Boat Share Agreement Template (UK)

Updated on 13 August 2026

A boat share agreement is what two or more owners sign when they buy and keep a boat together. English law lets people co-own a chattel like a boat as joint tenants — where the whole boat belongs to all of them together and a departing owner's share passes automatically to the survivors — or as tenants in common, where each owner holds a defined, separately disposable share. Which one applies changes who ends up owning the boat if a co-owner dies, and it is a choice this template asks the owners to make explicitly rather than leaving to chance.

Beyond that starting choice, the questions that actually generate disputes are the same ones the free American templates in this space skip entirely: who gets the boat on a bank holiday weekend, who pays for the engine service nobody budgeted for, and what happens when one owner wants out. This template answers each of them, built for UK ownership, insurance and mooring practice rather than translated from a US document.

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Boat Share (Co-Ownership) Agreement

Date:
Co-owner A:: — %
Co-owner B:: — %
How held:

The co-owners own the vessel described below together and have agreed how they will share its use, its costs and its eventual sale.

1. The vessel

Vessel:
Hull identification number:
Purchased for:
Mooring:

The co-owners hold the vessel as tenants in common in the shares recorded above. On the death of a co-owner, their share passes under their will or, if none, under the rules of intestacy, and does not pass automatically to the surviving owners.

Co-owner A contributed and holds percent. Co-owner B contributed and holds percent. Unless this Agreement says otherwise, costs and any sale proceeds are shared in the same percentages.

2. Use and booking

The co-owners share use of the vessel by the following method: , and no booking may run for more than consecutive days without the other owners' agreement. The following bank holidays and peak weeks are allocated alternately between the co-owners, year by year:

OptionalA guest may operate the boat without the owner aboard

OptionalThe boat may be chartered out for money

3. Budget, contributions and the reserve

The co-owners have agreed an annual running budget of , covering insurance, mooring fees, Boat Safety Certificate renewal, servicing and consumables. Each owner shall pay into a joint account, together with into a reserve for haul-out, antifouling, survey and engine work.

No owner may commit the others to spending more than on any single item without the written agreement of all owners, except where work is needed immediately to keep the vessel safe, afloat or lawful.

4. Insurance

The vessel is insured with for a sum insured of , with an excess of . Every co-owner must be a named insured. The excess on any claim is paid by the owner whose use gave rise to it. Any incident, damage or insurance claim must be reported to the other owners as soon as it is safe to do so.

5. Transfer and right of first refusal

An owner who wishes to sell their share must first offer it to the other owners at the price given by . The other owners have days to accept and days from acceptance to pay. If no owner accepts, the selling owner may offer the share to a third party at no lower price.

6. Death, incapacity, divorce and bankruptcy

If a co-owner becomes permanently incapacitated, or their interest becomes subject to bankruptcy or divorce proceedings, the remaining owners have an option to buy that interest at the price given by the agreed valuation method, on the same timetable as the right of first refusal above.

7. Deadlock and sale of the vessel

If the owners cannot agree on a decision this Agreement requires them to take together, any owner may refer the question to mediation. If mediation does not resolve it within sixty days, any owner may offer to buy the others' shares, or to sell their own, using the transfer terms above, or the owners may agree to sell the whole vessel through an agreed broker at an agreed reserve price.

8. General

This Agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales. It may be amended only in writing signed by all owners.

Co-owner A

Date:

Co-owner B

Date:

Choose joint tenancy or tenancy in common, and say so

Under English law, co-owners of a chattel such as a boat can hold it as joint tenants, where each owns the whole and a deceased owner's interest passes automatically to the survivors, or as tenants in common, where each owner holds a distinct share that passes under their will or intestacy. Two people who simply buy a boat together without agreeing which applies leave the answer to be worked out from the circumstances if it is ever disputed.

This template makes the choice a stated term of the agreement, consistent with the ownership shares recorded elsewhere in the document — tenancy in common where the shares are unequal or the owners want their share to pass to their own family, joint tenancy where the owners are content for the survivor to end up with the whole boat.

Put the usage rota in the document

This is the clause the free templates omit and the one owners argue about. This template offers a named booking method — a shared calendar, alternating weekends, or blocks agreed at the start of the season — a rule for bank holidays and peak weeks that alternates year by year, a maximum consecutive-days limit, and a fallback so an unclaimed slot becomes available to the other owner.

It also decides whether a guest may take the helm without an owner aboard, and whether the boat may be chartered out for money — which almost always breaches a private pleasure-craft policy unless separately arranged.

Budget the running costs instead of arguing about them later

This template sets an agreed annual budget covering insurance, mooring or marina fees, Boat Safety Certificate renewal, winter storage and routine servicing, contributions into a joint account, and a spending threshold above which one owner cannot commit the others without written consent — with an emergency-repair carve-out for anything needed to keep the boat safe or afloat. It also adds a reserve fund for the periodic big items: haul-out, antifouling, survey and engine work.

Name the insurance and who may be at the helm

A shared boat needs one policy naming every co-owner, because a claim under a policy naming only one owner can leave the others uninsured. This template records the insurer, policy, sum insured and excess, and allocates the excess to the owner whose use gave rise to the claim. It also sets who may operate the boat and requires any incident, grounding or claim to be reported to the other owners promptly.

