and after the boat. Can't say how a partnership would work without knowing your partners. Could be risky. Since you only want to use the boat for a short time, you are likely better off chartering a boat - at least you know your cost. Boats need a significant amount of maintenance - big boat, bigger cost. And then they all depreciate - your four year old boat will soon be 14 years old. You might consider getting a trailer-able boat for the weekend sails. Stay in a good motel and enjoy day sailing and charter for the longer 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[Paul F]

Tuff One?

Owned a larger boat in Racine for 10 years with two friends. The partnership worked great. But, we were friends before and after the boat. Can't say how a partnership would work without knowing your partners. Could be risky. Since you only want to use the boat for a short time, you are likely better off chartering a boat - at least you know your cost. Boats need a significant amount of maintenance - big boat, bigger cost. And then they all depreciate - your four year old boat will soon be 14 years old. You might consider getting a trailer-able boat for the weekend sails. Stay in a good motel and enjoy day sailing and charter for the longer 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[higgs]

Paul

I sailed out of Racine for 25 years - the last 10 out of RYC. first I had a Paceship 25 called AJA and then moved up to an Irwin 32 named Trav'ler. How about you?

 

[higgs]

Paul

I sailed out of Racine for 25 years - the last 10 out of RYC. first I had a Paceship 25 called AJA and then moved up to an Irwin 32 named Trav'ler. How about you?

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Add in the options and ... hmmm NO!

Couple O' things-We have a membership at the Hudson Golf Club so "Cabin it" wont really work. We cant stay there and play. We play here in Hudson. Its pricy but my wife is in the Tuesday League and I am in the Thursday group. We play weekends with groups too.I know there is the risk of the "unknown partners" which is a chance. I would be willing to front the boat and then "fractional" it but I look at the offers out there and think "Are you NUTS!"Most places want $500 a month (this would actually be a steal!) for a 36 ft boat with 7 partners and no true time on the boat. I look at the numbers and come up with the following analysis...$500 X 12 = $6000$6000 X 7 = $42000 Per YearI own nothing? If I were the boat owner you own nothing. These fractionals can be a ripoff. I want equity and would expect a partner looking for the same. Helps to maintain a clean and managed boat. I am ok with a boat that depreciates. They all do. But who says you cant keep it nice YOY.Chartering...Here are our choices... Sailboats Inc... ManatowocPOOKIE C & C 32 6 82 DO VIDJENJA C & C 41 8 88 Old boats. Lots of cost. Why would I toss money down this drain?We really enjoy our Hunter 26. It is fun to sail and the kids really love it but there are a few things we want but cant get with it. The list looks like this:1) Bigger water without trailering and we dont have a vehicle to make that work on a regular basis2) Comfortable sleeping accomodations3) Bimini4) Wheel Steering5) Living Space below6) Shower (more the wife than me but I agree)7) Something better than a porta pottyWe can add some of this to the 26 but not enough to fix the real problems with 1 and 2 and 6 and 7.On a side note- This is really about how great a time we had in the Door County area. We enjoyed every beach and every dock. But we just cant really get comfortable for more than a few days of sailing with the current

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Add in the options and ... hmmm NO!

Couple O' things-We have a membership at the Hudson Golf Club so "Cabin it" wont really work. We cant stay there and play. We play here in Hudson. Its pricy but my wife is in the Tuesday League and I am in the Thursday group. We play weekends with groups too.I know there is the risk of the "unknown partners" which is a chance. I would be willing to front the boat and then "fractional" it but I look at the offers out there and think "Are you NUTS!"Most places want $500 a month (this would actually be a steal!) for a 36 ft boat with 7 partners and no true time on the boat. I look at the numbers and come up with the following analysis...$500 X 12 = $6000$6000 X 7 = $42000 Per YearI own nothing? If I were the boat owner you own nothing. These fractionals can be a ripoff. I want equity and would expect a partner looking for the same. Helps to maintain a clean and managed boat. I am ok with a boat that depreciates. They all do. But who says you cant keep it nice YOY.Chartering...Here are our choices... Sailboats Inc... ManatowocPOOKIE C & C 32 6 82 DO VIDJENJA C & C 41 8 88 Old boats. Lots of cost. Why would I toss money down this drain?We really enjoy our Hunter 26. It is fun to sail and the kids really love it but there are a few things we want but cant get with it. The list looks like this:1) Bigger water without trailering and we dont have a vehicle to make that work on a regular basis2) Comfortable sleeping accomodations3) Bimini4) Wheel Steering5) Living Space below6) Shower (more the wife than me but I agree)7) Something better than a porta pottyWe can add some of this to the 26 but not enough to fix the real problems with 1 and 2 and 6 and 7.On a side note- This is really about how great a time we had in the Door County area. We enjoyed every beach and every dock. But we just cant really get comfortable for more than a few days of sailing with the current

