Many boaters contemplate buying a new boat. But the reality is that boat ownership requires time and expense to keep it ready to go when you are. And for many boat owners, more time is spent getting ready to go boating than boating itself.

Joining a boat club is the best way to maximize your boating time. Not only will you do more boating, but it will cost you less and you will have a variety of boats and locations to choose from.
The spreadsheet shows the comparison of buying vs joining. The boat club is about a third of the cost of owning your own boat.
As you can see in the example above, the cost to own a new boat is over $2k per month. The most significant expense, depreciation, is the invisible expense that is not realized until the boat is sold. As a result, it goes unnoticed until then. Joining a boat club cost less per month than the depreciation on buying a new boat.

But what about availability?
A privately owned boat is rarely as available as a club’s boat. Every boat owner knows that to take out a boat that has been parked for a month will require a couple of hours of prep before heading offshore. The boat will need to be washed, the batteries charged, freshly fueled, and the safety gear checked. An then it will also need a couple hours to get it ready for storage for another month.
The club’s boats are washed every morning, engines are warmed up and tanks are fueled. A club that has a fleet will usually have a boat that is waiting in the slip to be used. Since there is no prep time, you will be able to go out for an hour after after work. As a result, spur of the moment boating is an emerging trend. Even though the weather can vary, the impulse boater can take advantage of beautiful weather windows because they jump on a boat and be out on the water in 10 minutes.

And finally, by joining a Carefree Boat Club, you can boat from the best locations across the US without having to trailer and launch a boat. Wouldn’t it by great to be able to reserve a boat at your next vacation destination or while visiting the grand parents.