Fractional Boat Ownership by The Cruising Club
A fully equipped luxury sports cruiser or yacht from 40 to 100 feet in length will cost an individual purchaser in the vicinity of $500,000 to $5,000,000. The ongoing cost of maintaining such a vessel, including marina rental, insurance, antifouling, mechanical service, crew, cleaning and fuel costs can also amount to a substantial five to seven figure sum each year. As a result, only a very wealthy percentage of the population can justify this level of expenditure for such a non essential item. Despite this, most marinas are full of very expensive vessels that are only seldom used by their owners.
The concept of 'timesharing' or 'fractional ownership' - being the division of a vacation apartment or luxury asset into multiple ownership titles, has become well established internationally since introduction in the 1970's. Today hundreds of thousands of families and businesses enjoy affordable, luxurious vacations or corporate benefits in desirable leisure assets at some of the world's most exotic locations, through fractional programs developed by companies such as Marriot, Conrad, Radisson, Accor and Disney Corporation.
In more recent times the concept of fractional ownership has also been applied to luxury homes, aeroplanes, helicopters, cars and yachts. With the introduction of The Cruising Club in Australia in 1998, the packaged ownership of a luxury cruiser or corporate motor yacht became available to families, boating enthusiasts and corporations from all social and financial levels.
