Is a boat club a practical option to buying a boat?
The question of whether to buy a boat or join a boat club that offers a choice of boats is a question many people are asking today. As I looked into how people elsewhere answered this question, I was surprised to see that the number of boaters that rent versus the number that buy differs around the world. For example, in France, with a large number of occasional users, the majority of boaters rent rather than own. However in Germany, due to the country's strong boating culture and access to waterways, it is more common for people to own their own boats rather than rent them. In the USA, approximately 12% of households own a recreational boat and outnumber those who rent. The median age of owners and renters is 60, and most of the boats that they operate are under 26 feet.
Renting a boat is an old and well established procedure. It began with boats that rented for a specific hourly fee. As people wanted to increase their rental time creative options began to appear. One such option is when a boat owner offers their boat directly to a renter for several days at a time. To add security for the owner, many companies got into the business of arranging contracts between the boater and renter, thereby acting as an intermediary. This practise is still done today and provides a practical way for a boater to acquire a boat and cover some of his expense. From these rental plans, it was only logical that a boat club system would evolve.
In North America, renters presently have no shortage of different plans, options, and costs. According to 2021 statistics, there are over 17,500 “boat rental” companies operating in the United States. While boat clubs are a little different, most of them work like this: you pay an initial fee up front for ‘membership.' Once a member, you are entitled to certain privileges in return for a monthly fee. The privilege in this case is the use of specific boats that the boat club owns. With this cost formula, you would think that it would be simple math to calculate a cost comparison between a boat club cost versus the cost of buying your own boat. Many prospective boaters, when they add in the cost of taxes, licenses, maintenance, dock or slip costs, and personal touches, quickly conclude that a boat club is cheaper than owning, Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Lets look at the details of what you might expect from both of these options and come to an educated conclusion as to the best choice for you.
To provide a fair opinion as to whether a rental club can be better than buying a boat, we must compare apples to apples. To do so, I selected for both renting and buying ‘standard runabouts' for comparison, 18’ to 25’ in length, and powered by a medium horsepower outboard motor. This eliminates some of the less common boat choices such as yachts, performance boats, and specialty sailboats, and makes it easier for me to arrive at some solid recommendations.
I begin by calculating what you might figure as the basic cost of owning. While this can vary, lets assume you are not looking for either the most expensive boat model, or the cheapest. Lets also assume that like most boat buyers today, you would be satisfied if your boat was previously owned as long as it had low hours and was in very good shape. Such a boat, three years old, that also meets the average boater’s needs, can be purchased for around $85.000. After four to five years of use, and maintained in good condition, it should have at least a $45k value, for an average cost of $8,000 per year. An allowance for maintenance, docking, storage, and miscellaneous expenses, your annual added cost should be around $1,400 per year. The five year total to own a boat becomes $47,000. (The National Marine Manufacturer’s Association is slightly more optimistic with an annual cost estimate of between $5k and $8k per year or a 5 year cost of $40,000)
Now, lets look at boat clubs. The initial cost to join a club is usually around $7,500, but many of them offer discounts that bring the fee to about $5,000. If we amortize this over five years, as with ownership, it becomes $1,000 per year. Add in monthly member fees at about $400/month, or $4,800 per year, and you have a true annual cost of $5,800. This means that over five years, your boat club will cost you $29,000. Note here that fuel costs are the responsibility of the boater in both of these cases, so fuel cost depends on driver usage and is not a factor in this comparison.
To me the greatest benefit of a boat club is that it is responsible for all maintenance. You get in the boat and leave at your scheduled time. When you return later that day, you just go home and leave the clean up to them. If there is a breakdown, they fix it with no cost to you. For the most part, insurance is also covered by the club. These two items are always a cost concern in the mind of every boat owner. Of course, you may have a different definition of ‘maintenance’ than a boat club. Things like broken seats, bent windshields or minor damage are not usually sufficient cause for them to pull a rental boat from service. So If you are accustomed to everything being in tip top shape on your boat, you may find a boat club frustrating.
Another ‘no cost’ benefit to a boat club is storage. They own the boats and keep them at their dock. When you book a boat, you go to their dock and are never responsible for storage costs. This brings up something to check before signing. Where is their dock? This may not seem important, but when you plan to take gear and passengers any distance to get to your boat, it can prove very inconvenient over time.
Boat clubs try to provide a variety of boat types, so there will usually be a boat in their fleet to match your individual preferences. Some members will always want a tri-toon, while another a bowrider, and the fishing enthusiast a center console. This may sound good when joining, but be aware, once you are a member that favourite boat can often often be already taken.
To meet insurance regulations and general safety protocol, every club requires a new member to review some basic driver training. This is provided at no cost by licensed captains and can be extended at the discretion of the member. It does not involve jumping into frigid waters from a speeding boat.
Boat clubs today offer a number of strong arguments for membership. Their cost vs the cost of ownership is certainly enticing, and this cost difference is the main feature they discuss when selling memberships. In print they say we “provide access to our diversified fleet”. This should make you a very happy club member until the first time you want to book a boat during the busy season. What they should advertise is: “As a member, you can book a nice boat from our fleet, but the boat you really want may not be available and in the short term there may be no boats available at all.” What if you have a boat booked three weeks in advance, and the day you plan to go, it rains? Unfortunately, you go back to the end of the line.
It’s no surprise that some boat clubs can have an availability problem. The more members a club has, the more money they make. The key factor with any boat club becomes their policy on the ratio of members to available boats. According to American industry statistics, the average boat usage in North America is 26 days a year and is mostly done during the most popular six months of the year in their region. Applying these usage stats to boat club requirements, every boat club would need to have a boat available in their fleet to share between every 7 and 10 members, in order to meet boater expectations. As part of joining any boat club, I would urge you to insist that the club put in writing what their ratio is and that they will never exceed a 10-to-1 ratio without offering you some type of compensation, refund, or alternative. This is the real bottom line on boat clubs.
Of course, many people simply want to own their own boat. In addition to having exactly the type of boat they desire, there is pride of ownership and pride of performance. Have you ever known a good downhill skier who rented their skis? Or a good golfer who rented their clubs? For a few more dollars, you can be a true boater and your boat can be ready to use when you want it.
There is nothing like owning your own boat. #tips #quicktips
