Fractional Sailing Lets You Enjoy Big Boat Sailing at Lower Cost

Owning a large sailboat can be quite expensive and time-consuming. Let's face it, most of us just want to go sailing and not have to worry about painting, scraping, boat insurance and all the other time-consuming details that sail boat ownership involves. Fractional Sailing helps solve the expense and maintenance headaches . You sail on a part-time basis, without spending huge sums of money.

There is a new twist to sailboat renting called Fractional Sailing or fractional ownership that is now available in 30 larger cities of the United States and Europe. Fractional sailing is time-sharing with the sailboat owner and another six or seven part-time sailors. The price of a new sailboat, using a 33 foot Hunter as an example, is roughly 150 to160 thousand dollars. The owner of the new sailboat gets his monthly boat loan payment, dockage, and insurance paid for by those sharing the Fractional plan. The boat owner is happy and the Fractional members get to sail in a newer, larger craft.

Renting sailboats is not a new concept. There are lots of places that allow you to rent small sailboats. There are community sailing programs on both coasts of the United States and on the larger lakes and inland bodies of water. If you just want to rent a small day sailor then the local community sailing program is fine. However, if you want to rent a large 30 plus foot sailboat capable of holding a half dozen passengers and friends your choices are very limited. Most people are too busy working and when they do have free time they want to enjoy it to the utmost.

A lot of the participants involved in this boat sharing are former members of community sailing clubs. They were fed up with old, poorly maintained sailboats. They also were fed up with trying to get access to boats during peak times. Spending more money for better boats works for them.

An old boating joke states that a boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into. If you go to most Marinas during the week you will notice that most of the sailboats are tied up at their slips. Most boats are only used on weekends. Fractional Sailing makes more use of that idle time. Not everybody has that kind of money to spend on a new sailboat. Sharing the cost makes sense. One flat rate that includes marina fees, insurance and boat maintenance is ideal. Fractional sailing gets you on the water to enjoy big boat sailing without headaches.

A sample plan using Fractional Sailing would cost each member approximately $8,000 a year. You would share the sailboat with the owner and six other members. The plan works like this, you are guaranteed one full weekend day a month. You are also allowed to use the boat during the week either during the day, or during the evening. Each month you get to use the boat for about 80 hours. If you live in a year-round sailing area, like southern California or Florida this works out to be $8-$12 an hour. This is very reasonable for the use of a modern 33 plus foot sailboat. Some of the plans range from $500 and up per month. Prices vary as to which area of the country the sailboat is located.

In addition to individuals, Fractional Sailing can be used by a businesses to entertain clients in a less formal, pleasurable setting. This is similar to playing golf with a potential client. An important deal could be made during a leisurely afternoon sail around the waterways. By using sailing as a bonus offer to a client much of the monthly fee could be written off as a business expense. A lot of deals can be made during these outings. A day sailing is much more fun than a day at the office anytime.

Now let's sum up why Fractional Sailing is becoming popular. Members get to use larger, more modern, better maintained sailboats. The high cost of owning and maintaining a large boat is lowered for each member. Using a shared method allows them access to sailing that would be out of reach for many. More time is spent out on the water sailing.

To find out more about companies offering Fractional Sailing plans, try the search engines or telephone books in your area. There are at least six or more companies listed on the most popular search engine. These are corporate and individual franchises.