Where to rent a small sailboat in Charleston ?

[thaifood]

I don't know as I have been unsuccessful.

[Rodhill1010]

The Carefree Boat Club on DI and downtown is $3000 one time and then $369 per month. We love it. They have 2 wooden sailboats that look very cool but we don't use them at all plus another 13 power boats.

Boat Club Charleston, SC | Carefree Boat Club

[FiveLoaves]

Originally Posted by FiveLoaves

Does anybody have the info on the Freedom Boat Club location over on Mt P ??? Their webpage says 1 time membership fee and a small monthly "dues" payment -- and you can have your choice of several different boats anytime you want..... ready at the dock, all gassed up and good to go.

Just trying to gauge the level of "fees and dues" before I call them.

Thanks for the info on Freedom Boat Club. Do you need to show a Boater's License or pass any kind of test for them ?? What about Insurance ??

At that price it's a little too rich for my blood. You could buy a nice Used Boat in March and use it for a season, and then sell it in November and still come out ahead. I'll keep looking.

[Rodhill1010]

Originally Posted by FiveLoaves

Thanks for the info on Freedom Boat Club. Do you need to show a Boater's License or pass any kind of test for them ?? What about Insurance ??

At that price it's a little too rich for my blood. You could buy a nice Used Boat in March and use it for a season, and then sell it in November and still come out ahead. I'll keep looking.

I just got off of the phone with Freedom. They charge a $5500 initiation fee and then $300 per month. Carefree Boat Club is $3000 initiation and $369 per month.

[KindFisherman]

Those prices sound reasonable. I may look into that as well since I enjoy powerboats as well as the occasional sail. Weigh your options vs private ownership. Owning a boat can be very expensive. There's the initial cost, then storage, insurance, maintenance, registration, replacing expired flares and weathered lines, annual taxes... I think I was a major contributor to my boat mechanic's kids college fund for my old cabin cruiser. Then the time cost you'll spend hauling from the storage to the ramp, doing basic cleaning, winterizing... Guess it depends on how often you'll be out on the water and where you want to use it. With your own boat you have the option to haul it anywhere to sail, fish, or explore. Plus do night fishing, long holiday trips, etc... If it's just occasional boating then rental/bareboat charter may be a better option. Check out boatsetter and boatbound on the net, plus I know IOP and Bohicket have powerboat rentals. Also there are plenty of charter operations with USCG licensed captains that may let you bareboat charter their yacht if you have the proper sail certifications, or just pay for having the licensed captain do all the hard work so you can enjoy. I've personally been eying those hobie adventure island sail kayaks that are suitable for offshore fishing and inshore exploring/sailing with zero maintenance costs and can be garage stored. Also fond of the macgregor 26 m or x, a trailer able water ballasted sailboat that you can live aboard for several days and actually gets up on plane with an outboard and can pull a water skier. Wish I could rent one of those around here.

[FiveLoaves]

We were just thinking about a small powerboat to scoot around on the Ashley River. I'm not even interested in fishing. With all the free launch sites on this side, it would be easy to trailer it to get in the water and just explore a little.

A quick look at craigslist, I just saw several nice examples of what I had in mind.....all for under $5K, which is about what these boat clubs want for a full year membership. And at the end of the season, you could probably sell the boat for close to what you paid for it. The better deals on craigslist will probably turn up in the off-season.

It would be difficult for me to write the Boat Club a $369 check in January & February.

[emilybh]

The College of Charleston offers its J-22s out to members of the community who join their sailing club and can pass a sailing proficiency test. I joined when I moved to Charleston. It was about $600 per year which included being able to take their J-22s out anytime they were available.



If you don't know how to sail and want to learn, they also have sailing lessons. College of Charleston kids also sail Lasers and 4/20s and have one of the better sailing teams in the country.



So, having sailed all my life in full keel boats and sometimes raced them as well as and having taken lessons and raced sailing dinghies over several summers as a kid through a yacht club in Rhode Island... and having joined the sailing club where I went to college, I feel qualified to recommend the College of Charleston Community Sailing program over anything else I've heard about in the state of SC. You can't really learn to sail on a cruising boat. When you take lessons at the College of Charleston, they probably teach you on 4/20s or Lasers where you'd have an opportunity to capsize and right the boat.


My test involved: raising the sails; taking the instructor out for a sail; doing a man overboard drill by being able to sail over to a life jacket he threw over board to pick it up. Explaining how to reef the mainsail, sailing different points of sail, coming about and gibing and then sailing the instructor back in to the dock and making a landing under sail.



I have a feeling you don't need to know how to make a landing because when you take the boats out by yourself or with others, the rule is to call the office and tell them you are ready to come in. They come out on a motor boat and tow you in after you have dropped the sails so you don't have to try to make a landing at the dock.

[mckee16]

I’ve wondered the same for years and have never found dinghy type boats for rent. If you put a nonsailor in Laser there will be lots of opportunities to right the boat!