How to save money while cruising - Join a Yacht Club

[ksanders]

We have learned something Really important.

If you are cruising or considering a cruising lifestyle, and prefer marina life over life on the hook...
Or if you are on the Pacific Coast of America where there are lots of marinas, and few anchorages...

You can save money by joining a Yacht Club

Here is how it works...

You join a Yacht Club, and you get the benefits of that club while you are in your home area.

But when you travel, you go to other Yacht Clubs and get a free or very low cost slip.
This is through a program where almost all of the Yacht Clubs cooperate with each other to offer members of other Yacht Clubs free slip space, access to the Bar/resturant, and other benefits for visitors.

This is in exchange you your Yacht Club offering the same to other Yacht clubs members. It's called a reciprocal benefit.

For us... we are heading up the pacific coast this cruising season. We need a slip pretty much every night until Mid October when our slip for this winter is available.
Typical costs for a slip on the Pacific coast are running on average $110 to $150 a night for my 51' OAL boat.

In the next 6 months I am expecting to pay about $18,000 in slip fees or maybe a bit more.

I just joined a Yacht Club in San Diego. The initiation is $4,000 and the monthly dues are $360 a month. so... for this cruising season, the next 6 months we are looking at $6160 in Yacht Club fees.

If we can get a free slip even just 75% of the time we are looking at saving over $7,000 this season alone, and remember we paid our initiation dues this year. Next cruising season the savings are even more.

Then... There are the other benefits, that are not as tangible such as being part of the social circle of other boaters in a otherwise strange new harbor.....

How cool is that???

 

[Shrew]

Not all clubs offer reciprocity, or the reciprocity is limited. A West Coast club has little to gain offering reciprocity to an East Coast club member. Rarely to never will someone from Seattle be a transient in Rhode Island.

 

[SteveK]

The marine equivalant to Time Shares.

 

[tiltrider1]

Not all clubs offer reciprocity, or the reciprocity is limited. A West Coast club has little to gain offering reciprocity to an East Coast club member. Rarely to never will someone from Seattle be a transient in Rhode Island.

Far from true. Seattle Yacht Club has reciprocity with many clubs in RI. We also have reciprocity with many clubs whose interest is not necessarily boating. Kevin has discovered only the first of many advantages.

 

[JackConnick]

Far from true. Seattle Yacht Club has reciprocity with many clubs in RI. We also have reciprocity with many clubs whose interest is not necessarily boating. Kevin has discovered only the first of many advantages.

Same here with Queen City Yacht Club across the way from SYC. Members can access clubs worldwide for dinner, etc. And we offer the same to visiting cruisers.

 

[Nordlund Xpress]

Includes more than slips. Our SDYC membership recently got us into the New York Athletic Club hotel on Central Park at 50-75% less that alternatives. The savings over a 'regular' hotel paid for our club dues and slip for a month!

 

[ksanders]

This is exactly what I am learning.

The benefits of Yacht Club membership are far greater than on the surface you might think.

 

[Portage_Bay]

We too are yacht club members. When we can and when it makes sense we will use reciprocal privileges. We have found that in popular areas or areas with very limited moorage the reciprocal slips are often in fact usually taken during high season. Very few clubs will take reservations for their recip slips. It's first come first serve. So if a night at a dock is important to us for any number of reasons, including limited or no anchorage, we will reserve a slip at the targeted marina. I have not kept a record but I'd think our success rate getting recip slip has been less than 25%. Of course even with the recip slip you will still have access to the club's grounds, restaurant, lounge etc.

 

[SteveK]

What @Portage_Bay said is also my experience. While the option is included there has to be an empty slip in order to provide it. Good luck Kevin.

I actually wondered if coastal marinas keep a large number of transient slips to accomodate travellers, but can a yacht club offer those or must it be a member of the club slip only.

 

[Nordlund Xpress]

As an example, San Diego Yacht Club has a large dock in front of the club house (great location) that can accommodate about 4 50' visiting boats, if it's not being used for club or race activities. Member slips are also made available if the slip is empty, but there is competition during sail racing for the visiting race clubs, and it hosts a lot of races. Otherwise no dedicated transient slips as there is too much member demand.

 

[ksanders]

What @Portage_Bay said is also my experience. While the option is included there has to be an empty slip in order to provide it. Good luck Kevin.

I actually wondered if coastal marinas keep a large number of transient slips to accomodate travellers, but can a yacht club offer those or must it be a member of the club slip only.

Time will tell how this really works out.

I just tried to get a slip at our home club for a week and got one right away.

I had friends two years ago use their recprical privledges up and down the coast and they never paid for a slip, so we'll see.

 

[Iggy]

Not all Club have reciprocal privileges. But most try!

Your best bet is to call first. I would rather give my money to a Club than a marina.

 

[Portage_Bay]

The concept of reciprocal is that slips if available are open to any club member from any club that has reciprocal agreements. When joining a yacht club you are given a list of clubs that your's shares reciprocal agreements with.

What @Portage_Bay said is also my experience. While the option is included there has to be an empty slip in order to provide it. Good luck Kevin.

