Boat ownership alternatives see growth

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The growth that many boat clubs and fractional yacht ownership and lease programs reported in 2008 seems to be continuing this year, according to reports from several South Florida businesses.

One explanation for this phenomenon is that yacht owners – many of whom use their vessels for six weeks of the year or less – are selling portions of their boats to help control costs, according to an article yesterday on the Sun-Sentinel Web site.

"It's a way to justify keeping it," Loren Simkowitz of Monocle Fractional Yachts in Fort Lauderdale, told the newspaper. Monocle sells and manages the fractional ownership of more than 50 yachts, including brands such as Azimut, Hargrave, Hatteras and Westport, which range in length from 64 feet to more than 300 feet, according to the article.

The company’s fractional sales climbed 50 percent in 2008, the newspaper reported.

Earlier this year, fractional boating provider SailTime Group LLC reported steady increases in membership and boats offered through its programs, including more than 100 new members worldwide in 2008 – which increased its overall membership to more than 1,100 members globally – and the addition of 21 new boats to its fleet through its owner-member program.

The company also said it anticipates additional expansion in 2009 as it launches SailTime Power, a similar program to its fractional sailing memberships but with mid-sized, luxury power yachts. Power boats have already been introduced to its fleet in some markets, it added. For more information on SailTime’s growth, read the full article in the Boating-Industry.com archives.

Boat clubs growing too

Boat clubs have also benefitted from the economic downturn. Freedom Boat Club of North Palm Beach, for example, reported its best year ever in 2008, which featured a 40-percent growth in business, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The club offers members – about 90 percent of which are former boat owners – the ability to choose between use of 40 boats ranging from 20 feet to 45 feet in length, the newspaper stated. It has been in business for eight years.

Carefree Boat Club of Fort Lauderdale, which opened last year, has signed up about 50 members so far, the newspaper reported. It offers nine boats, including sailboats, fishing boats and cabin cruisers from 19 to 40 feet in length.

"People are becoming more comfortable with the idea of sharing an asset such as a boat," Richard May of Fort Lauderdale-based American Yacht Share told the newspaper.

The company, which offers fractional yacht leases, is reporting increased interest not only from boat owners having trouble selling their boats, but also from boat dealers looking to adopt leasing programs to increase revenues, the Sun-Sentinel stated.
 
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