How it works · Boat co-ownership

Member-managed LLC. Same doctrine as cars, different ops.

Each boat is held in a single-purpose LLC with 10 shares split across 1–5 verified co-owners (2-share minimum per person). RYDA runs operations (captain, dockage, insurance, hurricane prep, charter opt-in) under a separate Management Services Agreement. Boats hold for 3 years on a different depreciation curve than the cars side.

Lifecycle

From application to your first run.

Verify

Apply and complete identity verification.

Choose

Browse the curated fleet. Every boat passes a multi-point Pre-Purchase Inspection by the dealer before a single share is sold.

Co-own

RYDA forms a LLC for up to 5 members to hold the vessel. You sign the operating agreement and fund your share (2 shares minimum per person).

Cruise

Book your time on the RYDA smart calendar. Each share unlocks ~32 days and ~1,600 nautical miles a year (50 nm/day).

Exit

RYDA sells the boat at year 2–3 OR a defined operating-hours threshold depending on the certified pre owned program. Proceeds split pro-rata. Need out earlier? Transfer your share to another verified member after the 12-month minimum hold.

The numbers, exactly

Every share, in five numbers.

Co-owners

1–5

Allotted annual days per share

Nautical miles / share / yr

1,600

Planned exit

36 mo

Modeled depreciation

15%

Compare four paths

RYDA, solo, charter, yacht club.

Same time on the water, four different cost stacks. Boats depreciate, dock, and dry-out, the path you pick decides who carries those line items.

Concern	RYDA Boats	Solo own	P2P charter (Boatsetter)	Yacht club
Asset on your balance sheet	Yes, your share of an LLC	Yes, full hull	No	No
Annual carry	~$25–35K per share (varies by hull)	$280–350K all-in	$0 (pay per outing)	$15–35K dues + per-trip
Captain on board	Crewed by default; bareboat by exception	Hire your own	Sometimes (skipper varies)	Club captains, limited
Hurricane prep + storage	Included, haul, store, re-launch	You arrange	N/A	Limited
Insurance + survey	LLC-named, marine-grade, agreed-value	You source	Owner's policy	Club policy
Days / nights you can take	32 days/yr per share, with charter opt-in	Unlimited	Per-trip	Reservation-gated
Exit	3-yr planned LLC exit + 12-mo transfer market	Sell privately, broker, or dock-bait	N/A	Refundable initiation (limited)
Inventory quality	Wajer, Pershing, Riva, Lagoon	Yours	Variable	Mid-tier mostly

Solo carry sourced from US BoatUS owner-cost surveys (~3% of hull value/yr at this tier, plus capex on engines + hurricane). Yacht club ranges from member surveys 2023-2024.

Is this right for you?

Pick your stance.

You'd buy a Wajer outright if you used it 60+ days/yr

Not our fit

Solo ownership wins on flexibility and depreciation timing. RYDA isn't your fit, we'd actually push you to a broker.

You charter 4–8 weekends a year and want a real upgrade in inventory

Great fit

A share fits cleanly. 32 days/yr × your share, plus charter opt-in revenue when you're not on board.

You can't tell whether to buy or charter

Good fit

Start with charter (Core membership). Move into a share when you've used the same hull twice in a season.

You want zero ops responsibility and a captain every time

Great fit

Black tier with a Wajer or Pershing share. Captain hours bank. No chart-reading required.

Why fractional now

Nine reasons co-ownership is a better contract for boats.

Marine ops are the cost

The hull is half the cost of ownership. Slip, captain, insurance, hurricane prep, surveys, and depreciation are the other half. Splitting ten ways turns a $300K/yr drag into a $30K/yr line item.

You don't actually want to skipper

Most owners on this tier don't pilot Wajers themselves. Captain-included is the default; you save the operator's license question for a Riva.

Charter opt-in offsets carry

Days you don't use go into the charter pool (member-priced). Owners typically recapture 25–40% of annual ops via opt-in. Documented in the cost sheet on every listing.

Hurricane risk is a structural carry

Insurance, haul, indoor storage, post-season re-launch. RYDA pre-negotiates with marina partners; the cost is in the share economics, not surprise invoices.

Surveys are real, not theater

SAMS-accredited survey at acquisition + annual condition surveys. Members see redacted reports in the LLC document vault. No more dock-tour due diligence.

3-year planned exit

Member vote at year 3 to sell, refit, or roll. Modeled 15% depreciation over the period, generous vs the actual flat-to-+5% Wajers and Rivas have shown 2018–2024.

LLC structure beats club membership

Yacht club initiations are mostly non-refundable. RYDA shares are real ownership: you're a member of a single-purpose LLC that owns the hull. Sell the share, not your seat.

Cross-vertical access

One RYDA membership covers both boats and cars, Boats members can charter cars and car members can charter boats, subject to availability and tier.

Service-grade ops

Provisioning, slip reservations, captain dispatch, charter scheduling, hurricane prep, all single-vendor. Black tier gets dedicated marine account contact.

Charter opt-in math

How charter opt-in offsets your ops carry.

A worked example on a Pershing 6X share. Numbers are conservative, most members earn more on a Wajer (lower ops, higher day rate) and less on a Lagoon (higher ops, family charter rate).

