Freedom boat club

B

Brian

Member
Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2000
RO Number
64
Messages
334
Has anyone ever known someone who was a memeber. Some people at my marina went to a presentation. 5000 up front and 200 a month. Unlimited use of a boat at home location and 4 usage at other locations each year. Any experience??
 
good luck getting one for July 4th, memorial day weekend, labor day weekend new year seve or the xmas boat parade.

RWS
 
My niece and nephew belong, it works out great for them. If your needs fit their guidelines, it could be a good deal for you, too. They saw the time I have spent maintaining a boat over the years (which I enjoy). They wanted to be able to walk away from the boat at the end of the day, and they do.

Peter
 
quote:
Originally posted by Cobalt 25

... If your needs fit their guidelines, it could be a good deal for you, too....

Peter

Click to expand...


+1. Also make sure they have the boat you want at your location. Here in central VA, they advertised 36-40 Formula's or the like for more up front. The biggest here is a 20 or so ski boat.

Caveat Emptor.
 
one of the challenges of most boat clubs is that you can only choose one day out of any given w/e, but not both.
 
My Dad lives in Naples and loves it. He goes out about 3-4x per month with friends, family, etc. There are a bunch of membership options & associated costs.

For no-hassle boating it can't be beat. The only complaint is that he's getting bored of doing the same cruise over and over (Port Royal area). Boring.
 
My uncle sold his boat and joined the club in Port Jefferson, NY. He figured he would get more time boating without the hassle of boat-owner's maintenance. He quit after one season. Really didn't work out for him. It was good from the perspective of getting access to a variety of boats and being able to walk away at the end of the day.

But there are no accessories on the boat - you have to bring everything with you every time and take it off again. The one day/weekend thing was not great. The final thing that soured him was the local club removed all the heads from the boats. Not really practical for a family to be on the water all day with no access to a toilet.

In the end, he really wanted his own boat.
 
REMOVED THE HEADS? Arrrrgh, that's cause for mutiny, mateys!

That seems unreasonable. Could the members of that local club seek intervention from the corporate headquarters? If the heads were available when they forked out their initiation fee it seems like it might be some kind of a breach of contract to remove them after the fact.

My nieces boats are well equipped for safety and convenience. All they have to bring is the stuff they need for the trip.

Peter
 
We considered it but bringing and taking your stuff off every time was a deal breaker. You might put at an add on craigslist looking for someone to get bought out. Can save you a lot on the initiation fee.
 
There is one here in DC and my cousin worked for them. They have nice boats and keep them up. It seems it is more fit for someone who will only boat once a month or so. This particular location only has a few boats. I remember the owner telling me you would have to schedule 4th of July one year in advance. On a nice weekend it can be hard to get a boat. Anoher attraction is you don't have to deal with the maintenance of boat ownership. The only real draw back is the up front money and the commitment.

Since I like to boat every chance I get it isn't worth it for me. Plus I love working on my boat!
 
I have been a member for three years out of Freeport Long Island. There are 6 locations here covering Long Island Sound and the South Shore bays. I absolutely love it, it's a perfect fit for my wife and I ,and 2 young boys. It is NOT the "boating life" that many on this site get to enjoy, but it does give me an opportunity to get out on the water 20 times a season with my family....I'm not exagerating 20 times each year is my average (Beginning of May thru end of Oct). I can't speak for other locations, but here in NY availability is not a problem for me. I go out most weekends, and weekdays are always wide open. In the summer my wife and I usually leave work early on Fridays and get somthing for an afternoon with no problem. You have an allottment of advanced reservations to use for the website, but you can also call that day to see whats available. Chances are, something is available at one of the locations, and since each one is within an hour drive, I am more than willing to drive to any of them for 5 hours out on the water (you reserve either a morning or an afternoon in 5 hour intervals). You can make arrangements for full days for special occasions, but that is on a limited basis. However your 5 hour slot is 5 full hours on the water. Throughout my membership there have only been a handfull of times when I wanted to go out on a weekend and nothing was avaialable (so we go to the beach instead). I have a Memorial weekend reservation, and I fully expect to be out over July 4th and Labor Day. Also, when i go to Florida on vacation, they always set me up down there. I've gone out of Sarasota twice, and this year 2 days in Tampa Bay in March.

However I have been shut out by weather more than lack of availability. If I have a reservatin for a Saturday, and it rains on Saturady, chances are I might not get to go out on Sunday when it clears up. Also, no boats go out during a Small Craft Advisory. So I am more at the Mercy of the weather than if I owned a boat because I can't just go out tomoorow instead.

As my kids get older, I fully expect to buy my own boat so that I too can live the "boating life", but this is a very excellent fit for now, money well spent. And having used such a wide variety of boats, I'll have a much better idea of what I want or need in a boat when I do get my own.
 
I thought the best part would be not dealing with the holding tank...
 
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