An entrepreneur and father of three who dreamed of owning his own private yacht but was put off by the high costs involved, is launching a campaign to Get Britain Boating at the Western Boat Show in Bristol next weekend.
Matt Ovenden, 37, is the founder of Borrow a Boat – the UK’s first peer-to-peer boat charter marketplace, sometimes referred to as an “Airbnb for boats” – which aims to get people on the water for less.
A passionate boater, Matt had been on boats since the age of two and his life-long dream was to one day own his own yacht. But when looking into the logistics of boat ownership and running costs he says it was no longer viable option.
Ovenden says, “My love of boating comes from my earliest memories on a boat, and my Mum and Dad regularly took me boating from age 2 onwards . It had always been my dream to buy my own boat, so that my family can enjoy the same experiences the hobby has given me over the years. After the Brexit-related turbulence impacted my business, I started looking for a new business idea and that’s when it struck me, that so many boat owners get so little use out of their vessels, yet at the same time boat ownership is prohibitively expensive for so many – and I began thinking about a solution that could simultaneously help both groups .”
Matt continues, “walking around marinas I realised you have all these amazing boats just sitting there because most boat owners only use them for one or two months a year. It occurred to me if you could use the sharing economy to bring boat owners and boating enthusiasts together then owners could offset mooring costs and people could get on the water for less – which is how we came up with the idea for Borrow a Boat.”
As part of the Get Britain Boating campaign, Matt and his team will be undertaking a roadshow tour of UK marinas to raise awareness about the impact the sharing economy could have on the boating industry.
On the 21st July on Borrow A Boat’s Stand H2 at the Western Boat Show in Bristol Harbour Matt will be talking about Why you don’t need to be a millionaire to sail a private boat and also sharing his Five steps to get into boating.
Since launching in November 2016, Borrow A Boat already has more than 4,000 vessels available on their site, with the aim of having more than 20,000 boats available by the end of 2017. For more info visit www.borrowaboat.com