Give the arrangement a workable exit

A unanimity requirement in a two-owner document produces deadlock by design. This template adds a right of first refusal — a departing owner must offer their share to the others first, at a price fixed by an agreed valuation method — a buy-out period with a payment deadline, and, if nobody buys, a route to sale of the whole boat with an agreed broker and reserve price. It adds a mediation-first deadlock clause for disagreements that are not about exit at all, and deals with death, incapacity, divorce and bankruptcy, none of which the widely copied free version mentions.

Clause-by-clause guide

The vessel and how it is held: Identifies the boat, its hull identification number, and whether the co-owners hold it as joint tenants or as tenants in common.
Shares: Each owner's percentage share of ownership and of costs.
Usage and booking: The booking method, notice, maximum consecutive days, and the rule for bank holidays and peak weeks.
Guests and chartering: Whether a guest may operate the boat without an owner aboard, and whether it may be chartered for money.
Annual budget and contributions: The agreed budget, the joint account, contributions and the spending threshold requiring consent.
Reserve fund: Regular contributions towards haul-out, antifouling, survey and major engine work.
Insurance and the excess: One policy naming every co-owner, with the excess allocated to the owner whose use caused the claim.
Default on contributions: Interest, suspension of usage rights, and the route to a buy-out if arrears continue.
Transfer and right of first refusal: A departing owner offers their share to the others first, at a price set by the agreed valuation method.
Death, incapacity, divorce and bankruptcy: What happens to a share on each event, consistent with whether the boat is held as joint tenants or tenants in common.
Deadlock and sale of the vessel: Mediation first, then the buy-out mechanism or a whole-boat sale with an agreed broker and reserve.

UK compliance checklist

Co-ownership itself is a matter of agreement; registration, insurance and lender rules each impose their own requirements.

Decide joint tenancy or tenancy in common, and record it
English law recognises both forms of co-ownership of a chattel such as a boat. State which applies rather than leaving the position to be inferred if it is ever disputed.
Practical Law — co-ownership of chattels
Name every co-owner on the insurance policy
A policy naming one owner may leave the others uninsured when they are operating the boat. Ask the insurer to name every co-owner and confirm the shared-ownership arrangement is acceptable to them.
Keep the Boat Safety Certificate current
A boat kept on inland waterways needs a current Boat Safety Certificate to hold a navigation licence. Agree who is responsible for renewal and record the expiry date.
Check any finance secured on the boat
A loan or hire-purchase agreement on the vessel usually restricts transfers of ownership interests. Confirm what the lender permits before any co-owner buys, sells or transfers a share.
Decide whether chartering is permitted, and insure for it
Chartering the boat out for money is normally excluded from a private pleasure-craft policy and can bring commercial licensing requirements. Arrange the cover first if the owners want that option.
Keep a shared expense record
A joint account with statements visible to all owners removes most cost disputes and gives any buy-out valuation a defensible starting point.

How to complete the boat share agreement

Identify the boat and how it is held. Add the vessel details, the hull identification number, and whether the owners hold it as joint tenants or tenants in common.
Set the shares. Enter each owner's percentage share and contribution.
Agree the usage rota. Choose the booking method, notice period, maximum consecutive days and the rule for bank holidays.
Set the budget and reserve. Enter the annual budget, the contribution schedule, the joint account and the spending threshold.
Record the insurance. Add the insurer, policy, sum insured and excess, and confirm every co-owner is a named insured.
Agree the exit terms. Set the valuation method, the right of first refusal period and the payment deadline, then sign.

Frequently asked questions

Should we own the boat as joint tenants or tenants in common?

It depends what you want to happen if a co-owner dies. As joint tenants, the survivor automatically ends up with the whole boat. As tenants in common, each owner's share passes under their will or intestacy instead. Neither is automatically right — record the choice in the agreement so it does not have to be worked out afterwards.

How should co-owners split the use of a shared boat?

Pick a method and write it down: a shared booking calendar with a notice period, alternating weekends, or blocks allocated at the start of the season. Deal separately with bank holidays and peak weeks — alternating them year by year is the simplest fair rule — and set a maximum number of consecutive days.

What happens if one co-owner stops paying their share?

Under this template, arrears attract interest, usage rights are suspended while they continue, and if not cleared within the stated period the other owners may trigger the buy-out mechanism at the agreed valuation.

Can one co-owner force the sale of the boat?

Not immediately, under this template. A departing owner must first offer their share to the others at an agreed valuation; only if nobody buys within the stated period does the whole boat go to market with an agreed broker and reserve.

Whose insurance covers a shared boat?

One policy should cover the boat and name every co-owner. A policy in one owner's name may leave the others without cover when they are at the helm — tell the insurer the boat is co-owned and shared, and confirm chartering separately if that is ever wanted.

What happens if a co-owner dies?

It depends on how the boat is held. As joint tenants, their share passes automatically to the surviving owners. As tenants in common, it passes under their will or intestacy, and this template gives the surviving owners an option to buy that share at the agreed valuation within a stated period.

Do we need a solicitor to draw this up?

Not necessarily for a straightforward arrangement, but the exit and death provisions interact with wills and, for tenancy in common, with how a share passes on death — worth a solicitor's check if the boat is a significant asset or the owners are not closely related.

How is this different from a boat slip lease?

A boat share agreement covers who owns the boat and how they share it. A boat slip or mooring agreement covers the berth the boat sits in, which the co-owners will usually need separately.

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Disclaimer

This template and guide are for general information only. They are not legal, tax or insurance advice, and no solicitor has reviewed or approved them for your circumstances. Ownership, insurance and lender requirements for co-owned boats can vary — confirm the position with your insurer, lender and, for significant assets, a solicitor before relying on this document.