Comments on: Do YOU have a club?

By: Enrique B. Lara, Sr.

Enrique B. Lara, Sr. — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:59:01 +0000

Hello Liz,

Reading your article, the replament of boats available for club members part caught my eye and intrest.
I’m planning to invest in a Boat Club (50%-equity). In a negotiation meeting with the owner, he made the following comment: “we have a total of 18 boats with a wrap a round bank loan, and we are planning to sell the boats, get rid of the bank note, and instead of owning the boats available to club members, we will start leasing the boats instead of buying new ones in 2012.
This will leave the wear and tear to the lessor, plus the club can have the latest boat models for its members.
Do you have any comments on this strategy?

Respectfully,

Enrique B. Lara
2000 NW 92 Ave
Doral, FL 33172
enriqueb.lara@gmail.com
(305) 206-9449

PS: Looking forward to that March 2011 issue!

By: MarinaBayBoston

MarinaBayBoston — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:11:07 +0000

We were at this conference as well and concur with your article. We have a Freedom Boat Club franchise at our location. They keep fifteen (15) boats in slips during the summer and bring close to thirty (30) boats from their other close-by locations to our facility for winter storage.

They have grown their fleet each year which is a welcome source of reoccurring revenue for us. In addition, they buy tens of thousands of dollars worth of fuel from us, use our haul out facility, buy parts from us, and will occasionally use our service department (though they have their own staff for most service work).

I recommend Freedom Boat Club to any marina or anyone thinking of getting into boating!

By: Bryan Church

Bryan Church — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:56:31 +0000

We have operated the Bartlett Lake Boat Club for the past 8 years. We love it!! It has generated over $300,000.00 per year in monthly dues and sign up fees. In addition each outting brings in an additional $50.00 from fuel sales and other store items. We beleive that this is new revenue that we would not normally receive. We are a full service marina and the club fits in perfect with our other profit centers. Anyone interested in the club concept please contact me at 480-221-0503 or at http://www.bartlettlake.com. Also we have developed a complete online management system.

By: Capt. Ed Mancini

Capt. Ed Mancini — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:21:18 +0000

Hello Liz-

Great article. I started a premium level boat club in Boston, called The Navigator Club, in February of 2008. The idea behind our club, was to provide our members with premium boats, exceptional service and first-rate facilities. As a former yacht broker, I concur that the vast majority of boat club members are not boat buyers. Most are novices, who are “looking to dip their toes in” and see if boating is something they want to pursue or they are former boat owners who sold their boat due to time constraints.

I can tell you that heading into our third season, our business model is a success and judging by our renewal rate of greater than 80%, our members would agree also.

Regards,

Capt. Ed Mancini
The Navigator Club, Inc.
wwww.thenavigatorclub.com
617.880.2525

By: Cam Collins

Cam Collins — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:03:45 +0000

Great topic Liz. The boat club of yesterday, with sub-par equipment in marginal at best working order, is over. I see this segment of the industry evolving into a concierge service for those who want “soap to nuts” amenities, high quality equipment and a set of features to fulfill their lifestyle choices (e.g. fishing, wakeboarding, cruising, sailing, etc). There are a number of examples of where this segment is going.

Ultimate Boats Club does a pretty good job of presenting the ownership vs club membership value proposition: http://www.ultimateboatclub.com/yachtclub.html