Built: 2008 by Vroegh & Alblas,
Aalst, Netherlands in steel to RCD Category C
Dimensions: 14.5 m x 4.5 m x 1.1 m. No restrictions to cruising
anywhere in EU by ICC holders
Air Draft: With radar arch and bimini lowered (a 10 second job!) 3.2
m*
With the all-weather canopy (good in NL but not France) 3.8 m
All up, to top of VHF aerial (OK for nearly all NL fixed bridges)
5.0 m
* Could be further reduced by folding the screen - never
needed
Inside: Saloon, dining area and galley, all on one level with
panoramic views
- fridge, freezer, combi microwave oven, electric hob, etc
Aft owner’s double cabin (5’ king-size bed), huge storage space
- with ensuite WC and separate shower room
Forward twin singles cabin (3’3” beds), plenty of storage space
Forward (port side) bunks cabin (3’ beds) limited storage space
Forward (starboard) WC / shower room - very spacious
TV (no digibox) with DVD player
3 radio CD players in saloon
and main cabins with many ceiling speakers
Double-glazed windows throughout with mosquito screens and blinds or
curtains
Cutlery, crockery, kitchen equipment, duvets, bed linen, towels,
etc. all included
Equipment: Yanmar 6LPA-DTP 4.2 l 210 hp main engine 1300 hours
(Oct 2016) - wet exhaust
Mastervolt Whisper 8 - 8 kVA generator approx 100 hours (Oct 2016)
Electric bow and stern thrusters, electric windlass, bow and stern
anchors
Hot air central heating not suitable for winter live-aboard use
Air conditioning - not guaranteed and not used
Washing machine / tumble dryer
Electrical: 12 V domestic supply 660 Ah from 6 sealed “marine
leisure” batteries (2014)
Mastervolt 12/2500-100 Combi inverter / charger
Solar panels 720 watt with MPPT controller
Alternators 160 amp and 75 amp
Tanks: 1200 l fuel in 2 tanks
1025 l water in 2 tanks
490 l waste tank
80 l hot water tank with colorifier and immersion heater
Navigation: Raymarine C200
chart plotter 10” screen
Raymarine depth, speed, water temperature
Raymarine auto pilot, heading, rudder indicator
Raymarine VHF radio
Raymarine radar, AIS, Navtex - never tested or used
Outside: Fully enclosed canvas canopy over helm station good in
NL, but not in France
Canvas bimimi, easily lowered (with radar arch) to 3.2 m air draft
Swimming platform with boarding ladder and H&C shower, deck-wash
hose
Folding dining table, deck chairs, gas BBQ, boarding gangway, 2
bikes, etc. etc.
Rubber dinghy (3-4 person) with electric outboard motor and oars
Condition: Generally very good, but not quite “showroom condition”.
Some small chips or scratches in paintwork and fender scuffs, etc
One or two non-essential gauges not working
A few small marks on leather upholstery and carpets, etc |
The Concept
I’ve owned Levana, a fine and spacious 15 m 3-cabin steel
motor cruiser based on the inland waterways of Europe for
the last 5 years. I’d now like to reduce my commitment of
cruising.
I could simply sell the boat and rent one from time to time,
but I love the boat as it’s much more comfortable for 3 or 4
people than any rental boat. It occurs to me that there may
be other like-minded people who’d like to spend several
weeks on “their own boat” each year - but at a much lower
cost than is normal to buy and maintain (or to rent) a
comfortable and well-equipped modern motor cruiser.
I’d like to find 2 or 3 other similarly minded people with
some boating experience to share the capital and running
costs so that we can all benefit and minimise costly idle
time - unused in costly marinas.
With just 3 or 4 co-owners, I would hope we could agree on
where the boat goes and mutually agreed changeover
locations. Perhaps Germany (Berlin and the Mecklenburg
Lakes) could be included our cruising area in the future?
I’ve been very content having no regular base and have
travelled extensively in France, Belgium and the
Netherlands, leaving the boat between my several trips at
suitable secure marinas or boatyards where a car can be
parked safely while I’m cruising. If the boat remains
nomadic, we’d have the advantage of much more varied
cruising with no “return to
base” commitments.
So, how about paying just one third or maybe one quarter of
its capital value and a similar fraction of the normal
running and wintering costs?
Assuming a May to September “high season” of about 21 weeks
we could each use the boat for about 7 weeks (3-person) or
5+ weeks (4-person) in the summer, plus 3 or 4 weeks each in
the quieter and cooler months of March, April and October.
The boat is currently laid up at Meppel, Netherlands for the
winter. It can be inspected at any time by arrangement.
The Costs
The boat has a value of about €240,000 (broker suggests
€299,000 asking price), but I’d consider it less for share
distribution purposes:
Capital outlay: €75.000 (3-person) or €57,000 (4-person) for
each share
Based on estimated running costs (engine service, winter
storage, insurance, R&M, etc):
About €1200 (3-person) or €900 (4-person) per year for each
owner maybe more
Fuel, summer mooring costs, waterway
licences, tolls, etc are not
included to be paid by users
Buy Back Offer**
If you bought into the scheme and for some reason you wanted
to sell after a couple of years, I’d offer to buy back your
share (as long as I hold my own share) at what you paid less
10% for each full or part year you had owned it. By my
estimation, even with this 10% capital loss, you’d be paying
somewhere in the region of half the cost of renting a
comparable vessel for your 7 or 5+ weeks - and much less if
you also used it for extra “mid season” weeks.
(**Please note
this web site (boatshare) cannot confirm or underwrite this
offer)
Alternatively you could of course sell your share to another
suitable and acceptable party - maybe at little or no loss.
Interested?
Please contact me with your scheme preference (3 or 4
person) and what you feel about cruising areas,
administration, costs, or any other matters. I’m flexible
regarding how the scheme may work (but it will eventually
have to have a few mutually agreed rules), or where the boat
goes.
I’d expect this may be a particularly attractive proposition
to long-distance boaters (from US, NZ, Aus, etc) as they
could use the boat perhaps for one long trip with a minimum
of travel costs and not worry about it the rest of the time
- with a big saving compared with renting and avoiding
“return to base”.
I’ve started work on a proposed Rules document, but this
really needs to be compiled by all those involved in the
scheme, but I’d happily forward where I’ve got to so far.
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