time share vs any other way

[letterman]

Went to a party last night. Funny how the truth emerges after you pull two or three teeth. A friend told me his sister-in-law bought a 37'er and have it on Lake Lanier. Last night I found out they didn't buy it, they have a time share, and a one year membership is $5000. The conversation followed that it is as cheap or good as my deal. Here are some of the comparisons...Both boats are 37' Mine is a '76 Irwin CC and theirs a '04 Jenneau aft cockpit.Mine cost $22,000 theirs "0"They pay $5000 for year round, guaranteed 17 weeks. I pay $2200 for a year, $400 for insurance, about $1000 for some upgrades. About $3600 for 24 weeks.They just signed a 3 year contract. What do you think? Deal or no deal?

 

[Paul F]

Deal and .....

Did a similar thing here in Fla. for six-seven years. Joined a boat club. It included 26' and 27' O'Days and about 10 powerboats in various sizes and configurations. The cost was under what I pay for my 33' Hunter's slip. The best thing about the club was never having to worry about the boat. If something went wrong it was some one else who fixed it. Have had my own boat now for about six years. The slip rates, etc. keep going up and the boat is getting older. I am now thinking of returning to the boat club. With the club, I found the largest stumbling block to be - asking to take the boat out instead of just taking it out when I wish. But, that is looking to be a small price to pay for having a fixed cost and no worries.

 

[professor bills]

DARN

Now you tell me

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

own or rent

There is a difference between owning and essentially renting a boat evidenced by the friend's sister-in-law story.It's not a valid comparison unless you can compare the same boat, equivalently equipped and available whenever you want in the area you prefer. Even if you could find such a situation, unanticipated things including weather and plans change but shared schedules don't allow flexibility. Maybe more importantly, there are also the intangible considerations - having to drag stuff to/from the boat each time, pride of ownership, mental health/enjoyment of doing boat projects on your own boat, etc...It all eventually comes down to economics and what you are willing to pay for it. Kind of like owning vs. renting a vacation home.

 

[Jim]

NO DEAL

but it is a good way to boat cheap for people that can't afford the large expense.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Deal !!!!

Both boats are 37' one is a '76 Irwin CC and the other is a '04 Jenneau aft cockpit.First off, they dont spend any time or money in repairs. Then there is the comfort and beauty factor. To some it doesnt matter, to others it does. Cant hardly compare a '76 Irwin to an '04 Jenneau in any category. They may only have 17 weeks compared to your 24 weeks, but none of their 17 weeks are spent on repairs. You may enjoy repairing and working on your boat but I for one dont. I'd rather sail than fix. I also have a 30 year old boat. Takes lots of time and $$$ to get it to look like I want it to. The difference of $1400/year which equates to a difference of $117/Mo which is only a fraction of one days pay each month. Sounds like a deal to me.Oh yeah, one more thing. In your profile you state that your are an "Engineer of common sense and straighten out business messes, set things on the right track to productivity". If this be the case, have you ever factored in the amount of money you paid for your boat....$22,000? If you invested that money it could bring you in more than the $1400 difference at only 6.5% return on your investment? So, if we now add this to the equation, they have a 3 year old boat for less money than your 30 year old boat. Of course, once you sell your boat, you will get something back on it and then re-do the math.If I didnt live aboard, I would also time share. But I like the live-aboard life style.Tony B

 

[Rick9619]

Guess it really depends

It is definately a deal and definately not a deal. Its what you want out of your boat experience. If you just like jumping in, fill it with gas, and go raise sail then perhaps its for you. Kind of like living in a condo. And certainly a bit easier on your wallet. And works very well for some... if you dont mind not being able to make any upgrades, and dont mind who has been sleeping in the aft berth.We personally enjoy.. say 98 percent of the time the entire boating experience. We get great enjoyment from taking care of our sailboat. The sweat, scrapes, and of course money that go into the "brotherhood" of ownership. Our boat is our escape, our hobby, our love and for us its way more than just taking it out of the slip. If we didnt mind writing that check each month, we wouldnt... but every time I walk down to the slip with my first mate, I smile and am anxious, excited as a little kid. Wonder what I might have to work on? Its ours... all ours.. wow how cool is that.Cheers

 

[CalebD]

No deal

I still don't understand leasing a car and this sounds a lot like that. The worst part of their deal is that they are on Lake Lanier. I believe that you are in Cleveland on Lake Erie. It is going to take a pretty good long time for you to run out of water and they are on a lake with greatly fluctuating (mostly lower) water levels. Plus if anything breaks while they are out sailing will they be able to fix it? Once they tie up how long will it take their 'maintenance team' to fix any major problems? This deal sounds perfect for people who do not want to commit to boating or one boat in a big way similar to auto-lease deals. Both 'vehicles' are not appreciable assets.JMHO.

 

[Marco Garcia]

17 weeks??? but not continuous.. right??

I stopped at the boat shows sailtime booth, a Hunter 41 DS is US$945.00 per month on a 12 month deal, it takes 8 owners ( you get a 1/8 share) and there is a guarantee of UNITS of time during the summer, ( I think they said a unit is a 12hr period), I don't remember how many units are guaranteed. The good, it includes everything including fuel and dockage, and you can choose where You use your 41DS ( mediterrean sea, Florida, west coast NE etc), not limited to one area. The bad, if every owner in your group wants the boat on the same weekend as you, you only get some of the time, if nobody wants the boat, you can use it as much as you want ( you need 7 partners that do not sail much) and the boat is your for the rest of the time. I do the maintenance on the boat I own ('93 Hunter 40.5) and the boat payment, slip and insurance is about the same as this sailtime 41, but I try to use it every weekend between may and september.. so I do not want to deal with schedules. If they can assure no scheduling conflicts then it would be a Deal...Marco.

