Almost everyone would love to be involved with boating.
Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to indulge our passion for being on
the water fully appreciate how life is enhanced, transformed, and in many ways
defined by the hours and days we put aside to spend on our boats. Any family
raising children, or grandchildren, can help mold young characters in positive
directions as well as create family memories that will be cherished for a
lifetime by spending time on a boat.
Why doesn’t absolutely everybody go boating (or, at least a
far greater number of folks than actually do)? Walk around either location of
the Seattle Boat Show this month, and just as evident as the gleaming hulls and
latest fantastic technologies will be the age old barriers to entry. Owning a
boat, at least in the way that most of us first imagine when considering the
question, is expensive. Maintaining a boat is also expensive, as well as time
consuming. For too many families who yearn to go boating, the aggregate cost of
boat payments, insurance, moorage, fuel, maintenance, and repairs is well
beyond affordability. Other families may be able to handle the expense, but
still find it difficult to justify such a large financial commitment in view of
the limited number of days or weeks each
year they will be able to actually use a boat.
The traditional solution to the dilemma has been chartering.
It will cost a few thousand dollars to charter a cruising boat of reasonable
size for a week. When compared to the cost of family airfare to a deluxe resort
and the cost of renting one or two hotel rooms for the same week, the cost of
chartering a yacht can be extremely competitive. However, chartering isn’t for
everyone. Many boaters will want to enjoy boating far more often than just one
week per year. Who wouldn’t feel more “at home” with their personal items
aboard a vessel? There’s no more “pride
of ownership” in a traditional charter boat experience than there is any sense
of ownership when staying in a rented hotel room.
How many people would spend two or three weeks per year in a
hotel room if the only means for doing so were to purchase an entire hotel?
Gateway Yachts, in Anacortes, has established a program that
addresses the financial and time commitment barriers to boating, while still
providing the freedom and scheduling flexibility of an ownership experience.
Imagine boating, with 100 percent of the fun and none of the work at a fraction
of the cost.
The fundamental economic problem with most boat ownership is
that we are forced to buy and maintain a lot more boat than we need. Even a
very active boater will be using a boat for only a fraction of the year, but
absorbing many of the same expenses that would be incurred if the boat were in
daily use. Certainly insurance and slip rental will be the same whether or not
a boat ever leaves the dock. As every boater knows, there are certain ways in
which things can uniquely deteriorate from lack of use just as surely as from
being “worn out”, so the annual costs for maintenance and repairs isn’t
correspondingly reduced when a boat owner uses his or her boat only 10% of the
year, (or less).
Gateway Yachts offers a means through which a boater can own
just as much boat as they are planning to use. Through Gateway, an owner buys
an undivided fractional interest in a power or sailing yacht. The size of the
fraction is determined by the owner’s needs, not pre-determined by a rigid
formula, and can be as little as a 1/16 undivided interest in a boat. An
incredibly active boater could purchase a quarter interest or even more.
The most popular fractional purchase through Gateway Yachts
has proven to be the 1/8 undivided interest. An owner of 1/8 interest can
schedule 5 weeks of use each year, as well as enjoy an unlimited number of days
use when none of the other factional owners have scheduled the boat. That 1/8
fraction should prove more than enough to enable a vacation cruise during good
weather, as well as many weekend cruises each year- (a fairly common usage
level among experienced boaters).
In order to provide a highly personalized level of service,
Gateway has each owner complete an Owner’s Preference worksheet and uses that
information to prep the boat before each owner’s use. If an owner has a variety
of décor items, cookware, clothing, or provisions they expect to find aboard
when arriving to use the boat, Gateway will store those items between uses and
restock and stage the boat prior to each owner’s individual use.
When ready to go boating, a Gateway Yachts owner simply
pulls into the marina parking lot, steps aboard the boat, and casts off. The
boat is already clean, stocked, and ready to depart. Upon return, there is no
need to spend many hours scrubbing and polishing the boat, or even unloading
personal effects. The Gateway Yachts crew handles everything. In a very literal sense, a Gateway Yachts
owner enjoys 100% of the fun of boating, with none of the associated work, and
at a small fraction of the true cost of sole ownership.
So, how do the costs compare?
Using a new Aspen C90 Power Catamaran as an example, here is
how a Gateway Yachts 1/8 fractional ownership stacks up against traditional
sole ownership,
Purchase price, with tax:
Sole ownership- $240,885
Gateway fractional ownership - $38,041
Down Payment (if financed): Sole ownership- $48, 132 Gateway fractional ownership- $11,412
Note: A Gateway Yachts fractional owner can pay cash for a
1/8 undivided interest, and make no monthly finance payments, for about $10,000
less than the cost of a down payment for a sole owner.
Monthly finance payment: Sole ownership - $1437.00 Gateway fractional ownership - $431.75
Estimated indirect ownership costs: Sole ownership - $833/
month. Gateway fractional ownership - $320/ month.
Hoping to get into boating, but put off by the high costs?
Already a boater, but looking for a means by which to reduce your cost of
ownership? In either case, Gateway Yachts is easily worth consideration. For
additional information, please visit the web site http://www,gatewayyachts.com
Sidebar: The Fleet
Gateway Yachts offers fractional ownership of Aspen Power
Catamarans as well as Jeanneau sailboats.
Aspen Yachts are among the most fuel-efficient powerboats
available, yet provide a high level of comfort and are capable of a good turn
of speed.
Remarks about Aspen Power Catamarans on the Gateway Yacht
web site read: Aspen currently builds 28′ and 32′ sleek,
fuel efficient cruisers, and has tested design plans for a 36′ and 54′. The
Aspen has a modern Proa Hull design which ensures one of a kind speed and fuel
efficiency. The power-proa hull has 35% more interior square footage than
mono hull designs providing more spacious living areas. The efficiencies
of their new hull includes 70% less drag than comparable designs and is
equipped with solar panels capable of recharging batteries at dock or anchor.
The 28′, C90 Cruiser, burns 4.5-5.0 gallons per hour at cruise speeds of
approximately 17 mph. The Aspen Power Catamaran is the latest in innovation,
fuel economy and green boating.
Gateway’s comments regarding Jeanneau: Bénéteau/Jeanneau is
the world’s leading production sailboat maker. While the Jeanneau has a
distinctively French heritage, the Gateway Jeanneau’s are manufactured in
the U.S.A. at Bénéteau/Jeanneau’s Marion, South Carolina plant using
the very latest construction technology designed to pack a ton of features into
a very competent and price competitive sailboat.
