Who is liable for what is set out here. Including where we are not liable.
Fractional ownership, that is, co-ownership of a boat, only works if everyone knows where they stand. Here you will learn step by step what you pay when, what the contracts settle and what you check yourself.
This page was written for owners and buyers in Germany. Legal, tax and boat-paper points refer to German law and practice; other countries may differ.
What PartABoat does not do.
This page says where our responsibility ends and who is responsible then.
What we do not check
We look at every new or edited listing before it goes live; we do not verify the details in it, nor the boat itself, nor the papers or the seller’s ownership. Technical inspection and surveys are the responsibility of the buyer; for this we provide a checklist for buying a boat. The Living Contract (co-owner agreement) is a template: it is not tailored to your group, and we do not check your individual case.
Your purchase price never goes to PartABoat
As soon as PartABoat accompanies the purchase, you transfer it only on the handover date, once keys and papers have been handed over, directly to the seller; until then, the information sheet shows how. As an intermediary we are not allowed to hold client money, so we never touch it. Only our own fees go to PartABoat, after the purchase and on invoice.
Not a contracting party
PartABoat brokers the contact and provides templates. The purchase contract is concluded solely between buyer and seller. PartABoat is neither a party nor a guarantor.
No insurance, no boat service
PartABoat does not provide insurance, guarantees or services around the boat. The co-owner group organises itself, with the support of our template documents.
PartABoat is an intermediary, not an operator. As soon as we accompany the purchase, we provide templates and organise the getting to know each other. The decisions are for the owners to make.
Who answers for what
Defects in the boat
Your purchase contract with the seller settles this; PartABoat is not a contracting party.
Damage caused by a co-owner
Anyone who culpably causes damage is liable to the others for it; larger damage is covered by the hull insurance, depending on its terms, with an excess and limits like any insurance.
Our own mistakes
If we reproduce a detail incorrectly, we are liable under the terms of use. Once the purchase runs through PartABoat, we are also liable under our contract with you, for example if we make a mistake in the allocation or transmit a declaration incorrectly.
After the purchase
Once the purchase runs through PartABoat, we answer organisational questions for the first 90 days after completion and help with your first season planning. After that the co-owner group organises itself.
Four rules for your purchase.
Get to know each other before committing
You get to know your future co-owners before you commit. As soon as PartABoat accompanies the purchase, it organises a meeting or a video call with a fixed list of questions. Until then, on request, we introduce you to other people interested in the same boat, if they would like that too. If the chemistry is not right, you step away, at no cost, with no reason needed.
Stepping away before you are bound
With an existing co-owner group, you incur no costs before the purchase contract. In a whole-boat sale, you pay nothing until the handover; before that, only travel and time cost you anything. The option fee is your price for the seller committing the boat to your group alone for 45 days. You owe it to the seller only if you do not buy in the end, and you then pay it when the option period ends.
When you pay the purchase price
Your purchase price never goes to PartABoat. As soon as PartABoat accompanies the purchase, you transfer it only on the handover date, once keys and papers have been handed over. Until then, the information sheet shows how.
All aboard or no purchase
With an existing co-owner group, you buy your share directly, with no minimum number. In a whole-boat sale, the boat only changes hands once all shares are allocated. If the group does not come together, nobody pays an option fee.
How your money moves and when it falls due
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 explained in the information sheet.
You pay nothing to PartABoat until completion. With an existing co-owner group, you pay the purchase price only when all contracts are signed. In a whole-boat sale, it falls due only once all buyers have exercised their option. Payment is made on the handover date, directly to the seller, once keys and papers have been handed over; when buying as a group, you choose together in the purchase contract whether everyone pays one after another or a notary holds the purchase price. If you want extra security, choose a notary.
You owe the option fee only if you do not buy at the end of the option period; it then goes to the seller, not to PartABoat. Tiered by size of share, it is:
| Option fee | Share |
|---|---|
| €750 | for a quarter |
| €1,000 | for a third |
| €1,500 | for a half |
| €2,250 | for three quarters |
At most, however, 10% of your share of the purchase price.
