The three of us are sitting in a brokers tiny conference room, an unlikely troika of bridegrooms: I am a newspaper editor, Dave an engineer, Jim a city planner.

The "bride" is a 31-foot sloop that we'll name Trinity. She's had one previous owner, a physician, we are told, who wants to move up. She is in prime condition, obviously well maintained and cared for.

We have scoured the marinas and docks of southern New England for weeks looking for The Boat. Our intent, too, is to move up- from a 26-foot sloop to something larger. We want an inboard engine, wheel steering, more cruising space. Something affordable...

"We" are boat partners and while the concept of joint boat ownership has been around probably since carracks were first launched from the shores of the Aran Isles, many more enthusiasts today are toying with the idea for some obvious, and other not-so obvious, reasons.

The folks at Hellier Yacht Sales have arranged for the closing to take place in their New London, Connecticut, offices. Essex Yacht Financing has sent a representative. Part of the deal includes our trade of the pristine 26-foot Windlass, with a year-old main and new roller-furling jib.

Hellier is asking top dollar for Trinity. In return, they are giving us top dollar for our old boat in trade. This way our equity position in the new boat nearly meets Essex's financing requirements, but it still requires each of us to come up with about $1,200 cash to complete the down payment for the new boat. Terms are 14 percent for 15 years, or about $398 per month total. That's $135 each.

The reality of joint boat ownership is not new to us. Jim and I have owned the Pearson for about five years. Dave bought into the deal four years later by matching our existing equity and assuming one-third of the annual costs. This new boat deal will double our amortization costs, will increase all costs, in fact, but the attraction of a larger boat and our somewhat improved financial positions over the last few years make it look affordable as much as any boat is.

After all these years "The Partnership" remains alive and well - perhaps a little strained sometimes, but in general a relationship we all enjoy and value.

Like marriages, boat partnerships are not for everyone. Yet they have distinct advantages over single ownership, not the least of which is the sharing of work and expenses. Having two other partners, for example, means Linda and I always have crew available. Because it comes every third week, boat time is jealously guarded. I no longer feel guilty about not using the boat or squandering sailing time for more mundane activities, because it simply doesn't happen. How many weekends has the single owner apologized to himself when "something came up" to prevent a planned trip? Or, how many times have we felt compelled to do the yard work on a particular weekend, or visit with mom? Believe me, in a partnership these matters are taken care of in the off weeks, so valuable does "my week" become.

Trinity is the embodiment of our individual and collective dreams, a 31-foot cruising sloop with inboard diesel, wheel steering roller-furling jib, full-battened main, plus all the electronics we need.

She is a reasonably spacious boat with good speed on all points of sail. Typically we voyage from Narragansett Bay each summer to Block Island, Cuttyhunk, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket as well as the many ports of call along the nearby coast. She will sleep six, but we prefer a foursome on cruises of more than two nights' duration. She has pressure water (good hot showers), adequate galley and sufficient storage.

Beyond the obvious advantages of sharing costs, having two other partners means the inevitable workload is more fun than tedious. Our spring prep usually involves a single weekend - certainly not more than three full days for each partner - and that includes the full spring prep, from scraping and sanding, bottom painting and rig tuning to interior cleaning and overhauling all winches, plus reinstalling all the gear that was stored ashore for the winter. Once a year, we make it a fun weekend with a dinner to celebrate the annual launch.

It is at the annual launch dinner that the serious business of the partnership ensues. With a deck of cards we determine the next season's rotation, which begins the first week of June and is followed, as virtual law, until the end of September. The period when the boat is in the water before June and after September are "open" days. Jim is first this year (he drew high card) and has the boat for the first week in June. I follow him in rotation and Dave is next. Then it is Jim's boat for the last week in June and so forth. Trading weeks is allowed (see Rules).

Each of us is considered the sole owner during our weeks of rotation. None of the other owners can use the boat during those weeks unless he has had permission or is invited as crew or guest.

This way one gets the very real sense that this is ones own boat, that one can leave on a trip without giving real thought to the other partners, or just stay at the mooring to relax without worrying about whether an otherwise intimate weekend will be crashed.

A lot of people have asked us if we were friends before the partnership. Actually no. We knew each other, were aware of the others' interest in sailing, but we were not the friends we have grown to be.

What we do have is a strong sense of our interdependence from owning something together; we recognize the need to hold our tongues when inclined to criticize the others. Jim is a neatnik, Dave and I are somewhat slobs. This has, perhaps, caused the most friction over the years, but Jim has mellowed and grown to accept a standard of clutter that he as an individual would not entertain. Dave and I, on the other hand, have learned that it takes only a few extra minutes at the end of our week to return the vessel to the next skipper in Bristol fashion.

