Houseboat Fractional Ownership

[kowski]

Had a 24 foot pontoon boat on Houghton Lake in Michigan in partnership with my brother in law. No problems, in fact when it needed repairs it was nice to split the cost. Also dockage fees. Winter storage. Spring time clean up. And when we went out together we split the fuel. A good deal and would do it again if I still lived up there.

[Culture]

Originally Posted by Grizz

I can't help but wonder if houseboating will go out of favour rather quickly with the huge increases in gas prices. I've rented a couple of times and these things really chew through the petrol.

Ironically, boats are about the most fuel efficient form of transportation that exist. There is a reason that low cost commodities like gravel and sand are shipped by barge. It is only going fast that take a lot of fuel. If you are willing to go at "hull speed" which is about 8.5 mph for a 35 foot boat, or about 10 mph for a 50 foot boat, you can sip on the fuel and get 10-15 mpg, which is not bad given the weight you are moving. Given that with a houseboat it would seem that the journey is the point, I would not think that slow speeds would be a huge problem. Then again, I think kayaking is fun.

For this reason, I think that we are going to see some movement in the boating industry from speed boats to cruisers.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I foresee a hybrid houseboat, Solar propeller on the back and towed by a kayak.

[tgotch]

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny

I foresee a hybrid houseboat, Solar propeller on the back and towed by a kayak.

Actually, there is an all electric houseboat for rent at Wisdom Dock on Dale Hollow Lake...

Houseboats, cabins, and boats for vacation fun in Kentucky

[Delawaredave5]

Originally Posted by Culture

Ironically, boats are about the most fuel efficient form of transportation that exist. There is a reason that low cost commodities like gravel and sand are shipped by barge. It is only going fast that take a lot of fuel. If you are willing to go at "hull speed" which is about 8.5 mph for a 35 foot boat, or about 10 mph for a 50 foot boat, you can sip on the fuel and get 10-15 mpg, which is not bad given the weight you are moving.

I do not think above is correct for houseboats (or any big recreational boat). I think houseboats burn around 6-8 gallons per hour at a speed of 8 knots. That's around 1-2 miles per gallon.

http://www.houseboating.org/houseboat-questions.cfm

This fuel "inefficiency" doesn't bother me - when taking boat out, I'd envison only cruising a couple miles to remote cove to spend weekend.

I agree that tankers and freighters are efficent.

[yours2share]

You might find the information on these pages helpful in working out how to make a fractional ownership arrangement work.

[deleted link as spam]

Always have a contract and get independent professional legal advice if you have any concerns. Get advice as to whether you should own it as a company or as private individuals in joint ownership - this varies greatly from country to country. In the Uk where I'm based, four owners is a number where usually the boat would simply be joint owned, at six or more owners a company starts to make more sense.

If you can find like-minded partners with a compatible requirement (particularly in terms of when you want to use the boat), then joint ownership usually works extremely well.