I actually wondered if coastal marinas keep a large number of transient slips to accomodate travellers, but can a yacht club offer those or must it be a member of the club slip only.

Some clubs / marinas are more welcoming than others. We are currently members of Shelter Bay Yacht Club in La Conner keeping our boat at Shelter Bay Marina. Both the club and the marina encourage slip holders to notify club or marina when they will be gone so that the slip is made available for transient boaters. If I put my slip on the marina's list then any transient boater may use it. If I put my slip on the club's list then only members of clubs with reciprocal agreements can use it.

In addition to my club's reciprocal list I have found Welcome to Yacht Destinations worth joining. Information is usually up to date and accurate.

 

[gettaway]

As an example, San Diego Yacht Club has a large dock in front of the club house (great location) that can accommodate about 4 50' visiting boats, if it's not being used for club or race activities. Member slips are also made available if the slip is empty, but there is competition during sail racing for the visiting race clubs, and it hosts a lot of races. Otherwise no dedicated transient slips as there is too much member demand.

I am a 29-year member of Coronado Yacht Club and have stayed at SDYC many, many times, I used to host the reciprocal Valentines weekend cruise when your club would come to Coronado and we would go to SDYC, this worked great because we were all able to get slips, including a med-tie in your and our turning basins / guest docks. However, as our boats got bigger, we now have a Carver Voyager PH 530, and it has become difficult to get a guest slip pretty much anywhere, I have yet to get one at SDYC but we've have had luck at SWYC a few times. the last few trips over we have stayed at Shelter Island Marina directly across from SDYC, its a bit procey but we like the convenience to Point Loma. I need to get my wife comfortable spending the weekend on the hook in La Playa.

 

[Iggy]

I should have mentioned. In Mass we have the Mass Boating Association. There you can find a list of yacht club on the site and 90% have reciprocal privileges.

Not all like Plymouth Yacht Club.

 

[Larry M]

I asked a friend who’s a member of the Naples Yacht Club and he forwarded this to me. Pages 5 and on list reciprocity by states.

https://www.thensyc.com/Files/Library/8-10-23_RECIPROCITY.PDF

 

[mvweebles]

I asked a friend who’s a member of the Naples Yacht Club and he forwarded this to me. Pages 5 and on list reciprocity by states.

https://www.thensyc.com/Files/Library/8-10-23_RECIPROCITY.PDF

This is interesting. In my experience in San Francisco Bay, not all YCs honored reciprocal privelages to other YCs. St Francis YC was particularly snooty.

As a side story, when Larry Ellison launched his Americas Cup campaign, he wanted his home YC to host it. But he wanted Oracle to be the major sponsor and he wanted lead control - he was spending something like $100m after all. SFYC said no - this was Yachting and the YC is the sponsor and would be the lead decision maker.

So Ellison walked down the street to Golden Gate YC and pitched his idea. GGYC was a decent YC, but not really top 10 in prestige for SF Bay area - pretty sure SFYC would not honor reciprocal privelages with GGYC They needed the money and welcomed his funding. I forget the year (2013?) but Ellison won the AC over NZ in what is the most stunning comeback in sports.

Peter

 

[Larry M]

I have never been a member of a yacht but have visited a few as guests. The last 2 we had dinner, no cash or CCs were accepted. The member had to sign for it. Kind of hard to split the check but I didn’t complain.

 

[Delta Riverat]

Thanks for this tip, I think I'll sign up at the Stockton Yacht Club.

Four hundred a year with a $150 initiation fee, everything is cheaper in The Delta -

 

[tiltrider1]

Yacht clubs usually have a minimum distance before they reciprocate. For instance, Seattle won’t reciprocate with any other yacht club located in Seattle. We do work closely with our neighbor Queen City on a lot of events but we don’t reciprocate.

I never bother to look for reciprocal slips in the Puget Sound, San Juan’s, and Gulf Islands. Just too much competition. However, I have never had St Francis YC turn me down.

 

[klee wyck]

In much of the PNW, another issue besides an open slip being unlikely even where we (PTYC) have reciprocity, is that many of reciprocity hosts limit overall length to under 50', so LIBRA was not eligible under most programs.

 

[ksanders]

Yacht clubs usually have a minimum distance before they reciprocate. For instance, Seattle won’t reciprocate with any other yacht club located in Seattle. We do work closely with our neighbor Queen City on a lot of events but we don’t reciprocate.

I never bother to look for reciprocal slips in the Puget Sound, San Juan’s, and Gulf Islands. Just too much competition. However, I have never had St Francis YC turn me down.

st francis is known to be a very stuffy YC. I don't want to even try.

 

[Pocoron]

Hi Kevin,
A few things to be mindful of with reciprocals:

• Your club will be able to provide you with a list of clubs that they have a formal reciprocal arrangement with. Not every club offers reciprocal moorage or at least a reciprocal with your particular club.
• Reciprocals are typically available on first come/ first served basis with no reservations possible
• Fees may apply to your stay. Every club has a different policy ranging from completely complimentary to fees for connections only to fees for slippage
• Many clubs have limits to LOA available for reciprocal moorage. This limit eliminates many from our club's reciprocal list for us.

Overall, it is a genuine benefit of belonging to a club!

