You could wait until you saved up that fortune, get that new job, win the lottery, are given that bonus… or you could treat yourself to fractional yacht ownership right now and enjoy a magical life on the ocean wave in record time. Fractional yacht share is hot property. If you adore nothing better than bobbing around on the beautiful blue sea in a perfectly-appointed luxury craft, here’s how to achieve instant gratification!
How does fractional yacht sharing work?
Our first tip? The Fractional Association’s standard operating procedure forms the basis of everything we do. If the yacht share partner you’ve been thinking about doesn’t conform, find one that does. Here’s what their syndicate management structure looks like.
Under the operating procedure every yacht has its own website, which acts as the boat’s primary operational management tool. It supports ownership in six key ways with:
- A photo and video gallery of the craft so people know what to expect
- A live usage calendar
- A system to make weekly selections fairly, quickly and easily, run by an intelligent algorithm
- A real-time maintenance spreadsheet confirming all the maintenance work carried out on the vessel
- An owners’ communication forum
- All the craft’s documentation
Taking essential roles
Each yacht has anything from 4 – 10 equity share-owners, who get 3 – 12 weeks on board per year. One of the fractional owners is nominated the Boat Manager, and another is handed the role of Finance Manager.
The Boat Manager takes responsibility for the day-to-day management of the yacht, including operational, maintenance and service, owner liaison, and all the relevant documentation. The Finance Manager looks after all the ongoing running costs including auditing and reporting maintenance costs to all of the boat’s owners. The running costs are divided pro-rata depending on the share holding of each owner.
Spotless every time, you really feel the boat is yours
The housekeeping team prepares the boat for each set of owners, so it’s always spotless and beautifully cared for. The team also makes sure your personal belongings are safely aboard, and removes the previous users’ personal items so it really does feel like your yacht, and yours alone.
Fair weekly selections thanks to intelligent software
To keep things scrupulously fair, every owner chooses a week in rotation. You repeat the cycle until the entire year is allocated. The following year you repeat the process but do it back to front, letting the person who chose last during the previous year choose first this time. Once this process is complete you’ll usually see some swapping and changing between owners until everyone’s happy.
Chop and change to secure the perfect break
The yacht’s dedicated owner website includes a handy communication forum including a section to deal with week swaps, cancelled weeks and unused weeks, which can be traded. Some owners like to use their boat during the school holidays, others prefer to avoid the crowds and take to the seas when the kids are safely back at school. As a general rule things always even out very well, with everyone getting what they want.
Which months are busiest?
Bear in mind that July and August are usually slightly more popular than any other slot if you want to sail the Med. And remember that spring and autumn are often very lovely in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, much better weather than here in Britain!
You can stay at anchor somewhere sunny and sophisticated, never setting sail or starting the engine. You can set her up and take her for a long distance voyage or hug the coast, exploring the sights. It’s entirely up to you. However you want to experience life on the water, fractional ownership lets you enjoy luxury boat ownership right now, without the wait.
