It's not all doom and gloom, but does require some time (and patience).

I had a full-boat cash sponsor (more or less, got there over a few years) back when I was a newbie. You just need to be creative and give them something they want.

As for them "owning" you, I was warned about that and simply stuck to my guns with that. I made it clear in my meetings and contract (an extremely important document) that the primary value in the relationship was the active participation of the boat/team in regattas and other sailing events. I gave them the full schedule as part of the bid package (another extremely important document, what are you giving them?).

I had a radio station as the primary sponsor, and they had an outdoor concert series where the boat would be displayed (conveniently, on Thursday afternoons). This gave even more value to the co-sponsors.

I had a clause that said additional promotional appearances (for any of the sponsors) would be handled as a separate item (subject to the sailing schedule), and that terms would be negotiated separately. My big cash sponsor (not the radio station) was the only one who even thought about it.

I made them think that I would charge extra money, and they never pushed it. They were more than happy with the entire package, as was I (I sailed every weekend from late April to October for a few years).

My deal was not the "easiest" but was effective. The only downside (and I was not prepared for this) was some intense jealousy of other sailors (not that they would ever admit that, but there's no other way to explain some of their reactions). Probably less of an issue now, as it's becoming more common.

Mike