How it works
Costs
Shares on both boats can usually be bought for about £2-3,000 per week depending on the time of year. Annual contribution to syndicate running costs, covering maintenance, winter mooring, insurance etc. are typically about £500 per annum per week owned. An annual budget is agreed each year at the AGM which covers all maintenance, refurbishment and upgrading. Both boats have a continual programme of refurbishment and renewal. In 2020 for example, Bon Viveur is scheduled for a complete kitchen refit and Bon Viveur II is scheduled for a complete external repaint. The quoted annual charge covers all such work.
You buy the precise weeks you want – as few as one, or as many as you like (subject to availability), between March and October. Also, you own what you buy. There is no rotation as with many boat share schemes– but there is often the opportunity to swap weeks with others.
Where are the boats and where can I take them?
The boats have no fixed base; they roam the entire French waterways system, so you don’t cruise the same stretch year after year and over time you can visit the entire system. The boats will tend typically (but not exclusively) to gravitate south for low season and north for high season.
The itinerary for each boat every year is determined by mutual discussion and agreement - typically by email initially, and then formally adopted at the annual general meeting of shareholders.
What will be expected of me?
Shareholders are encouraged to get involved in the management of the boats, each playing to their strengths – either administrative or mechanical. That way, costs are kept right down, and shareholders have a real sense of and pride in ownership
Shareholders are invited to attend the AGM to swap stories, share notes and make decisions about the next year's itinerary.
When it's time to take your holiday in the sun, you simply travel to your agreed handover location – by car, train or plane. The previous owner will have cleaned and prepared the boat for use with full water and fuel tanks. You are then free to do what you wish with the boat, the only requirement being that you have it at the next handover location, on time, clean and resupplied, ready for the next owner.