Buying a boat together: legal basics and process
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You want to buy a boat together with others. Perhaps with a friend, perhaps with someone you don’t know yet. Either way, the same questions come first: Does the boat really belong to me? Do I need a notary? What happens if someone wants out? And what does the law actually say?
This article explains the legal basics and the actual process as it works in Germany. No legalese, but well founded. All information relates to German law (the German Civil Code, BGB).
This guide was written for owners and buyers in Germany. Legal, tax and boat-paper points refer to German law and practice; other countries may differ.
PartABoat brings together buyers and sellers of shares in used boats, as fractional co-ownership.
1. The legal basis: fractional co-ownership under the BGB
When several people own a boat together, German law treats them as fractional co-owners (Bruchteilsgemeinschaft) (§§ 741–758 BGB). Each co-owner holds an undivided share in the whole boat, not in a particular part of it. So you do not own the foredeck or the stern but, for example, a quarter of the whole boat.
The most important rules in the BGB:
Disposing of your own share (§ 747 BGB): Each co-owner can freely dispose of their share: sell it, leave it to their heirs, give it away or borrow against it. By law this needs no consent from the others; an agreement among the co-owners can, however, oblige them to sell only to a buyer the others have approved (chapter 8). That is a fundamental difference from a German civil-law company (GbR): your share belongs to you, and you decide what happens to it.
Management and use (§§ 744–745 BGB): You decide on the proper management of the boat by majority, counted by shares. So a maintenance order or a new berth is decided by the majority. For fundamental changes such as a conversion or a new colour you need everyone’s agreement.
Bearing the costs (§ 748 BGB): Each co-owner bears the running costs in proportion to their share. If you own a quarter, you pay a quarter of the berth, insurance and maintenance. That is the statutory standard, not the result of a negotiation.
Right to end the co-ownership (§ 749 BGB): Each co-owner can demand at any time that the co-ownership be ended. In the worst case that means selling the boat and dividing the proceeds. This is exactly why a contract that settles this point matters, with a right to buy among the co-owners, deadlines and a valuation procedure instead of a forced sale.
So the BGB provides a solid framework, but it has gaps: usage times, standards of care, reserves and conflict resolution are not settled by law. These gaps are filled by the Living Contract (co-owner agreement), the agreement that all co-owners at PartABoat sign before ownership is transferred: reserves and conflict resolution are settled in the PartABoat template, and you set the usage times in it together. What clean means, who cleans what and how the boat is handed over, you set down in writing before buying.
2. Boat papers, not a public title register: how ownership of boats works
Boats are movable property. That is why there is no public title register for boats as there is for land. A register that publicly records your ownership exists only if the boat is entered in the ship register. Even then, no notary has to notarise the transfer.
A boat comes with papers: the boat certificate, for example from the Waterways and Shipping Office, or the International Boat Certificate (IBS).
In practice the boat certificate is the document you show at harbour checks, for insurance matters and to the authorities. It is not itself proof of ownership: what counts legally is the chain of title made up of the purchase contract, handover record and the previous owners’ documents. For boats entered in the ship register, the register entry is added, and only that entry also has effect towards third parties.
What does that mean for you? If you buy a quarter share in a boat, your purchase is documented by the purchase contract and the handover record. For boats entered in the ship register, you have yourself entered there with your share; for this the register needs declarations from you and from the seller with notarially certified signatures. That makes you a co-owner, legally and in practice. That the seller is the owner is shown by the documents on their own purchase; they hand these over to you as far as they have them, and you check them before buying.
3. Do I need a notary?
Short answer: not for the purchase contract. If the boat is entered in the ship register, a notary certifies the signatures for the transfer in the register.
Boats are movable property, and in Germany there is no requirement to notarise the purchase of movable property. A private written purchase contract is enough. This also applies to buying a share: a quarter share in a boat is a share in a movable item, not a piece of land, not a heritable building right, nothing for which the purchase contract would have to be notarised.
There is no real estate transfer tax and, if the boat is not entered in the ship register, no notary fees either. The incidental costs of buying a boat are then limited to re-registering the boat papers (€50–200), a surveyor if you use one (€400–800) and, if needed, transfer costs; for a registered boat, the fees of the registry court and the notary are added. If you have a notary hold the purchase price until the handover, their fees are added too (information sheet).
Note: For boats of exceptionally high value or with complex company structures (ownership through a limited company or similar), advice from a notary can make sense.
4. The purchase contract: what has to be in it
Even though the purchase contract does not have to be notarised, it needs clear content. At PartABoat there are two documents: the purchase contract (covers buying the share) and the Living Contract (covers the co-owner group). Both are signed before ownership is transferred.
The purchase contract contains at least:
- Contracting parties: seller and buyer with full personal details. When a share is bought: all co-owners named as parties or at least as participants.
- Boat details: model, year of build, build or hull number (HIN), engine, for sailing boats rig and sails, berth. The more precise the better; with used boats, clarity about the actual condition matters more than with new boats.
- Item sold and share: Which share is being sold (for example ¼, ⅓, ½)? What comes with it (accessories, tender, electronics)? What does not?
