10 years of clubbing

2018 sees Pure Latitude Boat Club celebrating its 10th year running the UK’s first and largest shared use boat club.

Martin Gray started PL in 2008 when, as a boating enthusiast, he realised that owning one boat in one place was a hopelessly inefficient way to enjoy boating. It just didn’t come close to satisfying his boating needs. He needed a race boat, a cruising boat for the family, occasionally a bigger boat, access to a rib and possibly even a motor cruiser for windless days!

Launched in 2008 with just four boats, PL now  operates 15 boats in five locations plus access to a further ‘supplementary‘ fleet at discounted rates.

Shared asset schemes have been around for years in holiday property and of course boat sharing is not new but the idea of a membership club, requiring only a simple commitment one year at a time and offering flexible access to a range of craft was an entirely new proposition ten years ago.

Rapid take up confirmed the popularity of the idea but somewhat surprisingly there has been minimal competition in this space until now. ‘Suddenly the market appears to have got the point’ says Martin. The emergence of successful p2p businesses such as Airbnb and zipcar have given credibility to the sharing economy generally and boat schemes specifically.

Boatyards, manufacturers and new independent companies are emerging with their own visions of how to offer efficient and hassle-free boating. Clubs are starting to emerge in various UK locations but notably most only offer small day use motor boats. “Of course clubs are not the solution for everyone, although some people even mix ownership and membership” says Martin “I’m convinced that clubs will feature significantly in the future of boating and that clubs are set to grow rapidly.”