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Go Back   WakeWorld > >> Boats, Accessories & Tow Vehicles Archive > Archive through May 25, 2007

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Old     (lakepirate)      Join Date: May 2007       05-18-2007, 2:41 AM Reply   
So, I have been entertaining the idea of buying a boat with a real close friend of mine. We're both 25, responsible, and would be purchasing our first boat. Good idea? Bad idea?
Old     (stanfield)      Join Date: Mar 2004       05-18-2007, 5:32 AM Reply   
There is no simple black and white answer. I've done it before without any real issues, but probably wouldn't advise anyone else to do it and wouldn't do it again myself. I will say this, I don't care how tight you are, one of you will appreciate the boat more and end up doing more to maintain it and keep it in tip top shape while the other tends to abuse and neglect it in the other's eyes. Which one of you is which I can't say, but it will be that way because you're both different. Exactly to what degree, you will find out.
Old     (houdini)      Join Date: Aug 2005       05-18-2007, 6:25 AM Reply   
I own my boat with my sister. I am more knowledgeable and into it than she is, but it has worked out well (starting 2nd year). You just have to be very open/honest about everything. I could see it being a disaster, and I am in a partnership that is working out. Best part is - gas 1/2 price, payment 1/2 price and the worst - fixing the boat.... 1/2 price. VERY NICE!!

I think it is great to buy a depreciating asset with another person that you will probably always be using it with anyway... I would love to own my own boat, but I would just be spending twice as much --- you can't use it by yourself anyway.
Old     (jon4pres)      Join Date: May 2004       05-18-2007, 6:29 AM Reply   
If you are going to do it make sure it is someone that you will be using the boat with all of the time. Make sure that it is someone who you know is not going to move, is going to make their payments and pay for half of everything else.
It is not the ideal situation and you could lose a friend over it but you could als save a lot of money too.
Old     (mac_attack)      Join Date: Oct 2003       05-18-2007, 6:34 AM Reply   
Bad idea most of the time.
Old     (bird_dog0347)      Join Date: Feb 2006       05-18-2007, 6:36 AM Reply   
I am a co-owner of my boat. No real worries about my buddy moving or anything as we are roommates anyways. Hell, it would be like a divorce if we had to split crap up as most everything is halves anyways. So long as you are both responsible, and can hold down a job and make payments, you should be fine.
Old     (jheado)      Join Date: Sep 2006       05-18-2007, 6:50 AM Reply   
Its not so much about what kind of friend you have if you do what you need to do to cover your own butt. Just dont get into something you cant afford on your own, at least until you can sell it, if your buddy decides to bail. You dont want your credit ruined b/c of someone else. Friends do come and go, get married, move, or just start to act like an ass. Just remember to cover your butt. Go into it assuming you will have to take full responsibility at some point in time. That may sound negative but its the truth.
Old     (calcio)      Join Date: Aug 2006       05-18-2007, 7:11 AM Reply   
Unfortunatly I did not learn the first time, and went into a partnership again...finally out of it now... whew
First time it was with a friend, second was with a cousin...neither turned out all that great. I thought each of them was responsible until we got the boats.
Old     (zoah)      Join Date: Nov 2006       05-18-2007, 7:30 AM Reply   
I'd look at buying a cheaper boat without a partner.



The older boats can be just as good as these newer ones. It might take a little hard work getting it to where you want it, but in the end it's gonna be worth it.

And timing is everything. I waited almost 6 months before I finally jumped on my boat. It all pays off in the end. And it's nice not having a big payment at the end of the month. Other than the gas bill.
Old     (ronnyboy27)      Join Date: Nov 2005       05-18-2007, 7:39 AM Reply   
I think that Jeremy Freeman (bucnoles) and Jonny lasvegas (wakeboardlasvegas) are partners on a Malibu send them a PM and see how they do it. They seem to be pretty good at it.
Old     (srh00z)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-18-2007, 7:54 AM Reply   
I have two friends that bought a boat together this season and it is going well so far. They would both be going to the water at the same times anyway and they didn't spend too much on the boat as they found a good deal on an older boat. They also laid out some guidlines before buying. If one of them wants out, he has to pay on it for the next 6 months or untill the other owner has made the necessary adjustments.
Old     (yosquire)      Join Date: Jun 2005       05-18-2007, 9:10 AM Reply   
The risk you run is loosing your close friend. It's real easy for these things to go bad. Much easier to go bad than to go right.