- Purchase price and payment terms: the agreed price, the method of payment and the deadlines. The purchase price never goes to PartABoat; as soon as PartABoat accompanies the purchase, you pay it only on the handover date, directly to the seller.
- Joint exercise in a whole-boat sale: The purchase contract comes about only when everyone in the group of buyers has exercised their option; before that nobody pays a purchase price.
- Liability for defects: In private sales (between private individuals), excluding liability for defects is usual (“sold as seen”). That is why a viewing with a surveyor matters so much: what you do not check before buying, you generally cannot complain about afterwards.
Note on the right of withdrawal: If the seller sells as a private person and not as part of a commercial or independent professional activity, the special consumer protection rules do not apply to the purchase contract with them: you have no statutory right of withdrawal against them. PartABoat brings the parties together but is not a party to the contract. The statutory 14-day right of withdrawal applies to the PartABoat service agreement. Regardless of that, at PartABoat: You pay the purchase price only when all contracts are signed.
5. Why the purchase price is paid only on the handover date
The purchase money never goes to PartABoat, but directly to the seller on the handover date. You pay it only when all contracts are signed and keys and papers have been handed over. There are three reasons for this:
For the buyer: You transfer only once you have the boat, keys and papers. If you buy as a group, you choose one of two ways together in the purchase contract: keys and papers go to you first, then everyone pays; if a payment is missing, the seller repays the others their money, and until then you keep keys and papers. Or you have a notary hold the purchase price. If you want extra security, choose a notary.
For the seller: They remain the owner until the whole purchase price has reached them; the purchase contract records this (retention of title).
Regulatory reason: As an intermediary, PartABoat may not hold customer funds; that would breach the German Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG). That is why the purchase price goes directly from the buyer to the seller.
PartABoat is just starting: listing and enquiries already work. Until PartABoat accompanies the purchase, you buy directly; you then organise getting to know each other and forming the group yourselves. How to secure the purchase price is set out in the information sheet.
6. Insurance with several owners
A boat with several owners needs insurance that covers all co-owners. In practice there are two variants:
One joint policy: All co-owners are entered as policyholders or co-insured persons. The premium is split by share (settled in the Living Contract). This is the simplest and most common solution.
Individual policies: In theory each co-owner can take out their own third-party liability cover. In practice this is unusual and more expensive, because insurers want a clear ownership structure with fractional co-ownership anyway.
Important: The insurance must cover everyone who uses the boat, so all co-owners and, when they come along, their families. Whoever skippers the boat must be named in the policy as an authorised skipper. The Living Contract settles the duty to insure: third-party liability and hull insurance must cover use by all co-owners and by the people you allow, and the contact person proves every year that cover is in place.
PartABoat is not an insurance broker and does not arrange insurance.
7. Liability: who is liable for what?
Liability is the topic that creates the most uncertainty. The basic rule is simple; the details need attention.
Towards third parties: Anyone who culpably causes damage is liable for it. Alongside them, the other co-owners can also be liable for the full amount, for example if you have committed yourselves jointly, such as in the berth contract, or on inland waters as owners of the boat for the person skippering it; and injured parties may in some circumstances have recourse against the boat itself. This is exactly what boat third-party liability insurance is for: under the Living Contract it must cover use by all co-owners and by the people they allow.
Among yourselves: If a co-owner damages the boat, they are liable to the others under the general rules (fault). For this the Living Contract provides for a logbook after each use, recording damage and anything unusual, and a reserve for maintenance and replacement; whether you also agree an excess, for example, you decide together.
What damage costs you in practice: Most damage has no culprit. The scratch from the unfamiliar marina that is only noticed at the lift-out, the tap that starts to drip, the shower door that jams: not maliciously concealed, but never seen, or simply wear. In our experience a typical minor damage costs €250–750 per incident, for the whole boat, before you split it. Larger damage is covered by hull insurance, depending on its terms, with an excess and limits like any insurance.
For what then stays with the group, meaning scratches nobody can be tied to, wear and excesses, one figure helps: according to market research, unplanned repairs come to €1,000–3,000 per boat per year; as a quarter owner you bear €250–750 of that per year, as a half owner €500–1,500. Against that stands the saving: as a quarter owner of a Bavaria Cruiser 41 (our sailing calculation example) you save around €9,375 in running costs compared with sole ownership, every year, as a half owner around €6,250. A scratch is still annoying. But scratches happen in sole ownership too, only there you pay for every one alone, along with all the running costs.
Conclusion on liability: Good boat insurance, a clear contract and co-owners who treat the boat with care make the liability risk manageable. That is how it works in every co-owner group that functions.
8. What happens if someone wants out?
The law gives every co-owner the right to dissolve the co-ownership (§ 749 BGB). Without a contractual arrangement that would mean: one wants out, so the boat is sold and the proceeds are divided. Nobody wants that.
The Living Contract settles leaving in stages:
- Step 1: Give notice of the wish to sell. The departing co-owner notifies the other co-owners in text form that they want to sell their share. Only then do they list it on the PartABoat marketplace or look for a buyer privately.
