Yacht Clubs

aero3113

My co-worker is at the anchorage, you got a great deal. He rents his slip and will pay that in just a few years.

Dream_Inn

Gack, looks like they fit in there as many boats as they possibly could.  I couldn't imagine driving my car all the way thru and to the end of D-dock each time, but it'd be close getting out by boat.  Looks like a great place, but I bet it gets crowded!

04FV270riverrat

randy56 said:

My son is moving to Lexington, later this month, from Orlando. What lake is this one?  We will go visit them in the spring. 

Randy this is on the Ohio River in Cincinnati. We live in Lexington KY about 75 miles south. We are also about 70 miles from Lake Cumberland. 

randy56

04FV270riverrat said:

Randy this is on the Ohio River in Cincinnati. We live in Lexington KY about 75 miles south. We are also about 70 miles from Lake Cumberland. 

I've been to Clumberland once, It is where I purchased my 270, nice lake deep water, Plenty of big marina's and houseboats. Cave Run Lake looks nice from picture's. I'm surprised you travel all the way to the Ohio.  

gack

@Dream_Inn , yeah, it could be a little tight, but, that just improves your docking skills (or not).  Actually I just sold my house and am moving to Osprey, Florida  in about a month.  This will be my new yacht club: https://www.southbaypands.org/
 As a homeowner in the community, Slip cost is about $900 per year!

randy56

Nice. what a move!

rasbury

Gack- your dropping in on probably the nicest and pertiest boating area in FL...south to cayo Costa, north to 3 rooker island and everything in between is awesome.  I'm east coast FL but have vacationed over there for four years with different boats. If your the adventurist type your going to love it...if your going to park it on a lift and not take advantage of the area, well then you probably sell the boat!

gack

@rasbury , Thanks for the info, the waters do look beautiful around there from what I've seen so far.  I'll be making use of the Rinker.

LaRea

Anybody who has experience with marina operations at an all-volunteer yacht club (not commercial marinas) ...

My club's board asked me (as a past Commodore) to research this question:  Does your club allow members to use slips for long-term storage of inactive or inoperable boats?

Here's the scenario:  Suppose there's a waitlist for slips.  One member's boat hasn't been boarded in over a decade, and hasn't been underway in 25+ years.  Would your club continue to rent a slip to that member?  Or would the club ask that member to step aside and make room for an active boater?

In other words, does your club have rules that give preference to owners who are active in boating?  And if so, how do you exercise those rules?  Or does the club assign slips solely based on member seniority, without considering activity or boat condition?

Liberty44140

I've been a part of commercial marinas and yacht clubs (member ran). At the yacht clubs the docks are always based on seniority and there are no rules about how you use the dock or boat. The club dock committee can reassign your dock if you will fit somewhere better, but generally once its yours its yours as long as you pay. Of course our boats must vacate the dock by sometime in November and cant return until April 1 so total pieces of junk still have to move twice a year whereas it sounds like this guy leaves it in the dock year round.
Do you have any by-laws on the condition or seaworthiness of the boat? My previous yacht club was able to suspend members for doing dumb things, I think it was around setting a good example for others. One guy took a 14' sailboat out in February resulting in him capsizing and nearly being killed. The local fire dept had to deploy an inflatable risking their lives. The club was able to suspend him for 6 months or so for making poor boating decisions thanks to a by law. 

LaRea

Lots of boats stay in all year here.  We do have rules about inactive boats, but I'm interested to hear what other clubs do.

Asking somebody to get rid of their boat just because they don't use it is a tough proposition.  One thing I learned in 11 years on the board:  some people just like to <own> a boat.  Even if they never use it, they get emotionally attached to it.  As long as the boat is in the water, they could potentially hop aboard and sail the seven seas.  

YYZRC

Tough on the Marina overall to support inactive boats. No service revenue, no fuel revenue, etc. Not really contributing to the culture of boating. 

raybo3

Our club has to pull the docks for the winter. So we are not a year round marina. Our slips are picked yearly by seniority. Your boat has to also meet dock requirements in order to pick certain slips IE small boats can not pick big boat slips. We have only 69 slips so we are a small club. We have many boats that put in but do not move for the entire summer. Seniority is paramount.  

GMSLITHO

here is the marina at my lake family owned ,but sad story this year the owner passed away over the winter so his brother and nephew are now running it no club house just a nice clean restroom 

LaRea

YYZRC said:

Tough on the Marina overall to support inactive boats. No service revenue, no fuel revenue, etc. Not really contributing to the culture of boating. 

Truth. 

Of course, it's a tougher challenge in the lean years.  Historically, my club has had many years when slips outnumbered boats, and we were thankful for the cash from every single boat.  

As you might guess, today's COVID boom in small boat ownership is the prompt for my questions.  It's a major shift for the boating world.  

In most YCs, mine included, part of the club's charter is to promote active boating.  It's a delicate balance.  How does your club prioritize between an active new member and an inactive legacy member?  

YYZRC

My univ economics professor would suggest that your club needs to raise its dues for all members. If you have a wait list then your club isn’t charging enough. Maybe it’s a short term move and rates come down later, but for now you have to nip the wait list IMO. 

One of the marinas near me includes a seasonal oil change and shrink wrap in their annual dues which guarantees some service revenue and also provides an opportunity to upsell work (we see that you’ve got a chip in your gel coat and you need new batteries...). Perhaps that’s another avenue to consider?

