Anyone a member of a Boat Club?

[Splash-X]

My wife and I are considering joining a local boat club as a way to get in some more diving. The cost is reasonable, $250 a month plus gas, for a full day (1 hour after sunrise to 1 hour before sunset) and can easily pay for itself if you consider a charter in the Gulf is around $100 per person. At $200 a trip it adds up quick!

I grew up driving boats on inland lakes in Michigan so operating the boating and equipment is something I'm very comfortable with. We will need to take some boater safety classes here in Florida to learn the local laws and regulations so I've already considered that.

I've looked in to buying a used boat and when you factor in the cost of either a storage yard, dry storage or a slip the costs easily skyrocket. Take in to account we're not sure which size or type of boat we would want for the "long term", a boat club seems like a good idea.

Is anyone else a member of a boat club? Has anyone considered joining one and decided not to? Any input is welcome.

 

[Echoo]

We thought about it after pulling our boat out of the water a couple years ago. We were paying 380 a month for our slip. It was nice covered and included power water ect. Wife had twins on the way so we pulled it out. After the babies were born we looked into the club rather than put the boat back in the water as it seemed cheaper.

The one we were looking into was based out of a very nice marina ( Homeport) seemed like a real deal at first but then when we got to looking into it and talking to people we discoverd that they only had 3 boats and you had to reserve like 3 weeks in advance also you never knew what boat you would get... it was "what ever is availible" If you wanted to get there biggest boat ( it was a 23 footer) then you had to reserve like 6 weeks out..... Also there had a limit on how far out you could go. think it was like 5 nutical miles. ( fine Print) '

My advise is hang out where ever the boats are docked at, and talk to some people and see what they say about the one you are considering. I know a couple that was part of one before they bought their boat and the conditions seemed about the same, however they would never have considered buying a boat if they had not joined the club for a few months.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Wow, that is expensive....you are really only going to use it for about 4 hours, resulting in $62,5/hour plus fuel.

I'm in a airplane club, $35/month and $95/hour wet (fuel included).

PS. But then again, I always thought my boat was more expensive than flying.....you could buy your own boat for that price, or join a dive club that owns a boat Don't try and justify your toys financially, just do it and enjoy it. You only live once!

 

[Kevrumbo]

Marina Sailing here in SoCal (Long Beach). A long time member, my Dues is $81/quarter (i.e. every three months); for new members it's currently $90/quarter after a $395 sign-up fee, or $695 total including sign-up fee & sailing lessons.

Actual charter rates for the yacht depends on the size, length and amenities onboard:
Sailing the Southern California with Marina Sailing Charters

 

[Salmonboy97]

I bought a boat and use it only very rarely. It seems cheaper to me to get on a charter. You dont have to worry about the boat, the other passengers, fuel, weather conditions, cleanup, maintenance etc. etc. You just get on and HAVE FUN.

I really like quote "Don't try and justify your toys financially, just do it and enjoy it. You only live once!" That is AWESOME!

 

[Splash-X]

We were paying 380 a month for our slip.

We expected a slip to be about that. We looked at the one in Home Port but they rent it by the 1/2 day and its almost the same exact price as the one down the way are Marina Marker 1 on the Dunedine Causeway.

Wow, that is expensive....you are really only going to use it for about 4 hours, resulting in $62,5/hour plus fuel.

Depends on how often you use it really. $200 is what my wife and I spend on a single morning on a dive charter for two dives. If we take the boat out first thing and get closer towards the evening back we can easily get 5 dives in a single day at various sites.

I bought a boat and dont use very rarely. It seems cheaper to me to get on a charter. You dont have to worry about the boat, the other passengers, fuel, weather conditions, cleanup, maintenance etc. etc. You just get on and HAVE FUN.

A Charter is cheaper and a boat club is on par with a charter for a single day if you enjoy a more "hands on" approach. I'm certain that joining a boat club will give us more experience here in Florida with a boat and may even lead to the purchase of a boat down the road once we figure out what we want.

Give then various uses of a boat, configurations, sizes, styles, etc it seems logical to join a boat club and experience the different boat types before commiting to anything.

 

[I Dive]

My wife and I are considering joining a local boat club as a way to get in some more diving. The cost is reasonable, $250 a month plus gas, for a full day (1 hour after sunrise to 1 hour before sunset) and can easily pay for itself if you consider a charter in the Gulf is around $100 per person. At $200 a trip it adds up quick!

I grew up driving boats on inland lakes in Michigan so operating the boating and equipment is something I'm very comfortable with. We will need to take some boater safety classes here in Florida to learn the local laws and regulations so I've already considered that.

I've looked in to buying a used boat and when you factor in the cost of either a storage yard, dry storage or a slip the costs easily skyrocket. Take in to account we're not sure which size or type of boat we would want for the "long term", a boat club seems like a good idea.


Is anyone else a member of a boat club? Has anyone considered joining one and decided not to? Any input is welcome.