Your share assumptions

· 1 share of 10 in a Pershing 6X LLC
· 32 days/yr personal use
· Annual ops + reserves: ~$32,000 per share
· You opt 8 of your 32 days into the charter pool

Charter pool result

· 8 days × ~$8,500 charter day rate (Miami avg)
· − 30% RYDA ops fee (captain, fuel, insurance) on charter days
· ≈ $47,600 gross to your share
· Net effect: ops carry covered, plus a mid-five-figure cushion

Day rates vary by hull, season, and bookings volume. Charter opt-in is a per-trip choice, not a commitment. Not a guaranteed return, Q3 hurricane months pay less, Memorial- to-Labor pays more. Members see the live booking calendar.

What makes the structure defensible

Twelve trust pillars.

Member-managed LLC

Members vote on material decisions; not passive. established LLC case law is the gold standard for LLC governance.

Separate Management Services Agreement

RYDA is a hired service provider, not the asset owner. Members can fire RYDA and hire someone else.

Single-purpose LLC per hull

No cross-collateralization. Your Pershing 6X share isn't liable for someone else's Lagoon LLC.

USCG documentation + state title

Clean chain of custody. Documents in the LLC vault.

SAMS marine survey at acquisition

Independent surveyor names every defect with photos. Redacted version visible to members.

Marine-grade insurance, agreed-value

LLC named insured, members named additional. Hagerty Marine / CHUBB / Travelers per hull.

Hurricane plan codified at acquisition

Pre-arranged haul, indoor storage, post-storm re-launch. Costs known, not surprise-invoiced.

Captain employment agreements

Captains employed via the LLC, not RYDA. Members see employment terms.

Charter opt-in agreement

Per-day, per-trip, nothing automatic. Members revoke any time.

Verified members only

28+, KYC, ID + credit + (skipper-license check if bareboat).

3-yr planned exit + 12-mo transfer market

Built-in liquidity. No 'forever' lock-in like club initiations.

Open-book reserve account

Replacement engines, electronics, sail wardrobe. Audited annually, balance visible to members.

FAQ

The boat-side questions members ask first.

What's actually included in the annual operating cost?
Slip rental at the boat's hailing marina, captain hours for member trips (up to your share's 32 day allowance), fuel up to a generous monthly budget, full agreed-value hull and liability insurance, hurricane prep + haul-out, spring commission and fall lay-up service, USCG documentation renewal, and a maintenance reserve. The big visible costs, slip and crew, are bundled. Excess fuel beyond the monthly budget and any optional add-ons (sport-fishing rigging on the Pershing, dive package, etc.) are billed at cost.
Can I skipper the boat myself, or is a captain always required?
Crewed by default. Every charter and most member trips ship with a RYDA-vetted captain, it's the cheapest way to keep the insurance carriers happy and the safest way to keep the boat in good shape. Bareboat is available on the Riva Aquariva and the Lagoon 50 for members who hold a USCG-recognized license (OUPV/Six-Pack or higher) and complete a check-out cruise with our captains. Sport yachts (Pershing) are crewed only.
How does hurricane prep work?
Miami-based hulls are hauled to our partner yard in Coconut Grove between June 1 and October 31 whenever a named storm enters the Atlantic basin and crosses the latitude of Cuba. The cost is bundled into the annual operating cost, members pay nothing additional during a hurricane season, even with multiple storm calls. Off-season haul-out (Dec–Mar in Miami) is also bundled. NY-based hulls winter at our Connecticut partner yard.
What happens if a member damages the boat?
Standard playbook: agreed-value hull insurance covers the repair after a deductible. The deductible is paid from the LLC's maintenance reserve and rebilled pro-rata to all members, the at-fault member doesn't bear the deductible alone, but they do bear a 50% share of any insurance-rate increase resulting from the incident. Grossly negligent operation (i.e. operating outside RYDA's protocols) shifts the deductible entirely to the at-fault member. Documented in the Operating Agreement.
How does the charter (rental) opt-in work?
Members can opt their unused entitlement into the charter pool. Defaults: 12 owner-use days kept per share, the rest pooled. Charter occupancy on the boats fleet runs around 35% on a 240-day available pool (84 booked days/yr per hull), and revenue splits 65/35 (members / RYDA) distributed pro-rata. Caribbean season (Dec–Apr) charters are the highest-revenue window for sport yachts and are typically booked solid by mid-October.
What's the survey and acquisition process before a boat is listed?
Independent marine survey from a SAMS-accredited surveyor; engine borescope and oil analysis (where applicable); rigging survey on sailboats; sea trial under the surveyor and our captain; and a hull haul-out and bottom inspection. The acquisition LLC closes on the boat only after the survey clears. Members receive the full survey report at signing. We do not list a boat where a major item is open.
How does Coast Guard documentation work with the LLC?
Each boat is documented federally with the US Coast Guard in the LLC's name (e.g. "Wajer 55 S RYDA LLC"). Members are not on the document, the LLC is. State sales-tax mitigation strategies (sales-tax-free purchase, offshore documentation, or charter-fleet exemptions where applicable) are evaluated case-by-case with the LLC's tax counsel. RYDA does not provide tax advice; we coordinate with the LLC's accountant.
Why a 3-year planned exit?
Boats depreciate slowly, with classic models (the Aquariva is the obvious example) sometimes appreciating with the right buyer. A 3-year hold lets us realize a stronger residual on the median sale and aligns with the typical owner usage pattern. The 12-month minimum hold and member-to-member transfer mechanics still apply in case you need to exit earlier.

See if a RYDA Boat share fits.

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