Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, Freeboat is an idea, that was created by a man in Belgium, named Peter that chose to gift his boat to an interested sailor.  His idea was this: I'll give you the boat, if I can come along on future adventures.  Deal.  My goal is to turn this into something that can make cruising accessible to others.  How this will be structured is in the works.

The intent of Freeboat is to create a sustainable situation for the boats and the sailors.  For this reason, we will be very careful about the boats that we accept and the sailors that will sail them.  There must be a cash flow, time and energy to improve, maintain and sail the boats.  Because of this, every situation is unique.  However, boats can be owned by Freeboat for a time or passed directly on to a sailor that is ready for ownership.

When you look at the lifecycle costs of boats, they are far from free.  Clearly, they have an upfront cost, however, boats depreciate at a rate that exceeds that of many other depreciable items.  It's important that you keep up with the costs of depreciation.  This involves cash flow and time.  If you have the skills, time and the financial means to sail and to maintain the boat, we're confident that there will be opportunities for boat ownership.

As long as the boat is owned by Freeboat, you can rest assured that you can join on the adventures.  It will be written into the Contract.  If the boat passes on to a new Captain, then that agreement will be between the Donor and the new Captain.

The idea is that Freeboats will be continuously cruising as much as possible.  As long as the boats are in cruising condition and we have a capable Captain with the time to cruise them, they will be on the water with the next destination on the calendar. 

The first Freeboat will be funded by a combination of my personal investment and revenue from the YouTube channel, Patreon and other donations.  Contributions by interested crew can be financial or sweat equity, but the idea is that everyone pulls their weight.  Costs will be kept down by seeking volunteers to be a part of the journey. 

Freeboat can use all of the help that it can get.  If you're a Captain and make your living by doing deliveries, or skippering vessels for private parties, volunteering will be like advertising for you!  We'll promote you like nobody's business as you'll be the hero for the time that you're helping out. If you're a videographer, or editor, your business will also be promoted.  It's an opportunity to display your unique skills and personality and we hope you will find opportunities in abundance (and probably will) for your contributions.  It might be the most enjoyable way to advertise ever invented!