Yacht sharing (Syndication) - pitfalls

[seades]

Hi,

I am looking at starting a small cruising yacht syndicate here in Adelaide Australia. This would be a private use, time share syndication basically to share costs and ensure the yacht gets reasonable use. I am looking for 3 or 4 shares at around $50K.

Do you have experience with syndication?
What has been your experience?
What legal structure (if any) did you set up to administer the group? A contract note or a partnership or what?
Is a legal structure really necessary for 3 or 4 members?
What about insurance hassels for those unforseen disasters?
Did anyone decide not to pull their weight?
How much of the maintenance did you do as a group and how much was contracted out?
How long did it last and would you do it again?
How did you handle the provisions regarding selling a share when one party wants "out".

Let me benefit from your experiences... all comments welcome.

Regards,
Stuart