 

[higgs]

OK

Here are some negatives to consider:Whatever you buy, when you sell, you are probably going to take a hit. Maintenance, new equipment, etc will not add to the value of a boat - at least not much.Maintenance on any boat is very time consuming - even a new boat. You will either have to pay someone to paint your bottom, wax the hull, clean the boat, make repairs, or you will have to give up some golfing to do it. Many owners prefer to do that - can you find investors who will agree to the fact you won't want to be spending weekends getting her ready?Mid season maintenance is also time consuming. S*** happens and you can count on that with a boat left in the water. If you are not keeping it up constantly, its value will depreciate a lot faster than you will want.Owning a boat that lives in the water is a big time suck - many people are not willing to put that time in. I suspect you are on of those - which is fine. You, at least, recognize this at the onset. For you, I would recommend chartering or time share, but not ownership. You are concerned about throwing money away - ownership is just that even when you are willing to spend the time to maintain. Boats, financially, are a loser. When you go to sell your H 26, you will see what I mean.

 

[higgs]

OK

Here are some negatives to consider:Whatever you buy, when you sell, you are probably going to take a hit. Maintenance, new equipment, etc will not add to the value of a boat - at least not much.Maintenance on any boat is very time consuming - even a new boat. You will either have to pay someone to paint your bottom, wax the hull, clean the boat, make repairs, or you will have to give up some golfing to do it. Many owners prefer to do that - can you find investors who will agree to the fact you won't want to be spending weekends getting her ready?Mid season maintenance is also time consuming. S*** happens and you can count on that with a boat left in the water. If you are not keeping it up constantly, its value will depreciate a lot faster than you will want.Owning a boat that lives in the water is a big time suck - many people are not willing to put that time in. I suspect you are on of those - which is fine. You, at least, recognize this at the onset. For you, I would recommend chartering or time share, but not ownership. You are concerned about throwing money away - ownership is just that even when you are willing to spend the time to maintain. Boats, financially, are a loser. When you go to sell your H 26, you will see what I mean.

 

[Maine Sail]

Bottom line is that...

The bottom line is that chartering will cost you the least! You don't own anything on a boat you "own" either as 98% of all boats are sold at a significant loss and maintenance, up keep, slip fees, storage and insurance, even with three partners, will cost you more than 4k per year on a 130k boat!Plus I've yet to hear of a boat partnership that was actually a successful one...

 

[Maine Sail]

Bottom line is that...

The bottom line is that chartering will cost you the least! You don't own anything on a boat you "own" either as 98% of all boats are sold at a significant loss and maintenance, up keep, slip fees, storage and insurance, even with three partners, will cost you more than 4k per year on a 130k boat!Plus I've yet to hear of a boat partnership that was actually a successful one...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Seriously...

Any way you look at it, golf is a much cheaper hobby. When you consider that the result of expending all the time, effort and organization required to start and manage a successful partnership will seriously and negatively effect your backswing, if I were you I'd join the American Club, buy a condo in Kohler and hope for an early Spring.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Seriously...

Any way you look at it, golf is a much cheaper hobby. When you consider that the result of expending all the time, effort and organization required to start and manage a successful partnership will seriously and negatively effect your backswing, if I were you I'd join the American Club, buy a condo in Kohler and hope for an early Spring.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Precious

Precious... Kohler...Ok, You had me at Hello.Look Out Pookie... Here I come!

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Precious

Precious... Kohler...Ok, You had me at Hello.Look Out Pookie... Here I come!

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

couldn't resist

Didn't intend to poke fun as I went through the same decision process years ago when we belonged to a club and I played golf almost every day. If you figure out a good way to do both, you're a better man than me.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

couldn't resist

Didn't intend to poke fun as I went through the same decision process years ago when we belonged to a club and I played golf almost every day. If you figure out a good way to do both, you're a better man than me.