 

[Andy]

No deal for me

My day job can frequently be spent figuring out or straightening out other peoples problems and messes. I don't want that in my sailing world (of dreams). I would rather have my own (old) mess to work on instead of trying to figure out who left the what where and why it doesn't work anymore! If I rip I sail, I know who to blame! But this is my opinion and I can see some advantages of "rent to dis-own". If I was vexed that way, I think I would buy a cheap to run trailor sailor (think Hobie 16 here-$2500 investment) and spend the other $2500 a year towards chartering in the Caribbean. I hear Lake Lanier is nice but I think there are direct flights out of Atlanta to San Juan.You can take your Irwin when where and how you want if you want. Another thing-when it comes to the end of the sailing season, do they sit back and think they "wasted" 4,5, or 6 of "their" 17 weeks? YOu are in Ohio? Short fast season. They are in GA? slower season-winter sailing?As the old saying goes: Most of my money I've spent on women and boats-the rest I just wasted!

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Andy ....THANKS

Your statement "Most of my money I've spent on women and boats-the rest I just wasted!" is the most quotable of quotes that I have seen in a very long time.Thanks again.Tony B

 

[Andy]

Sailor, question thy self

This topic made me go back and take a look at the Sailtime website (okay, yeah it was saved in my favorites from awhile back, guilty as charged). The make a pretty appealing message-and they tout Hunter sailboats. BUT I thought of four things that make me glad our boat is owned by us (well, us and the bank!).1 Memorial Day. We all want to crank up the summer season2. Fourth of July! Fireworks!etc. Who gets the boat on the Big Day? 3. Labor Day! Last big HooRah! (note to self-these are high traffic days, do you want just anybody at the helm those days)-what if Lucky Loser has the boat for Memorial Day and you have Big Plans for the Fourth. Loser crashes the boat and repairs won't be complete until August. Hmmm. URSKRWDAnd #4-the head! Sorry, I'm just a little private about who uses my "private" head!

 

[Ed Wolfe]

Boat Clubs

Well ,cases for own vs. club have been examined very well so far. A few things I would like to add. First a disclaimer, I instruct new members for a club. I also own a islander 36. There are those of us that love the pain of ownership ,but let me tell you as I mature (get older) I can see the benifits of these clubs . Most sites are still slow to get into sail, the local site has a catalina 30 and hope to get a smaller sailboat. But where they have sail you get to use the rest of the motorboat fleet also!Just the options for different boats make it worth the lack of ownership feeling . If the forcast is for light air go for a powerboat . Powerboats range from fishing to crusing, take the one that fits your need for the day . As for availablity, planning ahead will get the boat you want 99.99% of the time . Of course if you wait till 9am on a sat. sun . holiday you may be dissipointed. But then again ,if you want to play golf on those days without a tee time , well you get the point . These clubs really fit into modern life , where time is worth more than money. Where else can you walk on , do your thing , and simply dock the boat and hand the keys to a dockmaster , and walk away. No worry of matainence ,or storms . You also get to use boats at other sites .We will be taking a boat out of Ft.Lauderdale over the holidays . So do the math ask lots of questions , and do the math .

 

[Banooma]

no deal

The best thing about owning is having the freedom to sail whenever I want to. Going into a share means way too many days I'd look up at the sky and think to myself "today would have been perfect..."

 

[Stu Jackson]

It's a safety issue, too

Many people who own their own boats don't have a clue about systems on board. "Oh, no, my engine won't start!" And they even have fuel! Sometimes it's as simple as an old fuse holder in the wire between the start button and the starter solenoid - yup, been there. But I had my tools and parts on board. Doubt if that would happen with a rental boat or a time share.

 

[Ed Wolfe]

BOAT CLUB

Stu your right about most boat owners not having a clue about even basic problems. The club I am associated with keeps their boats from new and turns them over about every 2 years . One day a new boat suddendly quit just as they were shoving off. The dockmaster quickly got the members into another boat ,and gave me a call aksing why the motor just stopped . I was out sailing and told him ,look for the red wire that fell off the ignition . Luck was on my side and the boat was fixed in 10 mins. If Joe boater was faced with this problem he would be without a boat for a week and a 500 bill to fix it! Boat club vs own gets easier to choise all the time .

 

[Tim Welsh]

The numbers don't add up

If its 17 weeks for $5000, then there would be only $15,000 a year income, multiplied by a 15 year note would only be 225,000. I don't think that would cover everything associated with the boat. Not including interest on the note.Tim WelshHunter 34S/V Cabo WaboI think I'll just own mine and use it 52 weeks a year

 

[Stillraining]

Tim.... I was thinking

the same thing , but addmitingly know nothing about boat clubs. I just figured this had to be for the purchas price of the boat, and all repairs, opperating costs, other then fuel used as that will very for each salior, slip fees ect..were devided up and split equaly in addition to the buy in cost.  Otherwise I dont see how it can only be 5k either. unless its a piece of crap 04 Jennueau which I highly doubt. The other thing I considered was maybe it's someone who cant use their boat for the next 3 years for some reason, so they devised a way to have it pay for itself, assuming the boat is paid for already . As they are only comitting to 3 years.