Marinas Continue to Build Partnerships and Increase Revenue with Boat Clubs

Boat clubs are the libraries of the sea. Members can check out a boat, use it for the day, then return it with no further obligation. Of course, unlike a library, boat clubs are not free, as the core element of it is a paid membership component, but it operates in the same no-commitment way: shared access to a resource without the responsibility of ownership.

Boat clubs have been around for about 25 years. According to Nicholas Mastroianni, CEO of Carefree Boat Club, the platform has grown exponentially, about 300% year over year, since COVID, particularly as people were looking for something safe to do outdoors. Due to the mutual benefits to the boat clubs, the partnering marinas, and their customers, the popularity of boat clubs continues to climb.

A Sharing Economy
“Carefree was founded in 2002 by three former military gentleman, and it started as an opportunity to have an alternative to ownership, so this was a more affordable means to have access to boating,” Mastroianni said. He said that some boat clubs are known to be a step toward boat ownership, but because it is an expensive recreational pastime, Carefree’s mission is simply to get more people out on boats. In this ‘sharing’ economy, such as with house and car rentals, he said, “People want flexibility and variety. If you buy a boat, you only get one style of boat. In a boat club, you get a variety of boats as well as several manufacturers.”

Carefree’s fleet is diverse, offering rental opportunities that differ based on the waters and the location. Even though a member chooses a home club in which to base the membership, that membership offers reciprocity, so members can rent a boat at a marina in Deep Creek, Maryland, one weekend, and in South Haven, Michigan, the next.

To date, Carefree owns more than 1,500 boats in approximately 150 locations worldwide, though predominantly in North America. The company was formed in the Washington D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. Now, marinas up and down the east coast, from Maine to Florida as well as the Midwest and as far as California and Hawaii, partner with Carefree. Recently, Carefree has scaled up rapidly in the Florida region. “There are now more than 300 contiguous miles you can boat. You can be in St. Augustine, Amelia Island, Sebastian, or Jupiter; these are easy day trips to boat in totally different waters. You can access the ocean, fish 2 miles offshore, or be on inland waterways toward the natural hot springs in the middle of the state,” Mastroianni said. In Florida alone, 3,000 members enjoy unlimited reciprocity within the state.

From the customer’s perspective, for those who choose to go the membership route, it allows these individuals to have an entry point into potential future boat ownership by testing the waters before making a large financial commitment. Mastroianni said that customers will experience a white glove approach and have a turnkey experiential day. “Being able to dock and walk away is an advantage. It is a hassle-free ability to have unlimited access to using boats,” he said. Plus, customers don’t have to worry about maintenance or insurance.

Another major advantage is that boat clubs provide extensive training with licensed training captains, who teach members everything from how to safely navigate waterways, how to dock the boats, about speed/slow zones, etc.

Benefits for Marinas
Carefree usually partners with multi-unit marina owners or even individual marinas that are interested in opening a boat club under Carefree’s flag. To become a partner, Carefree seeks out marinas that have sufficient space and have some type of service facilities on the property for maintenance and repairs. Also, a marina located in a tourist area that also has a year-round population is a bonus.

For the marinas themselves, there are multiple advantages to partnering with a boat club like Carefree.

“If a marina has one slip, to rent to someone, it’s 8-10 times the revenue to put a boat club in that same spot,” Mastroianni said. “From a revenue perspective, it is a strong economic driver for them. It’s a business in the box and a very turnkey option for them because they already have the marina, the insurance, the dock staff, they operate the fuel, they do everything it takes to run a boat club, so we help them with that. We will buy 10-15 times the amount of fuel that a regular marina customer buys.”

Mastroianni added that, based on consumer data, a typical boat owner uses their boat 11-12 times a year. In the boat club space, that is 20-30 times a year, which is two to three times more. If the marina has a ship’s store or restaurants, there are increased sales in those segments as well.

Windward Marina Group, which owns and operates 14 marinas exclusively in Florida, with 3,250 slips on the East and West coasts, views Carefree as an important partner and hosts the club in eight of its locations. Stefan Johansson, founder and CEO, views the partnership as a positive one. “Boat clubs are great partners in general. Their boats are well maintained, frequently used, they have well trained staff on property and prequalify all their members with a mandatory boaters’ safety course and certification,” he said.

The partnership has had a positive impact on the marina, and the marina and club share some functions, which are mutually beneficial. “We do some marketing together, and our marketing also helps them and vice versa even on an individual basis. Boat clubs usually occupy 20 to 40 slips, which is good, steady revenue for the marina,” Johansson said.

Future of Boating
Johansson believes that the boat club model is the trendsetter of the future, as it widens accessibility to boating for a fraction of the cost of owning and maintaining a boat.

Riley Edsall and Ethan King are co-founders of Bowline Marinas, which operates seven marinas in the Southeast. Carefree Boat Club occupies 15 to 20 slips at one of the Florida marinas and several slips at one of the Georgia marinas.

“It is a valuable partnership for us, as we are able to charge the boat club higher slip rates,” Edsall said, though both Edsall and King added that it is a mutually beneficial arrangement, as their participating marina can offer a variety of boats to customers.

“Many marina owners see boat clubs as competitors, but we view them as tremendously synergistic, offering a wide array of boating options for customers. We also feel boat clubs increase our marinas’ overall foot traffic and help to drive public visibility,” King said.

Bowline Marinas intend to accelerate the partnership in the future.
Mastroianni said that the company will continue to rapidly grow in various geographic regions. “We have some amazing partners with OEMs and boats, which gives us access to brand new boats on the market, and that is a real benefit for our operators,” he said. The company also will unveil a new reservation platform, in which customers can add components like ice or beer to a reservation, and they will be able to access this platform from their mobile devices.

“We sell fun. We get them out on water with zero hassle. We find our licensees are lifestyle driven business owners and enjoy being out on the docks,” Mastroianni said. “If you have to be working, it’s a fun thing to be doing.”