If you purchase a yacht you’ll be investing a sizeable
sum in an asset that will decline in value over time. It
offers no financial return. For either a new 28 foot yacht
or a much larger pre-owned yacht, you’ll probably invest
more than you would for a new Jaguar automobile. Especially
when that yacht is likely to be used only 2 to 3 times per
month during the sailing season, most prudent sailors look
for ways to get the most sailing value for their expenditure.
Our SailShare captains know well
maintained yachts last for decades, and that most of the
yachts in any harbor will be of the sixties, seventies or
early eighties vintage. They also know that because of the
high cost of new yachts, very few yachts in the harbor are
less than a decade old. If they were buying a yacht they
would probably look for a time proven one from an earlier
era. Many of these yachts have beautiful lines and superb
sailing characteristics. Sailors love to sail them. The
problem is in finding one that has been well maintained,
and then having the time, patience, skill and money to do
the necessary restoration work and ongoing maintenance.
The typical dilemma for sailing enthusiasts is that new
yachts are unaffordable and older yachts take more time,
money, skill and patience than most owners can or are willing
to provide. The solution is to let us do it for you. And
to share your yacht with enough other like-minded enthusiasts
that costs can be brought down to the point that professionally
maintained yachts that are fun to sail become affordable.
That’s where we come in. We hire marine surveyors to help
us find well maintained, good looking yachts that are fun
to sail. Then we hire professionals to maintain them. Our
yachts meet stringent requirements for bareboat charter
insurance, and for charter permits from the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources and the Chicago Park District. We do
what you probably can’t or don’t want to do to make Lake
Michigan sailing affordable and hassle-free.
Look at it this way. You don’t have to find and restore
the yachts; you don’t have to do the drudge work needed
to keep your yacht in top condition. You don’t have to have
to find the partners to share time with you and dramatically
reduce your cost. With SailShare, you just enjoy the sailing.
