Re: Boat Co-Ownership Agreement form?
I have found that sharing a boat is a great way to go. I have one I share with 7 people. I've shared with my sister, when we both had teen children using them. I have many friends who share boats just fine. They have easy going personalities; that's crucial. You have to be able to laugh about the problems, not grumble ("sorry I think I scratched your half of the boat").
There are a couple of items you need to address up front. I assume we're talking about your basic used recreational boat 16-21'. Nothing fancy.
You have to be able to accept "wear and tear". If you are anal about keeping the boat looking brand new, forget it. If you are the kind of person that bans children with grape juice and Cheetos, forget it. You have to accept his hitting the dock on the port side so he'll accept your hitting the dock on the starboard side. Are you going to cover it all the time, or never? Wash daily or annually? Wax? (suggestion: get a boat that's durable and made for the outdoors rather than a fragile sofa boat)
Decide who is allowed to operate it unattended--you get a boat so your children can learn to be boaters. that involves bumps. Your wives may be boaters--can they go out without one of you? Can you let a guest pull a tube while you hang out at the beach?
Agree to share the cost of repairs regardless of who was at the helm when it happened. We all make mistakes.
If holiday weekends are important, figure out who will use it when.
The two of you need to be the same about DIY repairs or taking it to the pros. The best thing about splitting is that half the cost of a pro to do something like a water pump or bottom paint is tolerable. Or another arrangement is to let one guy put in sweat equity. I know a number of people who let reliable friends use the boat for free b/c that guy takes care of it--but that's usually a different arrangement best for fishing boats or larger boats. Maybe one guy stores it at his house and gets a cut. Just agree up front but keep it simple.
Most important: an exit strategy. If one of you wants out, whether it's due to facing major repairs or you just want out, you need an agreement. The easiest is to agree that you will get an informal opinion of value from a certain boat mechanic/dealer, and live with it regardless, and one guy buys out the other at 50%. This would include getting a price for the boat with a blown motor. Agree to walk away friends.
Also, check the insurance requirements up front; it can be hard sometimes to insure a joint boat.
There's nothing wrong with not wanting to share your boat, and those types of people are better off not sharing, due to the risk of friendship. Same goes with a boat sale among friends; lots of guys here say NEVER but I see it work fine all the time, among boaters. if a friend called me one morning to say his boat broke down and he had planned a fishing trip that day with out of town friends, I'd be glad for him to take mine; I like to see it being used. Just takes the right personalities, and the right boat.
now, write your own agreement; never try to "make it legal" from some form on the internet. That's where lawyers make a lot of money--undoing bad legal work non-lawyers did on their own. Just make a list, sign and date it, and specify it is for non-commercial recreational purposes only. Don't do it if one of you is the kind of person who would sue over a couple grand--or less. You know the type.
(if you're talking about a $30,000+ deal, get a good agreement from a lawyer in your state. Not another state; your state.)