An interesting example was once presented to me in a job interview and somewhat ties to @Willhound ‘s past life. If you were a broker with a capacity of 100 clients with portfolios ranging from $100k to $10m and client 101 came to you offering to place $1m with you, what would you do?

For the record, I’m not part of a club. Most clubs wouldn’t have me!

Additional thought: I selected my current marina after spending a night a several local marinas in “transient slips” which were actually just slips that were vacant as the boater was out enjoying Georgian Bay. I would not drop $5000+ on a slip (going rate around here) without experiencing the marina first hand. Does your YC allow overnight transient boaters? Yet another challenge you face with non-runner boats... they never leave!

Ian

Last club - Crescent Boat Club on the Mohawk - have a 3 year limit of not putting your boat in to keep your slip. So yes, there are some that put it on the 3rd year only to keep a premium slip even though they paid each year. It likely doesn’t run (or well) and condition is it must be insured, there’s been discussion about registration but there’s no NY law that says a boat not running that is in the after needs a current registration. Our lawyer member checked that out.

Current club doesn’t have a rule that I recall, slips are on seniority, most stay where they are after they get there. More control around those with inside storage on the premises and not getting it out for x years need to relinquish their inside spot.

LaRea

@YYZRC I hear you on supply-and-demand pricing, but we also have an obligation to keep it affordable for residents of the neighborhood.  And we don't have a shop.  The club's only revenues are from membership fees and slip fees.  

We also don't have transient slips.  With no full-time staff, the only people allowed to enter the marina are members and escorted guests.  A member can bring in a guest boat by special arrangement, but if the boat stays overnight, the member has to be present in the marina overnight.  

@icoultha - interesting about the rule at Crescent to put the boat in at least once out of every three years.  Our issue is the opposite, with boats never coming out. 

We do have a rule that "slips are to be assigned only to members with operable boats who are active in boating."  Some interpret that to mean that the club doesn't have the authority to assign slips to inactive boats.  But it's tough to enforce.  

YYZRC

Sounds like youre stuck as you can’t argue that the inactive boater is contributing less than the active one (financially speaking). Revenue stream would be the same either way. And arguably the inactive boater is less of a risk because s/he isn’t contributing negatively, just not at all! A new active boater could end up being a real ****. 

oscar1

Marinas in miami has a waiting list between 2 to 4 years

LaRea

YYZRC said:

... And arguably the inactive boater is less of a risk because s/he isn’t contributing negatively, just not at all! ... 

Hey, I never said that!     But it's a hypothetical question. Which is more unfair:  an energetic new member who is denied a slip while the inactive boat gets to stay?  Or a long-timer who loses their slip to some new kid? 

Dream_Inn

I'm with YYZRC, not sure I could handle all the politics of a yacht club.  But, to your topic and question, seniority should win.  Shouldn't matter if they are using the boat as long as it's not a mess or half sunk or not taken care of.

Black_Diamond

Yacht clubs span the range from casual to complicated. The one I belong to is uber casual and owns no slips. Another down the lake a bit is high dollar, fully owned slips, etc and brings the “politics” into belonging.  Not to mention a $500/mo spend, mine is a zero dollar spend min.  😁

Aqua_Aura

On the note of dues and services included if the dues were raised that included services that active boaters would benefit from then it would sure deter someone from keeping an inactive boat there if they could moore it somewhere else for a fraction of the cost. 

raybo3

IMO if a member puts a boat in a slip its not the club or anyones business if it get used or not. Some people "boat" at the dock. They just like hanging around having a few cold ones or using the BBQ. It really isn't anyones business. As long as they follow the rules of the club, don't cause trouble, take care of all their obligations and pay their bill. What's the problem? At my club if a member isn't putting their boat in they still have to pay. If we sold our boat we can get a 1 year grace and pay a minimum (24 feet).  

LaRea

@Aqua_Aura - to find a cheaper slip, you'd have to go 10-15 miles downriver.  

@raybo3 - Dock boating is awesome.  I'm talking about owners who literally never set foot inside the marina for many years at a time.  To some people (definitely not all), it doesn't fulfill the club's charter to promote active boating and make full use of marina assets.  

Liberty44140

LR, sounds like someone (dock committee head, commodore, board member) needs to start with just calling the guy and express the clubs concern. Maybe insert that there have been complaints that it doesn’t comply with the active boating rule. He may think no one cares..... or he may no longer be with us and someone is paying the bill rather than deal with it. 

YYZRC

Maybe you’ve got it all wrong @larea. Maybe the guy has been on board for the last decade, resting peacefully! PSA to all to set up auto debit for your slip dues!

raybo3

@LaRea I am having a hard time with the "promote active boating" part. What difference does it make if you travel say 3 miles and drop anchor and have some cold one's and some BBQ's or you sit at your boat and do the same thing. Just because a boat may not move does not mean your not an active boater. The person right behind me boat did not leave the dock once last year but he was there every day (retired) and would fix water leaks or whatever else needed to be done on the docks. He would set up a table behind his boat and BBQ dogs, burgers, sausages and whatever else he had. Would that be considered a non-active boater? This happens all the time at our place. Maybe he cant afford the gas prices, who knows but he shouldn't be asked to leave the club. He is a much better member than some of the deadbeats that use their boats every week. 

Aqua_Aura

What you describe Raybo is active boating, larea I think is referring to a boat just sitting and no one setting foot on it.