I was talking to someone the other day and the discussion of Yacht Clubs came up. I have belonged to a couple over the years but I always had cruisers at the time....never a runabout or cuddy cabin. Do any of you belong to a yacht club and if yes, do you enjoy it and what kind of activities do you do as a club? Thanks Shawn
Shawn, We don't belong to a yacht club, but the dealership my friends and I have purchased from has 2. We have been invited numerous times to use the facilities. Only issue is that they are about 2 hours away from where we boat. They have an excellent chef and great sit down dinners. They have separate bars and pools for the kids. Great marina and low fuel price (compared to what we pay). They have organized events all year round. We would join if it was much closer.
We live in Northwest Arkansas and boat on Beaver Lake. The Army Corps run the lake, so the likelihood of a yatch club is slim at best. The 2 clubs I spoke of are on Grand Lake in Oklahoma.
The lakes we run in Kansas don’t have a yacht club as an option. Army COE Lakes. Matter of fact a couple of them we boat on don’t eve have a marina or fuel source on the lake. Some friends of mine are (or were) members at Aarowhead on Grand Lake, (same one Walt was referring to). Maybe one day if we move to a different area I’d consider joining. I don’t think the type of boat matters!
What are these yacht clubs about? I'm not aware of any around Phoenix, there are several boat clubs but those are the ones where you pay a monthly access fee to a company that owns a fleet of boats for their members to use.
A typical "Yacht Club" is an organization made up of boat owners. They will usually have a Club House with a bar and kitchen facilities. They will charge a monthly fee and some, like country clubs will have a Food & Beverage minimum monthly fee. They will usually organize events and outings with and for members with boating being the general theme. I just did a search for Yacht Clubs in the Phoenix area and there was really nothing to speak of however, there are 2 in Lake Havasu. In areas of "0pen water", in other words, not usually a lake, there are often multiple clubs that offer reciprocal privileges. As an example, in Northern California there is an association called the Pacific Inter-Club Yacht Association. This organization is made up of many Yacht Clubs in San Francisco Bay and the California Delta. Some can be quite prestigious and snooty while others are about boating and having a good time....and usually drinking is involved. My wife and I have belonged to a couple over the years and they can be a lot of fun. Some of the snootier clubs can be expensive and are typically filled with members that are exclusively sailors while members of others have some pretty sizable yachts. The last club we belonged to we had the largest boat at 52'. The "everyman" or "everyboater" clubs will usually accept anyone....whether you have a boat or not. Shawn
Walt P, are you speaking of Arrowhead Yacht Club? We've thought about joining but don't know a lot about it and haven't investigated too deep. We bought our boat from Arrowhead at Beaver, but rarely spend time on Beaver Lake.
Yes, I was referring to Arrowhead/Cherokee Yacht clubs. They are over on Grand Lake, in the Duck Creek area. We've been there a few times, and it seems really nice. They have a lot of activities during the boat season, and a few over the winter. I don't know all the details of Membership, but from what I heard it was reasonable.
I may have to investigate further. We primarily boat on Grand as we live in Joplin so it's not far away.
