Boating without the hassle
Clubs let members set sail without owning craft
Some days this summer, you could find Doug Heding and his family on a 27-foot sailboat on Lake Michigan. Other times, if it suits them, they might take a powerboat to Port Washington or a pontoon up the Milwaukee River.
And while they love the water, the Hedings don’t own a boat. Instead they belong to the Carefree Boat Club at Milwaukee’s Harborfront Marina, where they have access to seven vessels.
With their annual club membership, they spend time boating without tedious tasks such as trailering a boat and cleaning it. They don’t have maintenance and repair costs, since they don’t own the boats they’re using, or winter storage fees.
“To me, it was more cost effective to be part of the club than to actually own a boat. If we use it more than twice a month in the summer, which we do, we are coming out ahead,” said Heding, an executive with U.S. Bank in Milwaukee.
Boat clubs vary widely in costs and offerings. Carefree is more expensive than some, with memberships costing thousands of dollars, but the club has more than 50 locations across the country that members can use at no additional charge. It also has powerboats suitable for group outings.
The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center offers an individual adult membership for $360 a year. The nonprofit has 63 boats, all of them powered by the wind, and members have free access to the fleet after they’ve demonstrated basic sailing skills and earned a rating. The
sailing center offers a lot of inexpensive classes and has launching, haulout and storage services for private boat owners.
“We are the best value for people who want to sail,” said Karen Hunt, the sailing center’s executive director.
At Carefree, members are met at their car to help carry any gear and load it onto the boat. The staff also takes care of any boat cleaning and other routine tasks.
It’s dockside valet service, said Roland Wolff, who opened the Milwaukee location in 2015 and now has two other clubs on Geneva Lake and Lake Delavan.
“With us, all you do is walk out on a nice clean boat, ready to go. When you come back, you just drop off the keys,” Wolff said.
There are good reasons to join a club and, likewise, circumstances when it makes more sense to have your own boat.
Some boaters who are not part of a club spend much of their time taking care of their expensive toy rather than using it. That can be frustrating for someone who craves time on the water but has a busy life.
Carefree is a good choice for the person who goes boating 15 or 20 times a year, according to Wolff.
If you want to live on the water for weeks at a time, or take extended trips, buying a boat is probably better because many clubs don’t accommodate that sort of thing.
Another benefit of a club is they provide training to help members be safe on the water.
With some folks, “the only boat they had ever been on was the Carnival Cruise Line,” Wolff said.
Carefree members can make reservations for a particular boat up to six months in advance, and spur-of-the-moment bookings also are available.
“Between those two options, you can pretty much boat any time you want,” Wolff said.
The boats are insured, but users are responsible for minor damage and the insurance deductible should something really bad happen.
The club has about 60 members, up from 20 when it started in 2015.
“It’s basically like a country club. You pay a one-time initiation fee and then annual dues,” said Wolff, a former corporate executive and a boater for more than 30 years.
Milwaukee Community Sailing Center has more than 600 members, including some who have been with the club since it was started nearly 40 years ago.
Boats in the fleet range in size from small trainers for children to a 29-foot cruiser suitable for taking a group of people sailing on Lake Michigan.
There are discount membership rates for senior citizens and youths, and the club offers low-cost classes for beginner and advanced sailors.
“We want to encourage as many youth as we can in Milwaukee to get on the water,” Hunt said.
There are no powerboats in the sailing center’s fleet. Members can usually take out a boat for two hours at a time, and the time can be extended if no one else is waiting.
The sailing center has an active social life that includes people with advanced sailing skills helping beginners take their skills up a notch.
“It has been a great thing for our family,” said Paul Learman, a member since 2006 and pastor of Divine Peace Lutheran Church in Milwaukee.
Learman grew up in southeastern Texas, where he watched sailboats on Galveston Bay but never had a chance to try the sport.
Now, it’s nice to be sailing and not have to wait for when he can afford his own boat, Learman said.
For many people, the sailing center is a key part of their lifestyle.
“I wouldn’t have stayed in Milwaukee as long as I have if I couldn’t be on the water,” said Teresa Coronado, a member for about nine years and the director of general education at University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
For safety reasons, the sailing center doesn’t allow members to take club boats out on the lake after sunset. It also doesn’t let members sail alone.
One 82-year-old member, an avid sailor for years, cruised Veterans Park on in-line skates until she found someone interested in taking a sailboat ride that day.
That member clocked 109.5 hours on the water last summer.
“She is here all the time,” Hunt said.
Some people use boat clubs as a gateway to boat ownership. Still, there’s something nice about showing up at the dock, and your boat is ready to go.
“Unless someone buys a place on the lake, they usually stay with us,” said Corey Erickson, co-owner of Water’s Edge Boat Club on Pewaukee and Okauchee lakes.