We spent some more time with Bob Kyle, founder of Yacht Share to learn about his new fractional ownership venture. Here are ten question and answers from interviews Helium Report conducted via phone and email:

1. What is the profile of a typical member? How are they similar and different to a typical destination club member?

A typical profile of a Yacht Share member is an active, affluent individual who enjoys traveling. Our members are typically at the top of their professions, from surgeons, stock brokers, successful entrepreneurs, to C-level executives.

The similarities between our members and a typical destination club member is that each values their spare time immensely, and just doesn’t have the time or energy to deal with a yacht (or second home).

All of our members could easily afford one of our yachts, but each understands the intricacies of yacht ownership which is in effect running a small business. You have crew to manage, routine maintenance to schedule and track, unscheduled maintenance nightmares, seasonal movements of the yacht, etc.

As far as differences between the members, the only ones I could see is that our members enjoy being on a yacht and traveling to exotic ports of call. Our program offers the best of both worlds, as you can enjoy any waterfront destination such as South Beach, Key Largo, Key West, Annapolis, Long Island. Or, you can explore and find that special spot, maybe in the Bahamas, that no one knows about and completely unwind for days on end. I couldn’t imagine a destination club member not enjoying our services, but of course I am biased.

2. Please explain the financial terms of the membership. Is the deposit returned when the member retires?

We sell one or three year memberships to our yachts, in effect, a leasing agreement. Currently, each lease is specific to a yacht. There is an initiation fee, and a monthly maintenance fee. At the end of the term, our members can either walk away, or rejoin with that yacht or another one in our fleet.

It’s that simple, just like leasing a car. This offers incredible flexibility for our members as they can just try us out for a year, or join for three years and receive a financial incentive. With the recent bankruptcy filing of Tanner & Haley, we are finding that our one and three year commitments are increasingly attractive as the dollar amounts and contract execution seem more reasonable.

3. How do you handle availability and the inevitable demand for peak/holiday periods?

First off, we don’t oversell our yachts. We only sell up to 224 days out the year (61%). Not only that, but we strategically release our shares over the course of a year for each yacht. For instance, on our latest Sunseeker yacht, we only released and sold two memberships at the Miami Boat Show in Feb, the same at the Bay Bridge Boat Show in April, we will sell 2 shares this summer, and then release and sell the remaining 2 shares over the Annapolis/Ft Lauderdale Shows in October.

What this does is give each of our members different start dates, which makes dates even more readily available. And if this isn’t enough, we are launching more yachts into our fleet every year, and as they come online, they can be available for backup (before they are sold/booked) if scheduling conflicts arise. So far, our plan is working great, and yet we will continue to tweak it to make sure that our members are satisfied.

4. Who determines the trip plan? How far the yacht can travel and what do you do in storms?

Each member gets to determine their own plan but usually asks for suggestions. For instance, a member decides they want to use their yacht in March for a week in the Bahamas, but just doesn’t know where to stay. They might tell us they just know they want to relax and visit a few islands. So we will come up with suggestions based on their preferences as to marinas to stay at, dining options to consider, recreational activities such as diving/snorkeling/fishing, deserted beaches to visit, etc. Most of our members enjoy relying on our intimate local knowledge, especially in the Bahamas!

Our members can travel as far as they wish as long as they are back in the home marina they began their trip at the end of their slotted time. Our captains and cruise director are always aware of each yachts location as well as weather forecasts to make sure that our yachts return home on time.

The safety of our members is always one of our top priorities, so there is constant communication between all to ensure each trip is a success. If there is foul weather in the forecast, we will typically alter our travel plans accordingly. For instance, we had a trip planned last fall with a member traveling out of Miami to visit the Florida Keys. The forecast called for high winds and rain throughout the Keys all week. So, instead, we went north to Ft. Lauderdale & over to Port Lucaya in the Bahamas where our member enjoyed sunny skies all week.

5. What happens to my lease if part way through my term, I want to upgrade or change to another boat?

You are allowed to change to another boat at any time. You just pay the difference in the initiation fee & monthly fee.

6. What happens to my lease if part way through my term, I need to cancel, due to changes in financial or family situations? Can I transfer, resell the membership? Can I buy it under a corporation?

Members are allowed to transfer/resell their membership. Also, you can put it in a corporate name as well which we have had a few members do.

7. Who can use the boat under my lease? Family, friends, employees?

What is great about our program is that you (the member) do not have to be the one using the boat. You can have friends, family, employees (company spiffs for instance) use the boat and they don’t need to know anything about boating since we provide a captain.

8. Why can’t you use your membership lease across all the boats in the fleet?

Our pricing is specific to each yacht. Each yacht in our fleet is different in size, year, and make. Pricing is taken into account for these factors. Unlike destination clubs, our ‘destination’ can vary on any given trip based upon where our members wish to travel. The only item that stays the same is the yacht.

That is also why our one and three year leases are attractive as members can try out a specific yacht, and then at the end of their lease possibly change to a different yacht, stay with the same yacht, or walk away. With leases specific to a yacht, this eliminates the sometime scheduling difficulties with destination clubs as to requesting a specific home at a location.

9. What are your long term plans for the business – locations, size of yachts, number of members, etc.?

Our initial plan was to introduce the yachts over a two year period with seasonal ports of Miami Beach for the winter, the Bahamas in the spring, and Annapolis in the summer. I am proud to say we are right on schedule.

As for longer term plans, we have a few directions we are exploring, each one involves more yachts of various manufacturers and sizes, and the possible addition of some new ‘home port’ locations of the tropical flavor.

10. Final question: what’s your favorite yacht in your fleet and why?

All of them of course, however, I’m very proud of our latest yacht, a gorgeous Sunseeker 50 Manhattan. This yacht, ‘Aspire’, is sleek, sexy, and an absolute head-turner everywhere she goes. She is one of the latest models from Sunseeker with their new modern look. The lines on the outside are very agressive, while the inside has the perfect combination of granite, leather, suede, and cherry wood. She is loaded with every option available including underwater lights, 4 TV/DVD flatscreens, satellite TV, dinghy, and more.