Half the people who want to be on the water never get there for one reason: nobody ever taught them. Buying a boat does not come with lessons. Neither do most rentals. A Nautical Boat Club membership does.
Find a boat club location near you and ask about Dockside Orientation™.
Every membership starts with Dockside Orientation™. A staff member takes you out for one to two hours, covers the boat, the water, and the rules, runs you through docking and open-water handling, and answers everything you are embarrassed to ask.
Then it keeps going: safety training is unlimited, at no charge, until you feel confident. Some members need one session. Some need five. Both are fine.
After that, the dock does the hard part for you. Dockhands have the boat fueled, cleaned, and running when you arrive. They walk you off the dock and meet you when you return. Your job is the middle part — the good part.
Learning to boat as an owner is its own bill. Private on-water instruction runs $150 to $400 per session, and most new owners need several. Add a state boater safety course, then the boat itself: a new family boat costs $60,000 to $120,000, plus $2,000 to $4,000 a year in insurance and slip fees and thousands more in maintenance — all before you are confident enough to enjoy it.
A Nautical membership runs $4,535 to $14,355 for the full first year depending on tier and location, and the training is inside that number. Unlimited sessions. Every boat type in the fleet. No invoice at the end.
Even after owning a boat for more than 40 years, joining the Nautical Boat Club has been the best option to get on the lake. Some of our best memories were just us two on a weekday with a book and a cooler.
Lakeway member couple, from the video above — forty years of boat ownership, and they joined anyway.
If you grew up running boats and want your own hull rigged your way, ownership may suit you. But if the only thing between you and the water is experience, this is the lowest-risk way to get it — you learn on our boats, our insurance, and our maintenance schedule.
Find your nearest Nautical Boat Club location and schedule your Dockside Orientation™. Locations span Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