I purchased a new Malibu with a real good friend. Thought the same things you are thinking 'We're both 28, responsible...etc...' Leaving out the details, about 6 months later the deal dissolved upon my initiation. I ended up with the boat. I think that 9 out of 10 people, this would have resulted in an end of the friendship. I thought the friendship was toast--though to his credit, he is solid and we were able to pull through it. It almost ended real badly.

Think through what happens if, and how to deal with, the deal dissolving.

Who takes the boat? (think about how the other person feels being left without the boat)

What financial considerations are made?

How do you assess value of the boat?

What happens if he gets married/kids and can't afford it anymore?

What happens if he has a lawsuit judgment against him and his property?

How do you deal with his new girlfriend that rubs you the wrong way?

-How about when you want to take out a group of friends and you don't want him to go because his girlfriend bugs you? --this is real tricky.

How do you deal with cleaning, maintenance?

What happens if he gets a boating while intoxicated?

It'd be unlikely that I'd do it again.
Old     (aggie96)      Join Date: Apr 2005       05-18-2007, 9:58 AM Reply   
A Buddy of mine who shared two different boats with two different individuals said he has two rules in life now:

1.) Don't share your wife

2.) Don't share your boat

and, if you can only have one rule:

1.) Don't share your boat
Old     (flux)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-18-2007, 10:04 AM Reply   
It's been working well for me. I really don't ride without my co-owner, so it's a non-issue. Sometimes it's tough finding time where we can both do maintenance, but it seems to work out, someone is always looking out for the boat.

Financially it's great too, you get twice the boat and half the cost of maintenance. We have had to replace alot of stuff, so two pockets help that as well.

You definately have to have the right situation though. No worries on my end though, it continues to be a great experience and we both have tow vehicles too. He has no kids, but has no problem teaching mine to ride an even gave them their first board.

Another reason I got into this was to repay his generosity at teaching us the wake life and never balking at taking care of his old boat. Now we have a V-Drive wake machine and we all enjoy it thoroughly.
Old     (wakeworld)      Join Date: Jan 1997       05-18-2007, 10:13 AM Reply   
Don't do it unless you're comfortable with at least a 40% chance of losing that friend. You may think your friend is the greatest person in the world, but once you start doing "business" with someone, you see a side of their personality that you've never been exposed to before and would never be exposed to if you never did business together. You're betting your friendship on the fact that you will mesh with his/her "business personality." I'm sure it's successful sometimes, but I don't like the odds.

If you do go through with it, definitely write up a contract that spells out what to do in every possible situation so that there are no misunderstandings in the future. The first and most important thing to get down on paper is how the partnership will end. If you aren't on the same page on that one, I can guarantee the friendship will take a major hit.

Signed,

Bitter guy that just got out of a partnership (not a boat) with friends, which irreparably damaged said relationship
Old     (entrustclothing)      Join Date: Jul 2005       05-18-2007, 10:20 AM Reply   
i lost a business partner/close friend when he chose his new girlfriend over our business and friendship.

you don't have to have a boat issue or get in a fight to have it not work out, people change, peoples priorities change. im not saying it can't work but more often than not it fails
Old     (bp22)      Join Date: Oct 2006       05-18-2007, 10:32 AM Reply   
I have done partnerships twice, both with the same guy, both on old boats. While mine worked out fine, I would recommend against them. When I bought my SAN the thought of doing a partnership did not even cross my mind.

But if you are going to do it, definitely follow "Bitter Dave's" advice and make a thorough contract.

Good luck.
Old     (hbguy)      Join Date: Jun 2005       05-18-2007, 10:38 AM Reply   
I owned my first boat with a buddy and it worked out great. We were usually on it together. IMO, it was a great experience. The downside of an occasional small conflict over who was on the boat, use of boat, and maintenance, etc. was greatly outweighed by the upside of cutting the cost of boat ownership in half.

When he wanted out of the boat, I bought him out based on fair market value. Then, I had to take over the full cost of boat ownership. I definitely liked the cost of joint ownership better.
Old     (merge360)      Join Date: Sep 2006       05-18-2007, 10:52 AM Reply   
IMO.... Bad idea.... I've seen two really good friends become enemies.... It wasn't pretty at all. They were really close growing up, became adults (if that's what you want to call it), got good jobs and decided to go in on a boat together.... 4 months into the deal, it went south... QUICK! "I don't have my half of the payment" or "I didn't take the boat out this month.. Why should I have to pay?" Extremely irresponsible... The both of them... One finally ended up buying the other out, and soon after, the boat went to crap.