- Step 2: The co-owners’ right to buy. From receipt of the notice the other co-owners have 30 calendar days to take over the share themselves, individually or jointly in proportion to their shares. If the notice names a buyer and their price, they take it over at that price and on the terms of that buyer’s contract. If it names none, the applicable figure is the portion of the market value of the whole boat attributable to the share, plus any additional proceeds that can be established; if there is no agreement on this, it is set by an expert determiner appointed on application by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
- Step 3: New co-owner. If no co-owner takes it up, a new buyer joins. They join the Living Contract. A co-owner can reject them only for good cause relating to that person, for example if facts suggest they will not keep to the rules on use and costs, and only within 30 calendar days of the notice, with brief reasons in text form; after that their consent counts as given.
- Step 4: Last option, dissolution. A co-owner can demand dissolution of the co-ownership only after the initial period of three years, with six months’ notice expiring on 31 October, or earlier for good cause; the aim is then to sell the boat as a whole.
Step 4 is the last stage: even if a co-owner demands dissolution, the others can take over their share first.
9. Handshake and contract: what nobody plans for
Among friends a handshake counts, and many groups run that way for years. The contract does not replace it. It settles what nobody plans for at the handshake: someone wants to sell, an heir joins, you disagree about the value.
Without a contract there are no usage plans, no reserves, no rules for leaving, no right to buy. When things start to grate there is only the BGB, and the BGB solves problems by dissolution, not by agreement.
The PartABoat Living Contract is the counter-model: it fills what the BGB leaves open with the rules of the PartABoat template and with what you set in it together. Not because co-owners argue for no reason, but because there is less to argue about with clear rules.
| Handshake arrangement | PartABoat + Living Contract | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Yes (BGB) | Yes (BGB), documented by purchase contract and handover record |
| Usage plan | By arrangement | Settled in the contract, under our template the high season by share |
| Cost split | “We’ll split it” | Formula in the contract, reserve for repairs |
| Standards of care | None | You set them down in writing before buying: condition when handed back, fuel level, cleaning |
| Leaving | § 749 BGB (dissolution) | Co-owners’ right to buy, marketplace, step-by-step escalation |
| Getting to know each other | Chance or acquaintance | Structured, with a fixed list of questions |
| Resolving conflict | Conversation → lawyer | Conversation → conciliation by a neutral third person, if someone proposes it; the route to the courts remains open |
The co-ownership column follows the Living Contract.
That does not mean handshake arrangements are bad. Many work for years; mine started that way too. But the more money and the less personal closeness are involved, the more a contractual basis matters. As soon as a boat is worth more than you would calmly write off in a dispute, a contract is not overkill but self-protection.
10. Frequently asked questions
Can three or two people buy together as well?
Yes. The co-owner group does not always have to be four people. Thirds and halves are just as possible. At PartABoat it remains a small, fixed co-owner group of up to four co-owners. How the shares are divided is flexible.
What if one of the co-owners dies?
The share goes into the estate and is inherited like any other property. The heirs step into the Living Contract and can keep or sell the share. If they want to sell, the co-owners’ right to buy under the PartABoat template applies: the other co-owners can take over the share themselves within 30 calendar days of the notice. If the notice names a buyer and their price, that price applies, otherwise the share of the market value of the whole boat, set by an expert determiner if there is no agreement.
Can I finance my share?
You clarify that with your bank or a lender of your choice. Some accept a whole boat as security; whether that works for a share, ask beforehand. The instalment comes on top of your share of the costs each year, and both have to fit your budget.
Does all this also apply to boats in Croatia?
The brokerage agreement and the Living Contract are concluded under German law, even if the boat lies in Croatia. What applies beyond that, meaning the transfer of ownership of the boat itself, its registration and the papers that go with it, depends on where the boat lies and which flag it flies. Clarify this before buying with the seller and, where the transfer of ownership is concerned, with a lawyer admitted in the cruising area.
Do I need a lawyer?
It is not compulsory, but with shares worth €50,000 or more it certainly makes sense, at least for a review of the contract. PartABoat provides the Living Contract as a template, but the contract cannot replace individual advice. A lawyer’s review of the contract costs €200–500.
Conclusion
Buying a boat together is legally simpler than most people think: no public title register, no real estate transfer tax and, if the boat is not entered in the ship register, no notary. Fractional co-ownership under the BGB is a proven instrument. What it needs is a contract that fills the gaps in the law: usage times, standards of care, reserves, leaving.
At PartABoat this contract is the Living Contract. It is a template, covers the central practical points (costs, reserves, leaving; you set the usage times in it together) and is signed by all co-owners before ownership is transferred. Not because the law requires it, but because good groups need clear rules. What clean means, who cleans what and how the boat is handed over, you set down in writing before buying.
How buying a share works for you and what you pay: For buyers
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About the author: Ekki is the founder of PartABoat and a co-owner of two motorboats. Over the years he has owned five boats together with others, first on a handshake, later with a contract. Along the way he learned that firm rules work better than trust alone. This article builds on that.
Legal note: This article is not legal advice. All information is based on the German Civil Code (BGB, as of 2026) and personal experience. For specific legal questions, consult a specialist lawyer.