Shared Ownership How To Make Your Dream Boat A Reality

A yacht is a doorway to your own world, or a never-ending cost-benefit analysis. Will Bruton takes a look at the beauty of shared ownership and the new alternatives

There is something visceral in the pleasure of owning your own yacht. Like buying your first house, this vessel is yours to do with as you please and no-one else’s. It’s a privilege to be in a position to make that purchase, even more so if the boat you buy is your dream boat. But that responsibility can also be a burden that, if shared, may be halved, freeing you up to enjoy boat ownership without the pressure.

While sharing a boat with a trusted friend is the traditional option, a slew of new alternatives have sprung up, offering different models to allow people a slice of time on the water, for a sliver of the cost. In the age of the ‘sharing economy’ of Airbnb, Uber and Spotify, changing how we own boats and go sailing might open up possibilities of the boats we can own.

THE TRADITIONAL SYNDICATE

DAVE BIRCH was looking for a way to get his family on the water after relocating to the south coast from London. Having grown up sailing dinghies in South Africa, he was looking for a sensibly priced route into ownership having passed his Day Skipper and chartered in the Mediterranean. After a lot of online research, he found Galatea, a 1989 Moody 42, on yacht share brokerage site Yacht Fractions. Run as a syndicate for over 20 years, she is shared between three and based in Lymington.

‘I had criteria in mind before I started looking. A combination of the right boat and the right ownership arrangement. I needed a yacht comfortable enough to sail with my wife and three-year-old, that wasn’t about to rapidly depreciate in value and was capable of doing the kind of trips I envisage us doing once we have got a bit more experience.