It seems like the friend partnerships always go awry...I wouldnt co own with anyone else but immediate family.

co-ownership in anything is VERY difficult to do. I would never do it even with my wife...

Friend went co-owner with his best buddy on lake house and jet ski. Ski made it 1/2 way through summer, no one owned up to slinging piston in pieces through exhaust port. The someone kept trying to ride it with rod bouncing around inside the cases..

He sold it to me for junk and after I fixed it and rode it a couple of years sold it at about break even. Don't think he will ever "share" again with anyone. Lake house was next, always a wreck when he would go for his weekend. Sad, and he really believed that his friend wouldn't do these things.

Write up a contract, and see if you still both want to do it then...

It depends on the level of trust and friendship. I co-own my scarab with my best friend and we have enjoyed 5 years of ownership. We've had some ups and downs, nothing too crazy. We've always had a "comes around goes around attitude" with it, meaning your tight on money today and he may be tomorrow and it all works out in the end. Granted, its alot easier to say with a $20k boat than a $200k boat, but not a lot of people can say they own a boat, even a $20k one, at the age of 22 or 24 (one that daddy didn't buy anyway). We've put a lot of money and sweat into it and I think its paid off. We have a cool old school boat we both love. Over the 5 years probably 80% of our boating time has been done together, so sharing time hasn't been a problem.

Bottom line though is it will definitly not work out for most people unless you have a really strong friendship.

I watched a loooong time friend of mine & his brother share their FIRST boat of ANY kind together a few Summers back......

It was a total nightmare, seeing it from the sidelines. My buddy's brother ended up buying him out for what he originally paid at the end of the Summer, which I was AMAZED by, then selling the boat. They are both currently boatless now, lol.

I could barely stand living with a friend of mine for ONE semester in college, so I wouldn't put myself in a position to share an asset with anyone as a result. I don't even think I'd do it with a family member, just based on how I've seen a few of those partnerships go in the past.

I imagine it would be as pleasant as your mother-in-law moving in with you.

I had a partener on my 46 Sea Ray.....never again....never again

My brother and I split a 22' Scarab a few years back for 2 seasons. We lived together and kept the boat in the driveway. We each threw the same amount of time and money into it. Only problem was it was a 5 seater and after we threw our girlfriends in the boat, there wasn't much room for friends.

I'm half owner of my boat with my dad. He got rid of his 35 Fountain a few years ago and downsized to a 'toon. He missed having a performance boat to use on our boat club runs but not bad enough to buy one on his own so when I started shopping we decided to go in halfs. We spend a lot of time together anyway and the boat stays on a lift at their house on the river. It's worked out pretty good so far, no regrets.