Each owner has title to a 12.5% share of Shimmering Steel and becomes a member of the management syndicate. Shimmering Steel was originally managed by a commercial boat share company, but has been managed privately by the eight owners since 2008. This works very well, and represents a significant cost saving by avoiding unnecessary fees of over £3000 each year.

Regular maintenance is contracted out to a marine engineer based near the marina. Other work is carried out either by the owners or other professionals as necessary. There is an AGM each November where the owners get together to discuss plans for the next year and to agree on any additional maintenance or upgrades.

There are eight shares, with each owner being entitled to four weeks use per year between March and October. Weeks are allocated on a rota system with the starting position being rotated each year, and each owner having one week in every eight. For instance the owner having the first week in this season would have weeks 1, 9, 17, 25 and next year would have weeks 2, 10, 18, 26.

The advantages of this system are that everyone knows years in advance when their weeks are, and over time every owner gets to have the use of each of the 32 weeks in the season. Owners are free to swap weeks by negotiation, generally at the AGM. For instance it is often possible to arrange to take two weeks together rather than having them all spaced out at seven week intervals.

Changeover days are Fridays, and owners are expected to leave the boat thoroughly cleaned inside and out. Most use a cleaning company based at the marina for this rather than do it themselves, but this is optional.

Maintenance costs, marina fees, insurance costs and breakdown membership are all paid centrally by the syndicate treasurer. Each owner pays a regular monthly contribution, currently £150, which is generally sufficient to cover outgoings. If additional expenditure is required then an additional cash call may be made. Other than in exceptional circumstances this will be discussed and agreed at the AGM.

Owners are responsible for their own fuel costs, and any pump out and mooring fees they incur whilst using the boat. These are typically around £150 per week in total.

Share prices in Shimmering Steel tend to hold their value well, and owners can expect to see most of their investment back should they decide to sell their share. However with the nearest equivalent hire boats costing over £2000 per week in high season there's a significant saving to be made even if only one or two of the allocated weeks are actually used each season, and the syndicate membership tends to be very stable.

Prices correct as of February 2016. Four week cost is based on 1 week in each of April, June, August and October. Two week high season is based on two weeks at highest cost, two week low season is based on two weeks at lowest cost.

If you want regular boating holidays on the Thames there are several options:

The simplest way is to hire a boat from one of the holiday companies based along the Thames such as Caversham Boats or Le Boat. This is a great way to get a feel for things without making a big commitment. For something a bit more individual than a typical hire boat you could go to Hobbs of Henley who have recently added a couple of Dutch steel cruisers to their fleet — these are a similar style to Shimmering Steel but are brand new and priced accordingly. Even with a more modest hire boat if you're spending a few weeks a year on the river the costs will mount up quickly, with just a couple of weeks in low season costing more than four weeks on Shimmering Steel.

For regular hirers another option could be to join a club which has a fleet of boats available for members to use in return for a fixed yearly payment. Pure Latitude mostly offers sailing boats at coastal locations but has a slightly smaller version of Shimmering Steel based at Windsor, and could be a good choice particularly if you are also interested in their other boats. It is a lot more expensive though, and you won't own any equity in the boats.

Many people aspire to own their own boat of course, which brings the obvious benefits of ultimate flexibility and unlimited use. On the downside you would need to meet all the purchase and running costs yourself, and make all the arrangements for any repairs and maintenance. In our experience it costs in excess of £10,000 a year to run and maintain a boat like Shimmering Steel.

Membership of the Shimmering Steel syndicate brings many of the benefits of boat ownership, at a much lower cost along with the support of an experienced and friendly team to make sure that your boating runs as smoothly as possible. The cost of a place in the syndicate includes a 12.5% share of the ownership of Shimmering Steel which can be sold if you decide to leave the syndicate in the future, and the low running costs mean that even if you only manage to use two weeks of your allocation in a year, it's still cheaper than the alternatives!

If you are interested in joining the Shimmering Steel syndicate and would like to be kept informed of any future vacancies, please enter your details below.