Hassle-free Boat Ownership With Boating Syndication Australia
We caught up with Boating Syndication Australia’s CEO Andy Young to find out how boating can be cost-effective and time-efficient.
Owning a beautiful boat is like a (very expensive) gym membership. You pay for the privilege, but do you actually use it every other day? Sometimes, it may feel like you’re not getting enough out of your investment.
Imagine owning the boat of your dreams without the maintenance hassles, with 24-hour service if something’s not quite right, plus an offer for training to be an excellent captain and to make sure you feel safe and make the most out of your time on the water. It is a reality with Boating Syndication Australia (BSA).
The BSA Backstory
Andy Young has been in the marine industry for sixteen years. Along with his wife Belinda, they run Australia’s largest boating syndication company, BSA. The company has over 100 registered boats across the six locations in Australia, from an indulgent Sunseeker 82 to a sporty Schafer 375 plus a number of popular Riviera vessels throughout the east coast.
As Andy says, syndication makes complete sense.
“Most people never use their boats as much as they dreamt of before buying. Like a gym membership, you sign up thinking you will use your membership and then life gets in the way. After a period of time, you realise you haven’t used it. Buying a boat outright is just the same, unless you’re a tinkerer, need an escape pad or are retired, you won’t get to spend enough time on your boat to justify the purchase. Every marina has boats sitting there being underused because the owners don’t have the time to use them. With BSA, we can offer a bigger boat, a more affordable boat, and ways to maximise your precious time,” he said.
Why Syndication?
Most commonly, the reason you want to own a boat is to enjoy the experiences it affords you. When I walk down on a dock, I often see families getting ready to go out on their boats, with smiles on their faces and full of anticipation of the day or several days of adventures ahead of them. That’s what I love. A boat keeps families together to have some quality time. Kids have to detach from their phones and iPads for fear of losing them in the water, so they have time to defragment. They acclimatise to boat life and start to enjoy the water, use kayaks and canoes, and try to catch dinner. Boats create beautiful experiences and memories that last a lifetime. Like seeing a pod of dolphins up close, playing beside the boat as it cruises out of Sydney Harbour or migrating whales breaching. Even being moored in the backwaters surrounded by nature has its appeal as it’s a break from busy, normal lives. Sometimes it is relaxing, sometimes exhilarating. But to do all of this, you need a boat and not everyone is able to have their own.
While not getting out as much as he would like to, Andy still relishes the chance to take his family out on a boat or a sneaky couple of nights alone with Belinda in the idyllic reaches of Pittwater, NSW, so understands this need for his clients.
“The problem is working within the industry, whenever I’m on a boat, I am always looking at ways we can improve the service we offer our clients. That said, I’m always very refreshed when I’ve been away for a few nights on a boat.
“Many of our Sydney clients like that they can launch from The Spit and within 10 minutes be anchored in the tranquillity of Bantry Bay or Sugarloaf Bay and be totally immersed in the Australian bush. They still have mobile coverage and can shoot back to the marina in case they need to attend to a business or family matter. The same goes for our growing Gold Coast client base who can be in the magnificent Broadwater in minutes or anchored up in Jumpinpin for a lazy lunch or sunset dinner. We even have options in Hamilton Island, where you can extend the exclusivity of the island further by exploring the waterways and islands on your time,” he said.
Clients who have been with BSA from the start are revelling in the fact that they can roll into larger boats or vessels that better suit their lifestyle each time they renew without the hassle of buying and selling. According to Andy, the boats they own now are far beyond the expectations they had ten or so years ago.
BSA Benefits
Being a client of the largest share boat company has its advantages. With over 45 staff, 40 permanent contractors, and a warehouse with a million dollars’ worth of spare parts on the shelf means if something does go wrong, it can be sorted out very efficiently so the owner can continue their boating experience.