The option fee and the structuring fee are final prices; any VAT due by law and other price components are included in them.
Because you pay nothing before the handover, nothing has to flow back if the purchase does not go ahead. The seller can claim an amount equal to the option fee in only two cases:
- if you have not exercised your option, as payment for the seller having committed the boat to your group;
- if you have exercised your option and do not pay your share of the purchase price on the handover date, not even by a new date within 7 days, and the seller therefore rescinds your purchase, as compensation for the loss this causes the seller, and only if you are responsible for the non-payment.
The structuring fee arises only on completion; you receive the invoice afterwards. The statutory 14-day right of withdrawal applies to the PartABoat service agreement. You receive the withdrawal notice with the contract; you can withdraw online on the page Withdraw from a contract.
Who pays PartABoat
PartABoat is paid by both sides of the transaction: the structuring fee by the buyer, the commission by the seller. We state this openly rather than hiding it, because this very dual role obliges us to be neutral: anyone acting as intermediary for both sides must treat both equally. If we favour one side, we are liable for it. What we know about the boat, such as known defects, we pass on to the seller and the buyers alike. This disclosure is the precondition for our being allowed to work for both sides at all.
You decide how much you sell. The rules are set beforehand.
You have a say
No anonymous matching. You get to know every future co-owner personally before you sell them a share. If you remain a co-owner yourself, you are part of every decision about your boat. In a whole-boat sale, you confirm or reject the group. PartABoat sets the process, the decisions are yours to make.
You are free until you are bound
Until you are bound to a group of buyers, you can also sell the whole boat at any time. Listing in parallel on other platforms or through other channels is allowed.
How the purchase price flows
The purchase price never goes to PartABoat. As soon as PartABoat accompanies the purchase, the buyers transfer it to you only on the handover date, once keys and papers have been handed over; until then, the information sheet shows how. If several people buy as a group, you choose one of two ways together in the purchase contract: keys and papers go to the buyers first, then everyone pays, and if a payment is missing, you repay the others their money; or a notary holds the purchase price. You remain the owner until the whole purchase price has arrived. You pursue any claims against a buyer yourself.
Right to buy when someone leaves
If a co-owner wants to sell, they notify the others. Within 30 calendar days you can take over their share, at the price of their buyer or, if they name none, at the share of the market value of the whole boat. This is what the PartABoat template provides. No stranger comes on board without you knowing.
The Living Contract: your rules before you set off.
The Living Contract is the contract of every co-owner group that buys through PartABoat. Everyone signs it before ownership passes, and you can adapt it as needed, hence “Living”.
Why shared boats fail without such rules and what to set down beforehand: Why shared boats fail.
Usage calendar
Who uses the boat when? The calendar is set jointly. High season: the PartABoat template of the Living Contract divides it by share, rotating annually. If you set July and August as the high season, each owner is entitled to at least 2 weeks under our template.
Cost allocation
Berth, insurance, maintenance: you split all running costs by share. The contract sets out exactly how.
Care standards
What is allowed, what is not? You set down in writing before buying what clean means, who cleans what and how the boat is handed over; after each use, the logbook records damage and anything unusual.
Decision processes
Who decides on repairs, conversions or new equipment? The contract settles what you resolve by simple majority and what only jointly, so that no party is passed over; you decide yourselves what counts as day-to-day administration.
Rules for leaving
Anyone can sell their share; the other co-owners can only reject a buyer for good cause relating to that person, within 30 calendar days of the notice. The co-owners have a right to buy among themselves. Notice periods, valuation procedures and the steps for leaving are set out.
Conflict resolution
In a dispute, you first talk to each other; after that, anyone can propose conciliation by a neutral third person. The route to the courts remains open; this is what the Living Contract says.
We show you in advance what the Living Contract settles in an overview, question by question. In a whole-boat sale, you receive the complete contract as the future co-owner group and adapt it in individual places to your group; if you buy a share in an existing co-owner group, you join its contract.
Still have questions about safety?
Ekki will explain to you personally how the process works and what the contracts settle. This is not legal advice on your individual case.