Sail & Motor Cruiser Membership

Whether you call it Boat Share, Boat Timeshare, or Fractional Sailing that is what FlexiSail Boat Membership is all about…

There are many ways to gain access to a yacht or motor cruiser, but once you start looking into the costs of buying, berthing, insuring and maintaining a boat, be it new or second-hand, a realisation dawns. If like us you know that you neither have the time nor the inclination to spend your every free moment servicing the boat then read on!

The key benefits of Flexisail Membership are:

Affordable Sailing
Flexible access to your boat
Integrated RYA training
Active social programme
Online iCalendar ‘fair share’ booking system
Professional maintenance included in membership
Insurance costs included
Berthing included
Total familiarity with your boat
It’s like owning a boat without the worry

The reality is that you may have lots of competing interests for your valuable time. In which case owning a boat makes little sense as it will be left sitting unused in the marina for most of the year costing money as well as suffering accelerated depreciation due to a lack of use and the time to care for it properly.

FlexiSail Oceanis 343 Hufflepuff taking part in our Social Weekend

How FlexiSail boat sharing works:

FlexiSail membership shares the time on a yacht between a small number of members (1 owner plus a maximum of 7 members). This gives each member the equivalent to 6.5 weeks or 46 days per year sailing, which is more than enough for most of us!

In fact, our typical member actually only uses between 50-60% of their guaranteed time. Rather than us selling more memberships, this unused time sits in the calendar and is available to you as a member on a last minute basis (within 48 hours). This under usage allows members greater flexibility with their bookings making it easier to get the times they want.

Fair Share booking system:

Each member is able to book anything from an evening sail through to a solid 8 days, up to a year ahead. For more detailed information on how our online booking system works, go to the iCalendar page.

Peace of mind:

If you have previously chartered do you remember the anxiety beforehand not knowing quite what to expect on arrival and therefore what you need to bring with you? With FlexiSail you are a member on the one boat – one you are totally comfortable and familiar with and which is fully kitted out with everything that you will need right down to a corkscrew! FlexiSail is in fact the closest you can get to owning a boat. You know exactly what to bring each time (just your wet weather gear, food and drink, and bedding if overnighting), and you are safe in the knowledge that the boat will be clean, welcoming and ready to enjoy when you arrive.

We have a substantial fleet of yachts ranging from 32 feet to 43 feet. Most are currently from the Beneteau Oceanis range and we are adding new boats into the programme all the time.

FlexiSail, bringing father and son together

Choice of Boats:

During 2010 our range of yachts will also include Dufour — the Dufour 405 won ‘Yacht of the Year’ in 2010. On the power side we use Nimbus, a high quality semi-displacement boat with great accommodation, comfort and sea handling qualities. For more information, take a look at our fleet.

FlexiSail’s uncompromising quality specifications:

FlexiSail Maintenance Team Support Van

All FlexiSail boats are highly specified and all include heating, autopilots, chart plotters, wind instrumentation and all the safety modifications and equipment required to comply with the ‘Code of Practice’ for commercial use. On larger boats we set an even higher criterion and incorporate as standard Automatic Information Systems (AIS), GPS based EPIRBS (emergency position indicating radio beacon), Seame ‘active’ transmitting radar reflectors (20 times more effective than passive standard systems) and our largest yacht also carries Radar. Your safety is paramount to us so not only do we provide all the best equipment, but we also teach you how to use it.

We are very proud of the quality and standards to which we maintain our boats and employ our own full time fleet maintenance staff who do nothing else but make sure all our boats are in tip top condition and ready and safe for you to use.

We would love to meet you:

Do arrange to come down to see both us and our boats at one of our Open Days, or if that is not possible then make a private appointment to view. I guarantee that you will be impressed.

As a new member you will receive a 2 day ‘induction’ of the boat. This induction is designed to thoroughly take you from stem to stern through your FlexiSail boat so that you know where everything is, what it does and how to operate it with an emphasis on all the boat’s safety equipment. We then spend a full day ‘on the water’ giving you the helm and taking you through all the techniques of manouevering under power, berthing, short-handed use and, of course, enjoying time under sail and ensuring you understand such fundamentals as the reefing techniques. It is also an informal assessment as to where you are with your present sailing skills and if you are at the stage where you require training we will tailor that training to meet your specific needs.

FlexiSail Members Sailing Together

Our minimum qualification requirements are RYA Day Skipper Tidal Practical and Theory, as well as a VHF Operator’s Licence. If you don’t have all or some of these qualifications we will take you through the necessary courses ‘in house’ and most valuable of all, you will do the Practical on your own FlexiSail boat with one of our Yachtmaster Instructors.

Additionally we run all the normal practical and shore-based courses via our accredited RYA training school, Solent Nautical College. All ‘public’ practical courses are run on training boats and are not carried out on FlexiSail members’ boats. As a member you may join any ‘public’ course, but will usually opt to take advantage of training on your own FlexiSail boat with our Yachtmaster Instructors (as opposed to Cruising Instructors) and receive teaching on a one-to-one basis for maximum value. Please see full details on our ‘Training’ page.