Freedom Boat Club seemed like the perfect alternative for me after owning a boat for over 30 years. I was happy to say good bye to the maintenance that goes with boat ownership.
For the first year I could not have been happier. Each time I reserved a boat there was one waiting for me at the dock. Off I would go for the afternoon. When I returned I would just turn over the keys and let the Boat Club do the rest. Now that's Freedom.
This sense of "Freedom" came to an abrupt end one afternoon. I had arrived at the dock with my parents looking forward to a nice time on the water. We were greeted by the Dockmaster who quickly got us into a boat at it's port side. Not the boat I reserved but a nice boat just the same. He reviewed a checklist from inside the boat covering all of the safety features and equiptment location, flares, life preservers etc. Asked if I had questions and sent us on our way.
We returned to the dock around 5:00pm and greeted by the same Dockmaster. Again he quickly went over the interior of the boat checking fuel and various compartments of the boat. He said we were all set so off we went.
When I returned home I received a call from the accounting office asking what happened to the boat, indicating that there was damage to the starboard side at the sturn. I was instantly put in the seat of the accused.
I returned to the dock to view the damage in question. Again greeted by the same Dockmaster. The boat at this point had been moved to a different location. He pointed out the damage indicating that it was not there when we left the dock. Had he done his job when I arrived and looked around the boat in my presence the damage would have been evident.
The damage, although minor, looked more like it occurred while removing it from the storage rack than an on the water incident.
Admittedly I failed to look at the exterior of the boat in his presence before and after using the boat. However, with the boat already in the water there was limited opportunity to see the starboard side of the boat. This should have been part of the boat clubs policy to have dual observation of the entire boat.
After unnsuccessful dealings with the Accountant and the Dockmaster I decided to contact the franchise owner, Don Otis. He was not interested in discussing this with me and referred me back to accounting for collecting on the damage. I contacted an attorney about this who further contacted the Club without success.
Shortly after, the damage estimate was emailed to me. The total was $224.15. This was not an outrageous amount but a matter of principal.in the end I paid the damage to clear my name. At the same time I cancelled my membership. This was a loss to the Club of $2,400 per year for possibly many years to come. Do you think I got a call from Mr Otis? Of course not.
My advice to you if you are considering joining this boat club or any other is to be on guard. Be as thorough as you can when accepting the boat and when it is returned. And also, hope there isn't any damage that you can't see when taking the boat but is later found by the Dockmaster. You could be liable every time, up to $2,500.
Good luck with your decision.
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