One day a month... How far in advance do you need to pick your day? What if something comes up shortly before your day and you need to cancel? Do you get another day for that month or are you just out that month? What if, between life, weather, and Murphy (of Murphy's Law fame) you can't get out once during a calendar month? Can you carry over that day to the next month (or any future month for that matter) or are you just out? What if the weather before your day looks great, but you wake up to crappy weather and it is not safe to go out. What happens to your day? On your one day per month that you hope to get 5 dives in (you and your wife both), how many cylinders between the two of you will be needed? Does the club offer a boat that has enough room for these cylinders w/o you or your wife sitting on them? Who is going to stay on the boat while you and your wife are diving? Do they offer boats you and your wife can both get comfortably off and on?

I don't have any idea how boat clubs work, because I drove up to one awhile back and after seeing the boats they offered I kept on driving and never looked back... Have you seen the boats they offer? Will any of them get you to diveable distances/depths in this area? I'm just tossing out ideas/rhetorical questions/things to consider. There may be a kick ass awesome dive club in the area, and it could be the one you are looking into. I'm just not a big fan of the concept and after seeing the boats one club offered I will jump off charters until I get around to buying my own...

 

[Splash-X]

In general, your monthly membership allows you to have a set number of reservations on the books at one time. The number usualy depends on the "schedule". You can book as far ahead as you want.

For example, several clubs allow you to have 3 reservations on the schedule at a time. These places generaly charge around $200 and enforce a HALF DAY policy, that being you either get the boat from sunrise to noon or noon to 5. For the same half day membership to have 4 reservations on the books is $250.

There are a few clubs out there that are $250 for 2 reservations but these are FULL days, sunrise to sunset. Marker 1 Marina has Another Day in Paradise Another Day in Paradise Boat Club which has all of the amenities of the brand new marina.

The boats in question are plenty big for holding the divers, their gear and a third wheel to stay topside. A 20ft boat will comfortably hold 4 divers and their gear (stowed) and the top side person. The 24ft whaler style boat will hold more gear and people.

We did go to the club this past weekend and checked things out. The boats are in dry storage and they got the boats down and put them in the water for us to check them out. We were impressed. The boats can easily get us 16 miles out without pushing it which covers alot of reefs and wrecks in the Tampa area.


We were looking at buying our own boat but commiting to a single choice right now just isn't something we want to do. The boat club provides a low cost way for us to try out various boat styles and configurations to see what we do and don't like and we can move on from there. If, in a few months, we decide to buy our own boat it would still have been money well spent.

I'm sure people here can comment on the fact that owning their own boat is a lot of work, responsibility and costs far more than they expected. You've got a boat payment if you don't buy it out right, insurance, storage fees and maintance. I'm sure there are other hidden costs you don't realize until something goes wrong.


We're not jumping in on either the boat club or buying a boat at this point but we are considering the options.

 

[Echoo]

"The boats in question are plenty big for holding the divers, their gear and a third wheel to stay topside. A 20ft boat will comfortably hold 4 divers and their gear (stowed) and the top side person. The 24ft whaler style boat will hold more gear and people".

4divers+tender... in the above post you were talking about doing 5 dives per day.... If you are using 120's this might be acceptable However most recreational divers still use al80's that is a tank per dive that is 20 tanks for 4 divers...... on a boat that is not set up for diving in the first place, I don't consider this situation comfortable. I am not trying to talk down to you just making sure you are thinking everything out.

I have a 30' Dorado that is a open fishing boat. No racks for tanks. I will only take 4 divers on a 3 tank day. 5 or 6 for a two tank day. Ya sure there is still alot of room for people, How ever I consider how many tanks I need to safely stow. Without racks this becomes a issue for me on a much bigger boat than you are talking about with storage from stern to bow.

I think joining the club is a great idea, Sure it is like renting a house, you will never get anything back out of the money you spend but. If you are already hesitating on buying a boat then don't do it. Have you ever owned a boat? Do you have a place to keep it/afford a storage facility? I take very good care of my boat, ask anyone here that has been on it. It is alot of work and time/money. Check out the club make sure it is what it appears to be TALK TO PEOPLE THAT ARE MEMBERS. Trust me clubs will try to sell you on all the positives. Talk to people that are already a member and see what they have to say about it. If in a year you are still getting on the water a few times a month then take the plunge and buy a boat. You will know what you want by then

 

[Splash-X]

I did not say that I would be taking 4 people out to do 5 dives a day, I said my wife and I could easily do 5 dives in a single day. I also said the boats are plenty big to take 4 divers out.

Yes, I have owned a boat previously. We kept it at our lake home raised above the water using a hoist in fresh water. Salter water and the open ocean are completly different than an inland lake.


I'm looking for some input from people who have joined clubs or who considered joining but decided not to. I know the pros and cons of owning vs a club. I would like to hear more about the experience some people may have had with their club(s).