My wife and I currently own an 18' Chaparral, and we're considering
the idea of getting a boat partner. The main reason is that,
currently, the boat is stored in the garage, and we'd like to store it
out on the lake instead. So we're considering going in with another
responsible person/couple, but seeing this is our first venture like
this, we're not sure how to proceed.

A few questions:

(1) Boat rental vs. boat ownership -- what is considered normal in
these types of situations? If we allow partial boat ownership by our
partner, I'm assuming we should expect them to pay us half the boat's
value up front, and then split costs 50/50 as far as slip cost,
maintenance, repairs, etc? (Anyone have experience with doing some
sort of payment program, where the partial owner pays a higher monthly
cost for, say, a year in order to own the boat?)

(2) If the other party decides on boat rental (i.e. we let them cover
the costs of the slip, and we let them use our boat), should we expect
them to cover maintenance costs? I estimate the boat is worth
approximately $9000, and a slip in this area is about $200/month. I
wouldn't necessarily mind covering maintenance costs if the other
party decides on rental/access, but if the other party is using the
boat excessively, isn't it fair to expect them to pay something? I'm
not sure how to work this into an actual contract.

(3) I'm sure we definitely want a contract of some sort, otherwise the
other party could just rent the boat for 3-4 months during the summer
and then leave us hanging with the expense over the winter?

(4) What's a fair amount to expect someone to pay for boat access
(rental) and not necessarily ownership? I estimate the boat costs us
about $300/month since we're still financing it (and this includes
wear and tear maintenance type of stuff). If a slip is an extra
$200/month, is $200/month for boat access way too much? We're in
Austin, where boat access is a premium because it's in such a high
demand with all the lakes.

Just looking for some advice, mainly because we really think this
could be a great way to cut our costs, get the boat out of our 2 car
garage, and have someone else to help out.

Thanks in advance..

-Dustin