airboat partnership

[pine island fred]

Am sure this has been discussed before, not around enough to have seen it. Anyway, someone took all the water. Lots of real estate out there at low tide. Have been kicking around the idea of a smaller/ used airboat. Friend suggested that we could go in on a partnership which would certainly help on the investment and maintenance. However I have my reservations on just how things could work out and friends becoming enemies over a stinkin boat.
Question is, anyone have thought or experiences on a partnership of a boat to give me something to think about before I might make a mistake? Thanks! BTW, Talking to the SEMINOLS or MUSCIGIES by everglade city, they say they can take those things into the gulf. Guess they can take a bit of rough water. FRED

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: airboat partnership

Am sure this has been discussed before, not around enough to have seen it. Anyway, someone took all the water. Lots of real estate out there at low tide. Have been kicking around the idea of a smaller/ used airboat. Friend suggested that we could go in on a partnership which would certainly help on the investment and maintenance. However I have my reservations on just how things could work out and friends becoming enemies over a stinkin boat. Question is, anyone have thought or experiences on a partnership of a boat to give me something to think about before I might make a mistake? Thanks! BTW, Talking to the SEMINOLS or MUSCIGIES by everglade city, they say they can take those things into the gulf. Guess they can take a bit of rough water. FRED

You really answered your own question It is a VERY tough thing to do.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: airboat partnership

Fred, don't! here is a long discussion. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=221396&highlight=partnership

 

[pine island fred]

Re: airboat partnership

Thanks for the link, missed that one. Looks like the odds would be 10 to 1 on things being successful. Figured I might be better off going it on my own. FRED

 

[mthieme]

Re: airboat partnership

Agree.
Here's the only time I've seen this work...
A couple seasons ago I ran into someone who was telling me they 'sold' their boat to a company that time-shares it. They got a week or two or whatever in the deal. The company does all the maintenance, upkeep, etc.
I don't know exactly how it works, or even if it's done there, but it could be an option (?).

 

[OmniPo]

Re: airboat partnership

I might steer away from getting into the boat w/ your friend... but I wouldn't necessarily give-up on the whole idea.

IMO, if you go about it correctly, then you shouldn't have an issue. Just make sure you draw-up some kind of contract that outlines everyone's responsibility... get it notarized/signed and be prepared to back it up in small claims court.

Or, just buy yourself a push pole for when the water gets a little too skinny?

 

[kaferhaus]

Re: airboat partnership

Fred it can be done successfuly. Sure you hear about all the horror stories but what's to tell if the partnership works????

The key is making it a partnership and not a "we're buddies" deal. Set up a short written agreement about storage, maintenance, insurance etc. and put a calendar into the agreement that shows who has the boat when. If one guy wants it on another's week, weekend etc. that's something you can work out if the other guy has no real plan to use it.... it's called date swapping.

I know several people that are in such arrangements and have been for years without any issues. However they all have written (only a few pages long) agreements.

The agreement should include post use PM such as washing, flushing, filling with fuel etc. Maint should be split 50/50 regardless of which partner actually uses the boat most....(seen that one happen) IE: if the other guy only uses the boat a few times a year he still had access to it 50% of the time... otherwise there are too many variables that lead to disputes.

I was in an airplane partnership for years with 2 other owners. One of the guys probably only flew 20-30hrs a year.. all the expenses (except fuel and oil) were split 3 ways.

he was a funny guy though.... if you wanted the plane during one of his weeks he'd give it up no problem.... for a fee! LOL Never anything outrageous but it was "his week". I flew a lot back then and likely he wasn't paying much out of pocket by the end of each year. The other partner and I would simply swap time.


Also as we had 3 there was never a need for a "tie breaker" if there was a major decision to be made. I'd put a coin toss or card draw into the agreement to settle those things up front.

Again, I've seen these things work well if thought out properly.

Thanks again for the offer of help while we were down that way picking up the Pursuit!

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: airboat partnership

I wouldn't want to do a boat partnership, but I agree that a written agreement is pretty much a necessity, unless the boat is very small.

The trick to it is to find the right partners and construct the right agreement. For example, I wouldn't have been happy with the airplane agreement because an hourly "engine reserve" is usually factored into variable costs associated with the use of the plane. The life of the engine during the usage period between overhauls or replacement, is considered to be a consumable item. That said, the partners involved were apparently happy with their agreement, so the while it wouldn't have worked for me, it did for them. Once again, the key is to be clear about the elements of the agreement and commit them to a document.

If I were contemplating such an arrangement, I would choose my partners carefully and do a lot of homework on agreements that might be used. I chose to describe an example on the airplane scenario simply because it is something that I am very familiar with, and would have had a different set of expectations about. That doesn't make that particular agreement wrong, but it would make me the wrong partner to have in it. This is a very important aspect of a partnership, because even with a written agreement, there can be disputes which end up being a mess. Such a situation is bad enough when the asset is merely a business tool, but can really be the pits when it is a recreational item - who wants to end up in a fight over something that is supposed to be about fun?

In the end, though, only you can decide if the partnership route is right for you.