Daniel Snyder Buys A Boat

Jeesh! Billionaire Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder buys a 224-foot boat and the Redskins community has conniptions. You'd think he was financing the purchase from Redskins ticket sales or taking money out of our pockets. (Um, let me think about that.)

Chris Chase's story Dan Snyder paid around $70 million for a 224-ft yacht appeared today in Yahoo! Sports.

After the obligatory Snyder-bash opening relating the price to the Redskins payroll, the story goes on ~

"The Washington Post's Reliable Source reports that Snyder's recent purchase, the Lady Anne, is one of the 100 biggest yachts in the world. Snyder bought the yacht with a group of investors for around the same price that he'll spend on two-thirds of his Redskins payroll for the year."

I 'm not immune to criticizing Snyder when he deserves it, which has been often. But why unload on him for buying something he can well afford? Especially when the cheapest way to own a boat is to use it as a business. An owner could be losing up to half-million dollars of tax benefits by not using their boat as a business asset says the folks at the Bay Yacht Agency.

Rental boat clubs offer memberships that gains use, but not ownership, of a variety of recreational boats. Captains are spared the time and labor of boat maintenance--the biggest advantage in my mind. Clubs and fractional shares of vessels is the topic of a Q&A discussion on a BoatUS forum found here.

Snyder's vessel named Lady Anne was berthed in the Mediterranean was used for charter and lease services. The story did not say if Snyder planned to move the boat to U.S. waters, but if you see Lady Anne in the Bay, stand up and sing Hail To The Redskins.

To read the full story, click here.

What should you do when you buy a new boat? Why, take a Power Squadron safety course, of course.

Nice boat, Dan. See you at the dock party.