Anyone ever joined a boat club?

Looking at their web site, they seem to be a small yacht club catering to power boaters. Since you have a power boat, this is a good thing. They have a clubhouse, which is a nice place to go, especially if you have your boat in the adjacent marina. Also, you can be with people who enjoy the same types of things you do: fishing, socializing, cruising, just enjoying being with boaters.

We belong to the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club and enjoyed it very much. When we joined, we had a sail boat and their event mostly catered to sail boats, even though there are a lot of power boats. The cruises included both types and were fun. Met a lot of nice people. We moved away, but still retain our membership for reciprocals. This allows us to get free moorage as we visit other yacht club up and down the coast. Years ago, we also joined the San Fernando Valley Yacht Club, a small group of trailer sailboats. We still see some of those people, very enjoyable.

So here's a couple of questions. Are there any boats your size? When we downsized to Journey On, we lost some clout, so make sure that there's boats of your size included in the mix. Trust me, people with 50' boats don't look at C-Dories the way we do, cute or not. How much does it cost? In San Diego, we enjoy the Southwest Yacht Club and wouldn't mind joining, but the price is too steep for us. So we enjoy their hospitality using reciprocals including their visitors dock. The DBBC is cheap, $100 to get in and $100/yr. Do they give you a discount on slip fees?

All in all, I'd heartily recommend it. Visit them a couple of times, go on a cruise with them. Boating clubs are always looking for members, they'll be glad to have you along and you'll find out if you like what they're doing.

Boris
 
I have belonged to a number of "yacht" an Boat clubs during my life. Probably the one which gave me the most pleasure was a small, in-expensive club, named the "Little Ship Fleet of Long Beach". They were responsible for the popular PHRF handicap system. Initially the only qualification was to own a sailboat smaller than 30 feet (there were not many over 30 feet then)--that was changed down the line--the dues were about what the Daytona Beach Boat Club's were. There were monthly meetings, regular races and regular cruises. The club even produced an America's Cup skipper. I found it more fun and less pretentious that some of the larger clubs I also belonged to thru the years.

Go for it! You can't loose. Take advantage of all of the activities and you will make lifetime friends. In my case, the 4 couples who moved from Long Beach to Pensacola in the 90's were all members of that little club we belonged to--and we have all be sailing together for over 50 years.
 
Stan,

Probably where you are this is not a factor, but some clubs have outlier facilities in attractive areas. One good example is the Port Alberni Yacht Club, on Vancouver Island, BC. They have a clubhouse with facilities, kitchen, water, dock space, trail to adjacent island, hot showers, etc. in Robbers Passage, out in Barkley Sound on the west coast of the Island. The outlier provides a public service to non club mariners, as well, mostly the water, short term tieup and trail access, which is in lieu of paying the province lease fees for the site.

Some clubs have reciprocity tieup arrangements with others, saving moorage fees when you cruise.
 
After years of thinking yacht clubs were too snooty for me, I joined Seattle Yacht Club last summer. Their outstations and reciprocal benefits are fantastic. As a young person, it was incredibly cheap to join, and dues are really inexpensive. For older people, it's considerably costlier.

When I show up in the C-Dory I'm always the smallest boat. I often tie up to the dinghy dock. I expected members to be a bit snooty and elitist, but I haven't found that so far.

The outstations are outstanding. Water, power, free dock space, showers, bathrooms, ice, space to walk around...
 
It depends on what you are looking for.

More friends?
Parties?
Floatillas?
Maybe races?
Activities?
Paying dues?
Getting "involved"?
A dance partner?

It just depends on

Where
With who
How often
How much
What you are looking for
and why.

Aye.
 
Bob,

The Little Ships Fleet Yacht Club is still around. Please note that the picture shiws the Catalina emblem.

That's the kind of club to join if you have a small sailboat, and the Daytona BBC is probably the kind of club to join if you have a power boat. I'll bet they even sponsor races on Daytona Beach.

Boris
 
Here on the "right coast" our dry storage is not a 'formal' yacht club, but it does have many ammenities that are done elsewhere. I must admit it is called, 'The Marina at Marina Shores'. We do have member free cookouts and seasonal parties. The staff there are extremely customer friendly.

So I suggest that you may not want to discount your options to only 'Yacht Clubs'. Just my 2 cents worth, without any change required.

Art
 
Foggy":2k7fs3up said:
It depends on what you are looking for.

More friends?
Parties?
Floatillas?
Maybe races?
Activities?
Paying dues?
Getting "involved"?
A dance partner?

It just depends on

Where
With who
How often
How much
What you are looking for
and why.

Aye.
Click to expand...

in our area that Tacoma Outboard Association sure looks neat and I think two of the biggies that appeal to me are the real estate and the people. Being able to spend more time with more experienced people is worth its weight in gold, but I know that particular association has a gated facility (launch, etc) too which would be nice for overnight stays. membership would pay for itself compared to the many many times I launch at Tacoma's Pt Defiance and pay for the additional overnight.

the downfall is south sound's fishing sucks and I plan to spend more time north next year.
 
I appreciate the input. Next meeting is the middle of November. Seems like the place to start. I too wondered about the "50 foot" yacht folks. Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes.
 
They can be good fun places. I don't belong to a club currently but long ago was a Maple Bay member. It's fancy now. One thing to check is how organized they are. They can be run like a corporation with a lot of meetings, officers etc and expect you to volunteer. If you like that stuff it's good. If you go boating to get away from that maybe not so good. Some are stuffy some are laid back. Some guys with 50 footers are awesome, some are snooty. Guys with 150 footers cringe at 50 footers so.... People are people. We've had 90 foot owners look at Kerri On and wish they could "afford" to do it. They "have" to show success. Means big. I would go to a meeting and meet some folks. If it's all tuxedos......? If it's all tee's and flip flops...? What's your style? Can meet some great folks. George.
 
