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Shared boating growing in popularity
A number of clubs are offering Chicago area residents the opportunity to share a boat without all the hassles of ownership – and those clubs are booming in popularity since the pandemic began.
CHICAGO - They say the two happiest days of a boat owner's life are the day they buy the boat and the day they sell it.
But now, a number of clubs are offering Chicago area residents the opportunity to share a boat without all the hassles of ownership – and those clubs are booming in popularity since the pandemic began.
"I’m fortunate enough to be able to drop everything on a nice day," said Ryan Lopez, as he motored out to Lake Michigan on a glorious June afternoon.
Lopez is enjoying a hobby he says is surprisingly affordable.
"Boating is usually thought to be real expensive," said Lopez. "The mission of this place is it can make it more accessible."
Lopez is one of several hundred members of Chicago’s Freedom Boat Club – a private company owned by Brunswick that uses the "shared access model" of business.
"This model works really well for those folks who don’t want to take on the responsibility of owning a boat," said Scott Ward, who runs the Freedom Boat Club in Chicago.
Freedom owns about 50 boats in four Chicago harbors and two harbors on the Chain O'Lakes.
Members pay an initiation fee of between $5,000 and $7,000 and then pay a monthly fee of several hundred bucks to have virtually unlimited access to those boats.
It is not cheap, but it is far less expensive than buying, maintaining, wintering and harboring a boat of your own.
"And it’s really attracting a whole different set of boaters," said Ward. "We’re seeing a lot of women coming to the club. We are seeing a lot of millennials and younger folks coming into the club."
The boats range in styles and sizes, from 17-feet to 30-feet, and even including a sailboat.
Connor Dario lives just a couple blocks from the club’s Streeterville location and says he can jump on a boat at any time.
"Whenever I really feel like it. Going out and hanging at the playpen on weekends. I like to fish, I’ll go out early in the morning to fish. Cruising down the river with a bottle of wine and some friends," he said.
The popularity of shared boating has exploded during the pandemic.
"We’ve seen really tremendous growth," said Ward. "Our membership count has doubled in that same period of time. And our fleet is doubling as well."
There is training involved, with two hours online and two hours behind the wheel, plus ongoing training for members – and there’s a strict no alcohol policy for people driving the boat.