The ‘Freedom’ of not owning a boat

Rich Palzewic

Staff

May 5, 2023

OSHKOSH – The Freedom Boat Club – the oldest and largest boat club in the nation – provides its members with all the amenities of owning a boat, minus the stress and hassle that comes along with it.

The company – which has more than 30 years of industry experience – has 382 locations worldwide – including seven locations in Wisconsin.

“We take care of the maintenance, supplying the boats, cleaning, repair, training, insurance and storage,” Rob Sheets, general manager of the Wisconsin/Illinois Freedom Boat Club, said. “Whether you’re looking for a leisurely ride on a pontoon or an offshore fishing boat, we have a variety to meet our customer’s needs and wants.”

Sheets said Freedom Boat Club aims to “eliminate the obstacles that come with owning a boat.”

“What are those obstacles?” he said. “Some people say it’s simply too hard. There’s also the problem of access to water, needing a tow vehicle and trailer to haul it and finding a boat slip that’s available on a particular body of water you want – and it might not even be available.”
 
How it works
To get started, Sheets said members pay a one-time entry fee and monthly dues thereafter.

“Your local club will have a variety of plans to match your recreational boating needs,” he said.

Wisconsin club locations include one each in Green Lake, Oshkosh, Madison, Pewaukee and Racine and two in Milwaukee.

“On average, the one-time membership fee is just under $6,000,” Sheets said. “It varies by market, but you’ll never pay that again. With the membership dues each month, you pay those as long as you’re a member of the club.”

Sheets said there are no long-term contracts with Freedom Boat Club, and the average membership is about five years – some less, some more.

“The monthly dues can also vary depending on the market,” he said. “It’s going to be more expensive to have a waterfront slip in Chicago along Lakeshore Drive compared to the Pioneer Docks in Oshkosh. For Wisconsin, it’s $300 per month, and the season runs from May 1 through Oct. 31.”

Sheets said Wisconsin members pick a home base but have access to boats at any other club location in the state. 

“You’d have unlimited use at any of (the Wisconsin) locations – meaning you could go to any club in the state as many times as you’d like throughout the season,” he said. 

Outside of their home area, Sheets said members can use any Freedom Boat Club four times per season. 

“If you want to go to Florida, which has hundreds of locations, maybe you’re in Fort Myers – within a 30-minute drive, you’ve got access to at least six different clubs in that area,” he said. “You can use each of those clubs four times per season. You could go to Australia and do the same.”

//17bec5072710cda5b8dd81b69f4c6e58.cdn.bubble.io/f1683298679770x161599706536390800/richtext_content.webpFreedom Boat Club members pay a one-time entry fee and monthly dues, which can vary by location. Photo Courtesy of Freedom Boat Club

The one stipulation, Sheets said, is members can only have four reservations open at any given time. 

“We think four is a good number,” he said. “If we didn’t have it set like that, members could load up on the number of reservations they have, and we don’t want that. Having four open reservations holds members accountable and boats available.”

For example, a Freedom Boat Club member could make reservations in Oshkosh for June 1-4, but they wouldn’t be able to make any other reservations until the June 1 date was off the books. 

“Once June 1 ends, you could immediately make another reservation,” Sheets said. 

Sheets said he encourages members to make reservations online in advance of their boating adventure – but he also realizes that’s not always going to happen.

“I put some of that onus on the member,” he said. “If you can do a little bit of pre-planning, we can pretty much guarantee there will be a boat available.”

Sheets said the club can accommodate same day (reservations) as well.

“If you call the dock and there’s a boat available, we can work with you,” he said. “We don’t want boats sitting in the slip and not being used. We realize not every boating adventure is planned six months in advance.”

Sheets said reservations can be made in advance – from 24 hours to six months out.

“We like to keep an 8:1 ratio with members to boats,” he said. “If we add new members, we add more boats. There are normally no issues with getting a boat when you want one – I get asked that question a lot.”

Sheets said the Wisconsin market began with a single club in Milwaukee three years ago. 

“We’re working hard to build memberships at (the current seven) locations we have (in Wisconsin) before continuing expansion,” he said. “However, we do have a couple of new locations in our immediate growth plans selected, and we’re working on closing on those by the end of the season this year. I can’t disclose the location targets at this time.” 

Breaking it down financially
Sheets said the cost of a Freedom Boat Club membership “makes sense if you’re an avid boater.”

“Let’s use three years as an example,” he said. “During the first year (with Freedom Boat Club), you’ll spend about $9,000 (with the one-time membership fee and dues) and then $3,600 every year after that (for membership dues). In three years, you’ll pay about $16,000 as a member.”

Sheets then broke down the cost of owning a boat.

//17bec5072710cda5b8dd81b69f4c6e58.cdn.bubble.io/f1683298781261x347245338931996500/richtext_content.webpFreedom Boat Club has 382 locations worldwide, including seven in Wisconsin – with one of those being in Oshkosh. Photo Courtesy of Freedom Boat Club

“If you bought a $50,000 boat, you’d likely have to put 10% down, but that’s not all that goes along with it,” he said. “You’ll probably have a 10-year note, plus you’ll be paying interest, insurance, slip fees, storage, maintenance, etc.”

Plus, Sheets said, a boat depreciates.

“Over those three years, you might be talking $50,000 in costs compared to about $16,000 with Freedom Boat Club membership,” he said. 

Sheets said the expenses of owning your own boat don’t stop there.

“Do you want to haul your boat around all the time and worry about the hassle of that?” he said. “You can show up at a (Freedom Boat Club) location and have your pick of boats. Even renting a boat on vacation could cost you $500 for half a day. Right now, we are in the process of getting the boats to their locations – it’s not fun trailering a pontoon boat driving through Downtown Chicago.”

Sheets said slip costs can also “be astronomical.”

“You can’t even get a slip on Lake Geneva (southwest of Milwaukee),” he said. “There’s a three-generational waiting list for that pier in town. (Even then), it costs upward of $8,000 per year to get a slip on Lake Geneva. In the Chain O’ Lakes (northwest of Chicago), it’s a couple thousand per season.”

Sheets also said because Freedom Boat Club is owned by Brunswick Corporation – a well-known company in the marine space – there are no supply-chain issues with getting quality boats.

“If you chose to rent a boat, it might not necessarily be a new boat – it might say ‘Rent Me’ on the side,” he said. “We replace our fleet every three years, so you won’t find a boat older than three years. We’re continuously replacing one-third of our fleet yearly.”

Sheets said the only additional cost Freedom Boat Club members are responsible for is fuel – which is similar to a rental car.

“If you’d take a pontoon boat out for a half day, and it’s an efficient, four-stroke Mercury outboard, the average cost of fuel might be $25,” he said. “Of course, that’s variable (depending on the boat, speed and length of time on the water).”

How it began
Sheets said Freedom Boat Club had modest beginnings but has since evolved.

“Freedom Boat Club first started in Sarasota, Florida, in 1989,” he said. “At the time, the concept was considered new and quite revolutionary. Boaters were either traditional boat owners or friends of boat owners – there were no boat clubs, boating timeshares or even many boat rental facilities.”

Sheets, who grew up in Texas and was a professional water skier, said as time passed, the company evolved and was eventually acquired by Brunswick in 2019.

“Today, there are more than 50,000 boaters in Freedom Boat Club,” he said. “We are adding locations and members daily. Since Brunswick bought the club, we’ve nearly doubled the number of clubs and are now in seven countries.”

Sheets said as the club continues to grow, so does its need for employees.

“Freedom Boat Club is hiring dock hands,” he said. 

More information is available at freedomboatclub.com.