There is a lot more to consider when contemplating owning a boat than the initial high price of purchasing a boat. In addition to the financing of the purchase which can be hundreds of dollars a month, there is also cleaning and maintaining the boat, motor and systems. Think about where you will keep your boat? Marinas and dry storage, if you can find one that has space, are costly, $500 and more a month. Keeping your boat on a trailer adds more maintenance and you must have a vehicle that can tow a trailer and be ready to deal with often busy and aggressive people at the scarce boat ramps while launching and retrieving your vessel. It is all a bit daunting.
BOAT CLUB MEMBER PERKS
An attractive alternative to ownership is joining a boat club. For a relatively small cost, smaller than a down payment for a new boat, and a monthly fee, less than the monthly cost of keeping a boat at a marina or high-and-dry, you can have access to a fleet of boats without the hassle of cleaning, maintaining, insuring and the many repairs that will arise.
Imagine, gathering your crew and provisions for the day and simply stepping aboard a boat that has been meticulously maintained and cleaned. Go boating, fishing, cruising, rafting up with friends, day drinking (not the operator), whatever you desire, and when the fun is done returning to the club and all you have to do is grab your stuff and crew and head home. The dockhands check the boat in, clean the boat, put it away and you only pay for the fuel used that day. Don’t forget to tip the dockhands, they work hard to make your day easy. To Insure Priority Service (TIPS), maybe $10 or $20 could be appropriate.
There are rental boat options in the area. However, the cost of the rental is nearly the same as the monthly fee of a boat club for one day’s use and often the boat is marginally maintained and has “Rent Me” signs plastered on its hull.
THE FREEDOM BOAT CLUB
There are only two boat clubs in the Volusia County area. The oldest and largest is Freedom Boat Club which was founded in Sarasota in 1989. It’s an early model of a growing shared economy (also known as collaborative consumption)—an economic model where individuals and groups share goods, services, and resources, often facilitated by online platforms. Freedom Boat Club is now the largest boat club in the world with over 420 locations throughout the world… which is another advantage. Local members have access to all Freedom Boat Club locations.
“I moved to Florida from New York several years ago. I’ve been a boater all my life and brought my boat down with me so I could enjoy all the benefits of living in such a beautiful environment,” explained William Rebolini, a recent member of Freedom Boat Club. “The expense of storage and upkeep as well as the work it took to maintain my boat made no sense, joining Freedom Boat Club did.”
Locally, Freedom Boat Club is an individually owned franchise of the worldwide Brunswick owned boat club. The five local locations are Daytona, New Smyrna Beach, Palm Coast, Ponce Inlet and Sanford. “We are dedicated to making the boating lifestyle as easy and convenient as possible for our members,” offered Kyle Gaffney, Member Executive, Freedom Boat Club. “All of our boats are new, less than two years old, and are painstakingly maintained so our members can simply enjoy their day on the water on a boat they can take pride in.”
Freedom Boat Club offers a variety of vessels including pontoons, center consoles, dual consoles and deck boats. They also host several special member events throughout the year. To reserve a boat, members go online and reserve their boat of choice. If you are new to boating or just need some refreshing, Freedom Boat Club offers unlimited free training to get their members comfortable operating on their own.
If you want to spend your time on the water and not take care of your boat as well as not tying up your money in an investment of a boat, joining a boat club may well be your best bet.
CAPTAIN MARK KELLUM | THE BOAT COACH
MARKTHEBOATCOACH@GMAIL.COM
MARKTHEBOATCOACH.COM
