Boating on a budget

The Boston Globe -- For Dean Rubin, there's nothing better than taking off on a pleasure cruise from Beverly Harbor on a boat he doesn't own.

"You go down, and the boat is waiting for you," Rubin said. "You enjoy the harbor, come back, get your stuff, and walk away. There are no hassles at the dock. You just get out of the boat and go home."

He and his wife, Tracy, of Beverly, are part of a new trend: Membership clubs that let people get out on the water without the expense and responsibilities of boat ownership.

Mike Saunders brought the trend to Massachusetts in 2005 when he opened a Freedom Boat Club franchise at Marina Bay in Quincy. He now owns similar franchises in Plymouth and Beverly, and there also are locations in Newburyport, West Dennis, Falmouth, and Rhode Island. The Navigator Club in Charlestown, owned by Edward Mancini, offers similar memberships.

Saunders compares it with a country club membership. Just as golf club members call to reserve tee times, boat club members call to request any of the seven boats the club keeps on the Beverly dock. The boats include bow riders, cruisers, fishing boats, and a sailboat.

The Navigator Club at Constitution Marina in Charlestown is the newest among the on-demand boating clubs, opening this year.

"I was in boat sales and yacht brokering, and saw that a lot of people just didn't have the time to maintain a boat or to deal with some of the traditional boat ownership tasks," said Mancini, who considered opening in Newburyport, where he once docked his boat, before deciding on his current location. "I didn't want to be a franchise guy, and felt I could do a better job. I also have a passion for water, so if I can show prospective members that, it brings new people into boating."

Membership in the clubs provides the same privileges that come with docking a boat at the marina - which can include use of clubhouses, pools, restaurants, or whatever other facilities are available at the marina.

There are different fee structures, including a onetime joining fee of $4,500 for a weekday membership and $5,900 for a seven-day membership, plus fees that come to $2,500/$3,500 annually for the Freedom Boat Clubs in Beverly, Quincy, and Plymouth. Navigator Club fees run from $5,595 for a weekday membership to $7,495 for a seven-day membership. READ MORE