Buying a boat can feel like a dizzying prospect, but Axopar and Agapi Boat Club may offer a solution for boat buyers looking to minimize the hassles associated with mooring, storage, insurance, maintenance, and more.
Boat buyers often consider range, speed, fuel consumption, number of berths, water sports activities, onboard entertaining and the type of engines to be fitted. This is the more pleasant stage of buying a boat.
What can be more mundane, is selecting the dockage, winterization, maintenance and insurance. This part of boat buying can be irksome, especially for new boat owners. Jumping on an emerging trend to serve those for whom ownership is not imperative, boat clubs have ‘taken up the slack’ by becoming more prevalent.
Unlike chartering a boat, joining a membership club is a more immersive, more long-term proposition whereby boats owned by the club may be used regularly by members without ownership headaches..
Added benefits, such as participation in social activities, attending club organised training and safety courses, or simply being part of a likeminded community, differentiate what a membership boat club is all about.
Agapi Boat Club, founded in 2017, is no exception and along with its business partner, the successful Finnish adventure boat manufacturer, Axopar Boats, it quickly saw an opportunity to capitalize on this trend with the objective of getting more people to go boating by making the process simpler in the places where Agapi operates.
Having said this, not all boaters fancy the switch to being ‘clubbers’ and whilst Agapi already offers very comprehensive membership schemes, none of them involve owning a boat. With an ear to the ground, they have ‘moved the dial’ to introduce a brand new concept.
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Enter the Smart Boat Ownership programme, an evolution launched this year in 2026 and a unique addition to Agapi’s portfolio.
This is where you own the Axopar outright, you control it but Agapi offers complete peace of mind by running the boat through one of three separate programs or plans. These are categorised as ‘Private or Corporate’, ‘Co-ownership’ and the ‘Micro Club’.
In all cases, you decide how much you want to use your boat and how much you want to allow your boat to be used, while Agapi manages operation, maintenance, supervision, storage and administration around this. Obviously, the more you use the boat the less chance they have of offsetting costs, but this is where Agapi individualizes the arrangement they have with you, so both sides’ expectations are managed from the start.
Details of the Plans
Taking a look at each individually, the Private/Corporate plan, as the name suggests, offers individuals or company directors who have purchased the boat, a compelling proposition as Agapi supports you ‘behind the scenes’. The priority is your usage with an offset of incoming revenue from controlled member usage.
Meanwhile, the Co-ownership program is designed for families, friends or strategic partners who wish to share ownership but want to keep the running costs down. It is similar to the Private or Corporate scheme.
Both these schemes are based around the locations where Agapi currently operates, which are pretty extensive across 17 countries, 37 locations (and counting), stretching from Bahamas to Canada, the UK, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean and through to the Middle East.
The Micro Club is different when compared with the two other arrangements because it’s more centred around you. You buy a new boat or boats, build a small boat club around it and Agapi supports access and usage to cover ownership costs. It invites boat enthusiasts that fancy starting a business from their own location, not from Agapi’s.
You would still become part of the Agapi Club and rely on their tried and tested business practices. However, it requires that you purchase a boat or boats under the Smart Boat Ownership scheme, which uses the highly proven Axopar range at preferential partnership prices. Agapi then provides the full operational platform, booking app and online publicity platform.
In most cases Micro Club owners build their club around their own network, for example a circle of friends, a waterfront neighbourhood community or a compatible business. Agapi’s Way is already in place before your Micro Club is established. For those with the initiative, network and drive, it becomes a contemporary way to own a new boat.
Co-owner of Agapi, Alejandra Levinas Asplund “Ale”, explains the thinking behind Smart Boat Ownership.
“We think the schemes we offer are a smarter way of owning your boat for the future. You purchase the boat, you own the boat in full and you decide how and when the boat is used. We will take care of the rest of it. Smart Boat Ownership is perfect for individuals, entrepreneurs, waterside operators or friends who want to reduce ownership costs”.
She adds, “Smart Boat Ownership is 21st century boat ownership, combining full private control with peace of mind, enabled by Agapi’s global platform and operational systems. The result is a boat ownership arrangement that could finance itself. We are already a highly trusted boating club. Our IT technology, for us and our customers, does not change what ownership means, but it changes how ownership is managed”.
If you would like to find out more about Agapi Boat Club and what it offers, visit agapiboatclub.com/sbo or explore the full Axopar range at axopar.com.