With all that said, the two friends I'm refering to still won't speak... And this came to a head about 6 years ago! Matter of fact, when I bought my boat, one of them asked to go in halves with me! What was this guy thinking? I called him on it, reminded him of his past endeavor, and then simply told him "No... I'm on my own on this deal".

Personally, I wouldn't do it.... Boats are suppose to bring friends together, not tear them apart.

For some, it works out.... For the majority, you better start looking for some more "Friends"...
Old     (fabs128)      Join Date: Feb 2007       05-18-2007, 11:40 AM Reply   
As long as your friends are all the same and you ride together all the time. Otherwise you might have some problems.
Old     (karkid)      Join Date: Dec 2005       05-18-2007, 7:00 PM Reply   
I'm just now selling the boat that was supposed to be a deal with friends. They were supposed to put all the money up front, and only one of them did. I'd do it again, but only with someone who was extremely responsible, which the majority of people I know aren't.
Old     (bftskir)      Join Date: Jan 2004       05-19-2007, 12:44 AM Reply   
its like any relationship it'll go alot farther if it has financial stability. my friends and i all used my parents boat to learn on then i went out of town... 2 of my friends were jonesing to get out on the water and went down and bought a Mastercraft together...then a CC Barefoot Nautique...then a Sanger Outboard Barefoot Skier...one guy was a mechanic, he never trusted his partner to work on it, just pay his half, they and a few others including me always were the crew....partnership worked well for them. now all the crew has their own boats too.

boating is a partnership to begin with...it is not as fun to do alone...
Old     (fullonsalesgrp)      Join Date: Jan 2004       05-19-2007, 7:47 AM Reply   
I would have to agree with bitter Dave.
I too went into contract with a friend we bought a new 05 Malibu Vride shared all expenses. He paid insurance and I stored the boat in the winter we split supplies an such. We rode all the time 5 times a week.
Six months into it his Dad comes into some money and offers to buy both of us out. We could still use the boat as it had been, except for 2 weeks a summer his Dad wanted the boat at the cottage he rented. NO BIG DEAL sounded good to me.
So with twins on the way I made the jump and said ok. Prior to the buyout the boat was slipped at my parents house my rents are cool as don't mind extra traffic or people using the dock as long as they take care of my parents property. My buddie starts dating his ex-wife and all of a sudden the boat is moved and my key is gone and when we see them on the lake they don't even come over and say HI.
I ask a week ahead if I can use the boat and he says sorry we already have plans. Just turned out sour.
Luclky I got my cash out of it but all last summer all my belongings boards, life jackets, rope, towels, my Dads extra anchor were on the boat. I felt like since my buddies Dad boaught the boat he now acts like it is his only.
So now I see the boat docked a mutual friends and all my stuff is still on it, I feel like I should go get my stuff but don't want to put our mutual friend in a perdicament. But don't feel I should go PIRATE and get my stuff back.

My advice
JUST DON"T DO IT
Old     (kcsideways)      Join Date: Jun 2004       05-19-2007, 12:42 PM Reply   
Guees I've been lucky? DO have a Joint Ownership Agreement in place that both parties sign...we did not use the boat simultaneously. You can find common Joint Agreements (private aviation) and you could piggy-back an Agreement of one. We did and paid a lawyer for a small amount of time to review.
DO have clauses for:
Insurance...held jointly on all parties names. Restrict towing/operators to Owner's (husbands/wifes in our case). Agree on deductible/liability amounts etc...split 50/50
Title/registration...both parties listed...split 50/50
Storage...split 50/50
Maintenance..have an hour log on board the boat. Log in date/hours when taken out and date/hours when brought back to storage facility. You use it 60% of the time, you pay for 60% of the routine maintenance.
Fuel/housekeeping...pay for what fuel you use. Either fill it up when done or leave the greenbacks in the glove box. Boat ALWAYS wiped down (hull/interior), gear out, and covered prior to putting back in storage.
Notification of extended use...pulling out for a week vacation or such, 4 weeks notice that the other party will not have access for that time period.
Getting out...A 1st-right-of-refusal clause to give other joint owner the 1st right to buy partner out and if not exercised, approval of next part owner.
Fair market value...buyout of other share calculated on NADA and fair market value. 50/50 unless hour log usage indicates inordinate amount of useage by one party, the pro-rata per the hour log.
Major damage due to neglect...you break it, you pay the full deductible or full cost of repairs if not claimed.
Major malfunction, motor/transmission, etc...go back to the hour log and pro-rate based on useage percentage.
Winterizing & fall cleaning...always done jointly at the end of the season.

Worked out for us.

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