Freedom Boat Club????

[marshman]

You all make some very good points regarding Freedom Boat Club. I operate 3 of the Massachusetts locations and can provide some additional detail.

Costs- Their is a one time entry fee of $5900 and dues of $279 per month. If you compare it to owning a $35k-$55k boat, storing it, insuring it, and depreciation, FBC is less than a third of owning a boat. (trailering a 17' boat costs a lot less but is not apples to apples comparison)

Training- We would love to require weeks of training but we are in the business of getting people on the water so we try to balance safety w/ expedience. Truly novice boaters are required to get more training if the training captain does not "pass" them.

Flexibility- FBC is not the answer for every boater. For busy people with jobs, families, and other committments that want to show up at the dock to a clean, maintained boat we are perfect. Some members use the fleet 50 times per season (more than most boat owners) while other are more typical at 15-20 trips per year. Reservations are online so you can plan ahead, or call up last minute.

In 3 years FBC has grown from 3 boats and 1 New England location to 50+ boats, 8 locations, and 100's of happy members. I think that many avid striper fisherman would really enjoy fishing Boston Harbor, Plymouth/Dux Bay, Bass River (W Dennis), Falmouth, and Narragansett Bay, as part of their membership with NO additional fees, no usage charges, and no trailering!! (member pays fuel but 95% of our fishing boats are 4-stroke motors)

I hope this info helps and email/pm if you have questions.

[bobfishgerald]

I am in my second year of membership at the club in Beverly and I am extremely happy with it.
I had never owned a boat before and had limited experience behind the helm of friends boats. Before I took the training through Freedom I went through the local Coast Guard Aux. boating safety course. I would recommend a course of this nature to anyone with little experience like myself. Actual on the water training covered docking, operating the boat, systems, etc. The guy who taught it was cool,very knowledgable and sort of a hard ass which I think is the right combination for something as important as operating a boat safely. In addition to the formal training one of the guys who managed the boats was a big time fishing freak so I also learned going out to chase the fish with him. As to results I was out very often last season and often this year and have not had any issues or incidents.
I have had one weekend that I could not get out on a boat but I didn't try to book anything until that Friday.
I am sure if it is not right for everyone but I cannot imagine a better way for someone to get a feel for boating.
If you have any other questions you can PM me. Know I am a fan but I have nothing to gain by telling you anything but the truth about it.