So Whatever happened to..

Perhaps. Although think about how we used to buy cars and how we now buy cars. Personally I have never used PCP or those finance deals but I bet based on the number of new cars that most people do. If people are OK with effectively renting a car long term then why not a boat especially if the deal was targeted at key clubs and sailors that were considered important at getting traction and hence made attractive by the assumed discount of future sales. Sometimes there is great merit in using models that have been proven in other industries.

Maybe crowdfunding is the answer, i.e. 25 sailors decide they want a new class of boat, they chip in to get the moulds made and hire a moulding shop to make a batch.

'Investors' are only going to be interested if you have identified a genuine market niche for serious numbers.

The 25 buyers model would be a bit like a 'club'.....