 

[mvweebles]

st francis is known to be a very stuffy YC. I don't want to even try.

You mentioned staying in Alameda. My info is dated, but Encinal YC and Oakland YC were decent clubs, at least they were and I think they both have guest slip arrangements. I forget how far the ferry is, but you can get to SF via the ferry which is really convenient. Town of Alameda is a gem - excellent weather and its own vibe. The estuary though is a ways away from the town center so would be an Uber.

Might also consider Richmond YC up north end of the Bay. It's a very friendly place and there are good marine facilities not too far away. There isn't much nearby though.

There are a lot of YCs in SF Bay but not many of them have marina facilities. Aeolian (Alameda ) comes up frequently - I think it's the oldest in SF. But it's a tired place that has struggled with silting for decades. Unless something has changed, probably not what you're looking for.

Guessing there is some better local knowledge given my dated information. Hoping my reviews above prod some comments.

Best regards Kevin.

Peter

 

[READY]

I am a member at SWYC in San Diego. The list of reciprocal clubs is limited but not short.we have 2 guest docks that are side ties. I think maybe about 80 feet long each.

Duration of stay is based upon the reciprocal agreement. Typically a few days. Often the dock is reserved for members or race participants.

While the access to guest slips is a very nice benefit, depending upon season, boat length and beam I would be surprised if one could reliably get a guest slip all that often.

Even as a member, before I received a permanent slip assignment I probably could get my 48 ft boat on the guest dock for only perhaps 25% of my requests.

As you might guess, weekday availability in winter is highly likely but weekend, especially in the summer can be fully booked for the near term future.

But as pointed out access to the benefits other than a slip can be useful.

 

[slowgoesit]

We have tried getting moorage through reciprocity on a few occasions.
We found the following to be true:
You will need a letter from your Yacht Club stating that they were members of the Yachting Clubs of America
You need to contact the Yacht Club early
You may have to speak to someone who specifically handles reciprocity with other Yacht Clubs, with reciprocity.
As Bill (klee wyck) above noted we found that the slips available could not accept our boat. The Yacht Clubs on the Pacific coast, two in Channel Islands (Oxnard, CA), can't remember where the other one was, were limited to 45' overall length.
There are really inexpensive alternatives, or at least one that were members of, that gives you full access to reciprocity for under $100/year all in. One night stay would pay for our annual membership!

 

[Jklotz]

If you join MTOA:
"MTOA is a member of the Yachting Club of America (YCA). This organization is the founder of the Register of American Yacht Clubs. They have been in existence since 1963 and include most of the yacht clubs in the country. The clubs in this group generally offer reciprocity to other yacht clubs listed in the Register."

 

[slowgoesit]

If you join MTOA:
"MTOA is a member of the Yachting Club of America (YCA). This organization is the founder of the Register of American Yacht Clubs. They have been in existence since 1963 and include most of the yacht clubs in the country. The clubs in this group generally offer reciprocity to other yacht clubs listed in the Register."

Yup, MTOA is the one I was referring to above! Annual membership is $65.00

 

[mvweebles]

There are really inexpensive alternatives, or at least one that were members of, that gives you full access to reciprocity for under $100/year all in.

I don't have much direct experience with being a member of a YC, though I have been to many clubs as a guest. My observation is the club has amenities such as a restaurant with a monthly nut to crack, they don't extend reciprocity to the lower eschelon clubs. And even in that upper tier there is another line - clubs that require a collar/jacket ("Dah-ling, have you seen my ecru ascot? And I can only find the blazer with brass buttons - you know how tacky that is!")

One point that I don't think has been brought up - many clubs have tiers of membership, one being a resident and one being from out of town. The remote one is probably a decent deal because it probably doesn't have a monthly minimum spend.

Personally, I'm with Groucho Marx "I wouldn't join a club that would allow me as a member." But I certainly see the benefits. Especially in places like Florida - I'd make an exception for a place with a pool.

Peter

 

[rslifkin]

I don't have much direct experience with being a member of a YC, though I have been to many clubs as a guest. My observation is the club has amenities such as a restaurant with a monthly nut to crack, they don't extend reciprocity to the lower eschelon clubs. And even in that upper tier there is another line - clubs that require a collar/jacket ("Dah-ling, have you seen my ecru ascot? And I can only find the blazer with brass buttons - you know how tacky that is!")

It varies by location too. The higher end, more expensive clubs are often reciprocal with more clubs, particularly ones further away. The less expensive working clubs with less fancy amenities are sometimes reciprocal with high end clubs in their general area, but they're not likely to be reciprocal with many clubs from far away. That's certainly the case around here. Just about every club around Lake Ontario has a reciprocal agreement, but only a few clubs are reciprocal with clubs hundreds of miles outside of the Great Lakes.

How picky a club is about who they accept for guest dockage varies a lot too. Some will take non-reciprocal guests at a higher rate (particularly if they're a member of some club somewhere), others will only take reciprocals. Locally, when I've seen clubs switch to reciprocals-only for guest dockage it's usually because of demand vs available space and them not wanting to turn away a reciprocal guest due to being full. Clubs that have enough space relative to demand are often more widely accepting.