Description

The brief

I’m looking to start a new syndicate/boat share, centered around the three way ownership of a 7-8m motorboat, moored in Devon or Dorset.

The boat

I’ve been looking for a long time, and I think I’ve whittled things down to a motor boat, no longer than 8m really. Ideally an inboard diesel, shaft drive would be less costly to maintain. I’m not looking for performance, would be happy with anything from a smaller trawler style through to a sportier Sealine. Current preferences would be; Sealine S23, Beneteau Antares 760, Jeanneau Leader 805, Merry Fisher 805. Economical, easy to run, keep clean, and provides the space to overnight for a long weekend. The benefit of the Antares or Merry Fisher is the enclosed helm should the weather turn and to extend the season.

The plan

I was about to buy a boat outright, mooring, maintenance, the lot. But someone sensibly said to me, how much will you truly use it? And if I broke things down to 1 weekend or so a month, it was a costly decision to make (story as old as time in boat buying right?). So I started looking for a share, and in truth, nothing has really felt right. So I’m thinking of starting my own boat share with likeminded people.

3 people, £10k+ each to buy the boat (think second hand, good condition, £30-35k), £5k each per year upfront/or per month, to cover mooring, maintenance, regular cleaning, breakages. Any additional money not spent rolls over into the next month/year for long term things like cover replacement, new cushions, plumbing, tech wiring. This would give you 3 weekend days, 6/7 week days, each month ish with a spare day for monthly deep clean - but we can work that out together. During the boating season, each person is responsible for filling the tank when they’re finished.

Anyone wants out, the boat is valued and their share is put on the market. Joint account is cleared and split between 3, then started again with the new shareholder. But I think we should be looking at a 3 year contract with a break clause - but that can be worked out too.

The location

I’m based in Bath, and I’d like each syndicate member to be a similar distance away to keep things fair. But ideally the boat will be in south Devon or Dorset, in an affordable marina, but very open to aligning on this as a syndicate depending on who comes on board and where they live.

The who

I’m Tom, I work 9-5.30, 5 days a week leading a busy design agency. It means I have the usual holiday allowance, but can work remotely Fridays and Mondays. So in the summer, my plan was always to try and do a long weekend and perhaps the odd midweek trip, even a week away - but that depends on the boat.

To keep things fair I’m looking for like minded people. I don’t have children, so won’t be constrained by the school holidays - preferably you won’t either. I work full time, and you should too - retiree’s and boomers have enough spare cash to do this on their own. The figures above are easy to come by, if we need an extra £1k, it’s available any time - don’t join if you’re taking out a big loan or would need to scrape to pay for fuel. I’ve got my yachtmaster ticket and RYA level 2, sailing all my life. You should be experienced on the water or at least want to do an advanced powerboat course as a group before we start.

The next step..

If this sounds interesting to you, and I appreciate it’s early days, drop me a note and let’s get chatting. Please don't waste my time, my goal is to form a syndicate by June, and to have found, surveyed, closed on a boat by the end of the summer.

To reiterate, I’m looking to buy a boat, with a group of people, to share the ownership and responsibility, but hopefully to maximise the boating experience for each member.

Specifications

Location Map