Boat sharing: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 17:31, 13 June 2008

Boat Sharing describes the ownership of boats, mainly sailing boats, by an non-profit organisation for its members, for pleasure use.

A boat sharing organisation may be an association, club, cooperative or company. The boats may be owned by the organisation, or leased to it, with members hiring or booking the boats for use for a variety of cruise durations.

The costs of setting up, financing and administering a boat sharing scheme may be offset by the eventual higher utilisation of the boats and moorings, producing cheaper rates of sailing for its members compared to private boat ownership.

Members joining a boat sharing scheme may also save themselves the need to wait for a mooring, which in many marinas can be significant due to the demand exceeding supply. Advocates of boat sharing contend that it offers a fairer way of utilising over-subscribed but sometimes under-used moorings.

Larger sharing schemes may also offer the opportunity to members of sailing from different ports and shores, and with different classes of boat. The limiting factor for the growth of a boat sharing organisation is still, as for the private owner, the availability of moorings.

References

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Unreferenced|date=May 2007}}
+[[Image:Yngling.jpg|thumb|right|[[Yngling (keelboat)|Yngling]] sailing boat]]
-'''Boat Sharing''' means the operation of boats, mainly [[sailing|sailing boats]], by an [[non-profit organisation]] for its members. The organisation may be an [[voluntary association|association]], a [[cooperative]], a [[club]] or a society or—if it is set up more professionally and/or more commercially—a [[company (law)|company]] or a [[corporation]]. The boats may be the property of the boat sharing organisation or of a third-party and operated under an appropriate contract. [[Image:Yngling.jpg|thumb|right|[[Yngling (keelboat)|Yngling]] sailing boat]]
+'''Boat Sharing''' describes the ownership of boats, mainly [[sailing|sailing boats]], by an [[non-profit organisation]] for its members, for pleasure use.
+A boat sharing organisation may be an [[voluntary association|association]], [[club]], [[cooperative]] or [[company (law)|company]]. The boats may be owned by the organisation, or [[lease]]d to it, with members hiring or booking the boats for use for a variety of cruise durations.
-By boat sharing, the capacity of the boats is used to a higher exent than it is usually in privately owned boats. Costs per hour or per day sailed are lower, because the fixed costs are spread out over a larger amount of time and shared by several users. This benefit alone by far outweighs the cost for the reservation system and administration and coordination overhead.
+The costs of setting up, financing and administering a boat sharing scheme may be offset by the eventual higher utilisation of the boats and moorings, producing cheaper rates of sailing for its members compared to private boat ownership.
-Compared to privately owning and operating a boat, boat sharing offers several other advantages:
-* No need to wait for a [[Mooring (watercraft)|mooring]]. In many [[Marina|ports]], waiting time for a mooring is many years because demand by far exceeds limited supply. [[Tragedy of the commons|This situation]] even further discourages holders to ever release their mooring, even if they do not use it any more—a [[vicious circle]].
-* Boat sharers can use different boats in different ports on different shores according to their likings or needs—sporty or even competitive sailing in a class boat or a relaxing weekend trip with family or friends on a cruiser.
+Members joining a boat sharing scheme may also save themselves the need to wait for a [[Mooring (watercraft)|mooring]], which in many [[marinas]] can be significant due to the demand exceeding supply. Advocates of boat sharing contend that it offers a fairer way of utilising over-subscribed but sometimes under-used moorings.
-The [[limiting factor]] for the growth of a boat sharing organisation is the availability of moorings. By the comparatively high usage rate of boats and moorings, boat sharing uses the scarce resource moorings more efficiently, more sustainably and in this sense more fairly than ordinary private boat owners do. This would justify to favour boat sharers when allocating moorings; so far no port administration has become known, however, to favor boat sharers over ordinary private boat owners when allocating moorings.
+Larger sharing schemes may also offer the opportunity to members of sailing from different ports and shores, and with different classes of boat. The [[limiting factor]] for the growth of a boat sharing organisation is still, as for the private owner, the availability of moorings.
 == See also ==