I looked into the Seattle Yacht Club and found their membership dues to be really high $9000 initiation and $700 per year dues.

We only wanted to join to be able to use their outposts and have access to their reciprocal marina usage(cheap transient moorage) It was not our intent to socialize with, cruise with the SYC members nor use their dining facilities.

Is there any other lesser expensive Puget Sound Boat Club that provides great access to reciprocal moorage to popular areas including Canada, Puget Sound, and San Juans.
 
I'm a charter member (1999) of the Comox Valley Yacht club. We have about 110 members give or take a couple every year. It is a blue jeans club and we advertise ourselves as such. I thought it was a bit cliquey when we got started but that has fizzled out. We have a lot of fun, socials, club cruises, etc. Last year I led a 12 boat cruise to Princess Louisa Inlet. This year I am leading a Gulf Islands cruise for less experienced sailors and club newbies in July. Our fees are reasonable. $100 initiation fee and then $235 a couple per year. We have recipricol arrangements with other yacht clubs up and down Vancouver Island. Only got to use a few of these per season and you have got your money back.
My problem is too many burgees. Now with the C-Brat burgee, I have to find another spot for it.

Martin.
 
If you get fed-up with Yacht Club dues, dock fees, mooring
charges, those boat insurance premiums, gas prices, winter
storage (if applicable), weather not cooperating, throwing your
hard earned dollars into that "hole in the water", or wanting
something bigger ("Four footitis"), there's always golf.

But then, have you checked out golf Club memberships, the price
of a new bag/clubs/clothes/accessories and green fees
(at the nice Clubs)?

Aye.

PS: Grandpa used to say "Boating or golf? Take your pick.
You can't really enjoy both."
 
We belonged to a yacht club for most of our years of boating. The membership came from the entire state -- no clubhouse or facilities -- so virtually no expense -- cost $5.00 a year for membership back then. Had great meetings eating our together at fine buffets on the Vegas strip, and swapping tales, fine lake cruises together (we led a sailing cruise from Lake Mead into the Lower Grand Canyon)... and a beautiful burgee.

As we cruised all three coasts and most of the navigable rivers between, we toted a packet of burgees -- yacht clubs all over reciprocated with our club so we had fine places to tie and comfy lounges to read good books through foul weather, and left a trail of Nevada Yacht Club burgees all over the US and Canada. Folks were generally amazed that Nevada even had a yacht club -- "where do you do your boating?? Thought you guys were in the desert?" Yep -- and the tales we could tell about our Lakes and also about sand sailing our playas with wheels under our "lands sail boat.'
 
Although Seattle Yacht club has reciprocity with about 400 other yacht clubs, they do not allow use of the Elliot Bay or other cruising stations as part of that reciprocity. This is the norm of the higher end landed clubs, such as St. Francis Yacht Club San Francisco, New York Yacht Club, and a half a dozen S. Calif. Yacht clubs. It is handy to use other yacht clubs facilities as you cruise. For example in the Gulf Coast area, there there is the Gulf Yachting Association (33 clubs), and Florida Council of Yacht clubs (41 clubs). The rules day vary, but Florida Council is fairly typical: "may visit any other member club, have a berth for their boat with the first night's dockage free, and have charges for all club activities billed through their own club."

Yacht clubs can have many forums form the exclusive large and old landed expensive clubs, to the small boat clubs which are often called "paper clubs" All of the clubs have great programs, and a lot to offer individual boaters--often the inexpensive clubs are more fun that the large landed and expensive clubs.

I don't have much experience in the golf world--and know that some memberships can run upwards of 2 million dollars for the very few exclusive clubs. Certainly there are plenty of golf clubs with $50,000 membership fees (but many of these are equity clubs). On the other hand you can play the top courses for $500 a round--pretty easy to drop that in a week end if you are racing high end sailboats (wear and tear on gear, crew expenses, sail repair) , or have even a medium size power boat (in fuel alone) $500 only buys you 100 gallons of fuel. Add in the cost of buying and maintaining the boat…... As with any sport there are those who have a great time for $10, and those who have to spend 10,000,000 to fulfill their demands….
 
If it is tee's and flipflops I would not have a problem. It is the country club set I have problems with. Those who judge on the size of your boat or the school where you earned your degree or your politics or the color of your skin for that matter I would steer clear of. As a rule I agree with Grouch Marx's maxim " I will not belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”
 
Come to think of it. I would much rather prefer a casual boat club than a stuffy one filled with rules and traditions to follow. I have nothing against folks who enjoy this environment, but this is not of interest to me.

Anyone know of such a club that has low dues and great reciprocal mooring sites?

Perhaps this is wishful thinking but are there clubs in California which would allow me to join them even though my intention is to use the Washington and Canadian mooring sites.
 
I think the C-Brats is the right "club" for me. No annual fees, I can moor myself at the keyboard for free and many reciprocate with similar moorage. We have events. The crowd is mostly a blue jeans and sandals group. Expectations of me are low and I meet those expectations. :lol:
 
Agree with Rogerbum. It's a great place here. I tell folks I'm a C-Brat (I can prove it I have the Washington State Brat license in my Stbd aft window) and they as "Whats that?" I just tell them it's the biggest virtual yacht club in North America. We have members from all across the US and Canada, We have the best people, and the neatest boats. We get along with only one rule, and we have exceptional reciprocity all around the country. Now how could you beat that?

Harvey
(C-Brat and proud of it)
SleepyC :moon
 
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