In Praise of Syndication

Published 17:01 on 19 Jan 2026

I had a share of a boat in Greece until recently, and have syndicated my own little racing boat for two or three years now.  I first came upon the idea in the late 70s, when a friend shared a boat in Lymington with three friends. His syndicate worked really well as each had a different area of responsibility (skills based) and they were all good friends.

My Greek boat worked well even though I had never met the other owners prior to buying into the syndicate. That was mainly because three of them were friends; but again each contributed according to his skills, and happily, mine were a good fit.

You'll have to pardon me for using the male pronoun, but writing his/her all the time is immensely tedious, and I have spent half my life trying to encourage women and girls to be more confident and assertive on boats.

 So what are the pros of syndication?  First, lower cost, better maintenance and less time for the boat sitting in port doing nothing; productivity of the invested capital.  The cost is two pronged.  By syndicating one can buy a much better boat with the available funds and it costs much less to run, in terms of both effort and money.  My 2025 Greek excursion cost me £10,000 in capital and £200 per month for five weeks cruising in Greece. The boat was a 40ft Jeanneau Sun Odyssey.  Three double cabins, two loos and thoroughly luxurious.   In contrast my syndicated racing boat cost us £1,000 in capital and £40 per month each. Both figures include all maintenance, insurance and berthing at the home port. 

The racer is no luxury, but fast and fun!  Happily, the racer also solves the crew problem, and as for the cruiser - who has time for more than five weeks holiday? 

There are other benefits of syndicating including lowering the cost of new sails, more affordable major repairs and replacements and being able to buy the best insurance.  The better maintenance pro is that all the things that should be done to a boat are done, because there are several guilty consciences at play, and plenty of knowledge on hand. Both my syndicates have/had five members, so things are nicely spread out amongst us all. 

In my experience, it is a well-used boat that gets ten weekends/weeks use in a year. Working on the Hamble for many years, it was standard to see  about 10% of boats being left on their moorings, even on busy Bank Holidays. Leaving your boat lying around is good for neither engine nor gear.

One word of warning is to choose your syndicate members with care. At best you gain new friends, as I have, but at worst you may find yourself lumbered with people you don't like.  Now I come to the cons…. ah, you will have to provide your own, as I can think of none!

 David Brooke-Smith

Last updated 17:17 on 19 January 2026