Andy’s aim is to maximise clients’ experience. The foresight to have parts-at-the-ready is born out of BSA’s years of experience. Despite impeccable maintenance, parts will invariably wear out and accidents will happen. However, it is how the problems are dealt with that matters to the customer. Having the resources at hand is vital. There’s a staff member on call 24 hours a day if something goes wrong — that’s real peace of mind for any boat owner.
Helping Hands
The BSA experience isn’t just about the boats. Each owner undertakes a three-day intensive training program with BSA’s experienced captains. Even experienced boat owners have to do the program, with many coming away amazed with new knowledge they have learnt from BSA’s training.
Andy believes that the better training service BSA provides at the beginning, then the better the customer experience will be over the term of the syndicate. For example, if an owner in Sydney wants to use a similar boat on the Gold Coast, BSA will make sure there is a skipper on board for the first day, so the client gets a local understanding of the different waterways and places worth exploring.
“This orientation day is critical in helping clients get the most out of their time on the water. Instead of worrying about navigating tighter waterways than they are used to, they have an expert on hand for the first day out. It’s about creating a more enjoyable experience for the owners, wherever they choose to spend their days on the water. It’s a level of service not often seen in traditional boat sales. Learning by misfortune with boats such as BSA’s is very costly and sometimes embarrassing. We try to prevent that via the training provided by the team,” he said.
“There will still be accidents but at least we can negate rookie errors. But even if something does happen the BSA crew will spring into action to get the boat and you back to dock safely and rectify the situation ASAP. It is the luxury that comes when you have the resources that BSA has in place,” he continued.
Burgeoning BSA
Not content with the exceptional service that Boating Syndication Australia offers clients locally, BSA is opening up a base in Majorca, Spain. The plan is to offer Australian and European owners the option to swap days and access aboard their respective vessels. Not content with overseas expansion, Andy wants to scale BSA locally with boats at every major city targeting first Perth, Melbourne, and Adelaide before expansion into major European port cities.
Andy explains, “The goal is that a client based out of Sanctuary Cove, with a Riviera 6000 for example, could fly to Europe and swap with an owner over there who has a similar-sized boat, say an Azimut 60. They can spend some days in Australian waters while our client enjoys experiences in Europe. That will increase the usage of both boats. Instead of sitting idle at the dock, they will get to motor around. Thus, using more fuel, purchasing supplies, and needing updated maintenance, all the feeder industries will get more work and the industry as a whole continues to grow.”
Complete Package
Andy says, “We provide a full backup service, 24 hours a day to our clients. If anything goes wrong, we’re there to help. So, you are not only paying for a boat, you are paying for the experiences, the lifestyle and the back-up service. A lot of people don’t realise the amount of work we put in behind the scenes. When a family comes down to the dock, set for a great day out, the only thing they have to worry about is if they remembered the sunscreen (and we’d supply that anyway!). Fuel is taken care of, systems checks are done, and we can even stock the fridges and pantries. And of course, we can look after clean up if the client is time-poor. For us, it’s about providing the complete walk-on, walk-off experience for our boat owners.”
Golden Growth
It is amazing to think that over 50 per cent of enquiries are coming out of the Gold Coast region. Many are people who have moved from Sydney and Melbourne to the warmer climes of the Gold Coast and surrounds and immediately want to explore the immense and beautiful waterways. BSA has three locations in South-east Queensland to cater for that level of enquiry and demand.
Wider Net
Apart from the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and multiple sites in Sydney, BSA has opened an office at Airlie Beach. The first catamaran in the BSA fleet is heading there, a Lagoon 44 soon to be followed by a 90 and an 80ft LongReef, a 82 Sunseeker and 6000 Sports Yacht Riviera which means there will be quite a big choice of boats up in the region for winter escapes.
Rushcutters Bay has 20 vessels, and Cabarita Point Marina has a selection of boats. The Princess Street Marina at Pittwater and also locations at Sanctuary Cove, Marita Mirage and The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron also have a range of boats.
THE NEXT STEP
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