Great Freedom Boat Club Article in Last Week's Boston Globe

Somehow I missed this last week! Enjoy!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/21/boating_on_a_budget/

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Boating on a budget
Club members find savings, convenience

By David Rattigan
Globe Correspondent / August 21, 2008
For Dean Rubin, there's nothing better than taking off on a pleasure cruise from Beverly Harbor on a boat he doesn't own.

"You go down, and the boat is waiting for you," Rubin said. "You enjoy the harbor, come back, get your stuff, and walk away. There are no hassles at the dock. You just get out of the boat and go home."

He and his wife, Tracy, of Beverly, are part of a new trend: Membership clubs that let people get out on the water without the expense and responsibilities of boat ownership.

Mike Saunders brought the trend to Massachusetts in 2005 when he opened a Freedom Boat Club franchise at Marina Bay in Quincy. He now owns similar franchises in Plymouth and Beverly, and there also are locations in Newburyport, West Dennis, Falmouth, and Rhode Island. The Navigator Club in Charlestown, owned by Edward Mancini, offers similar memberships.

Saunders compares it with a country club membership. Just as golf club members call to reserve tee times, boat club members call to request any of the seven boats the club keeps on the Beverly dock. The boats include bow riders, cruisers, fish ing boats, and a sailboat.

The Navigator Club at Constitution Marina in Charlestown is the newest among the on-demand boating clubs, opening this year.

"I was in boat sales and yacht brokering, and saw that a lot of people just didn't have the time to maintain a boat or to deal with some of the traditional boat ownership tasks," said Mancini, who considered opening in Newburyport, where he once docked his boat, before deciding on his current location. "I didn't want to be a franchise guy, and felt I could do a better job. I also have a passion for water, so if I can show prospective members that, it brings new people into boating."

Membership in the clubs provides the same privileges that come with docking a boat at the marina - which can include use of clubhouses, pools, restaurants, or whatever other facilities are available at the marina.

There are different fee structures, including a onetime joining fee of $4,500 for a weekday membership and $5,900 for a seven-day membership, plus fees that come to $2,500/$3,500 annually for the Freedom Boat Clubs in Beverly, Quincy, and Plymouth. Navigator Club fees run from $5,595 for a weekday membership to $7,495 for a seven-day membership.

That's less than the cost of boat ownership, which beyond the purchase price can include insurance, slip rental, harbor fees, maintenance, and winter storage.

"It costs substantially less" than boat ownership on average, "less than half," Saunders said. "Many of our members are previous boat owners who choose this because it's a no-hassle alternative. They don't have to worry about maintaining the boat."

Both clubs offer training programs, but the majority of members are people with some experience on the water.

"I just make a reservation, come here, and jump in the boat," said Joe Sharron of Windham, N.H., a Navigator Club member who used to dock his boat in Newburyport. "It's clean, the facilities are clean, I don't have to worry about maintenance. Somebody else does all that. I just go out, come back, park the boat, and I'm done. It's a great concept."

Donna Wadden of Andover decided to take up boating to celebrate her fifth cancer-free year, but found that the $10,000 she'd set aside "doesn't buy much boat . . . maybe a rowboat." Through word of mouth, she found the Freedom club's Beverly location, and has been a member for nearly three years.

"It's like my dream is back in my hands again," she said. "And in the fall, when my friends complain to me about taking their boats out of the water and putting them into storage, I can say, 'Not me. My crew is putting my boat away.' "

For the Rubins, who formerly owned Yamaha Waverunner jet skis and a Hobie Cat sailboat, the club has allowed them to get back onto the water, which the first-time power boaters hadn't done since moving to Beverly 13 years ago.

"To be near the water and not on it is a crying shame," Rubin said. "We finally said, 'Enough is enough; let's get into it.' "

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

Ever see a boat split in two?

As most of you know, our boat "Fishin' Cruise" recently ran into some rocks off Hyannis and damaged the hull. In order to fix the hull damage, we had to remove the top half of the boat to fix the damage from the inside.

Anyways, I thought you would enjoy the pics!

Did you know that training is included for FREE with your membership!

That's right! Be it a one hour refresher, or 20 hours! We have a licensed captain on staff who will teach you all you need to know to be comfortable and confident out there in each of our boats.

Captain Harvey Wright not only will teach you navagational aids and boat handling out on the water, but also will cover chart reading, GPS and other classroom materials -- FOR FREE AS PART OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP!

Here's a few pics of Harvey and one of our newest members heading out for a training session.