This difference in personanlities is a pnmary source of the partnership's strength. Jim does the extra cleaning and waxing, while Dave and I tend to concentrate on the working condition of the boat's systems. We each bring valuable skills to the enterprise. Jim is a demon sailor - competitive, constantly changing sail trim for maximum performance. He should crew for Dennis Conner. Dave and I are more laid back. We sometimes fly the jib only, although we would never tell Jim that. If I am in the mood for sailing, I'll call Jim. For a leisurely afternoon sail to picnic or swim somewhere...Daves my man. Either approach suits me just fine.

Jim has been the "managing partner" for the past five years. He pays the note, annual yard bills, insurance, and so on. Dave and I send him $200 each month, which about pays for Trinity's annual costs with the exception of major upgrades - this year a roller-furling 135-percent genoa, interior sea cushions and Loran. In this case we each sent Jim a check for $1,200 to cover our individual share.

As I related earlier, Trinity's note is about $400 a month. Each of us pays $200 a month into a dedicated checking account, with the extra $70 or so paid in by each partner each month assuring that we have a balance in the bank to cover mooring fee, insurance, haul-out and winter storage when these costs come due.

The three of us share many other benefits besides the cost of this expensive "toy" We have found some interesting ways to maximize the use of Trinity in our too-short New England season.

For example, over the last few years we have started sailing in "teams" with one partner-couple, perhaps, taking the boat to Block Island for a few days, then leaving it there where another partner will join it.

Spared the time it requires to get the boat out to the island, this new captain simply takes the ferry over to find Trinity peacefully at anchor or on a rental mooring.

This "team sailing" has obvious benefits if, for example, one or all of us lack the time individually to sail out to a place like Block Island or Nantucket and back. In this way we spend more time at the destination and less time getting there.

Some final observations: Many people may prefer a more structured agreement upon embarking on such a quasi-legal arrangement. My partners and I have discussed this. What happens, for example, if one partner dies? We have decided that the other two acquire the equity that there is no "right" of survivorship. That is, the spouses do not inherit. To be sure, ours is not a legal arrangement. Children and spouses would normally have rights in this instance.

Another wrinkle is liability. We hold the vessel "et al," as one individual. We carry a significant amount of liability insurance, and a corporate holding arrangement might insulate us from individual suits, but we have so far opted to keep the agreement simple...a sort of "honor" arrangement.

As partners, we feel that part of our strength lies in a sort of unspoken commitment to each other and to the boat, a trust, if you will, that only works through the goodwill of each individual.

There it is. If you're inclined to own a boat, but wince at the rather large annual cost and sometimes daunting responsibilities, consider a partnership. Like any relationship it isn't perfect, but it is one way to maximize boat ownership with an abject lesson in compromise thrown in.

Lifelong sailor Paul Harrigan is a freelance writer and former newspaper editor who works from his home in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The rules of the partnership, although not actually written down, have been established by trial and error (many errors) over the years and follow a sort of logic. If one of us enthusiastically embraces a dock and damages something, who pays, he or the partnership? A winch handle goes overboard, an ensign is blown from its stanchion...an oar is lost from the dinghy..who pays?

After some discussion, and events never directIy attributable to any one partner, we have decided that a loss to the boat is a loss to the three of us. We share. This universal rule is only changed if one of us or one of our guests does an obviousIy stupid thing on the boat. For example, on my week someone breaks a fishing pole. In this case I absorb the cost and replace the damaged pole.

Each partner must leave the boat at the end of his week as he found it- spotless, shipshape and ready for the next owner. This means we must take all trash off the vessel, clean and stow cockpit cushions, top off diesel and water tanks and so on as if ready for a charter.

Spouses, girlfriends, sons and daughters may not use the boat by themselves. In other words, only the week's owner may skipper the boat.

Pets are not allowed on the vessel.

Any malfunction or suspected problem must be either repaired on your watch or reported im mediately to the new captain by phone or by note left on the boat.

Monthly payment to the managing partner should be received by the 10th of the month unless otherwise arranged with him.

New expenditures must be agreed upon unanimously Jim has wanted to buy a new jib for three years. Dave and I relented this year and voted to purchase a new roller-furling genny We also replaced our Loran this year and had interior cushions recovered.

A partner may "trade" his week with another partner if both agree. The rotation of boat use otherwise continues uninterrupted. If it is my week, Trinity is exclusively mine. l may, at my option, invite another owner to join me, but no owner is allowed on his off weeks without an invitation.