Freedom Boat Club (FBC) is
members-only

boat club A boat club is a sports club serving boat owners, particularly those interested in rowing and yachting, but also kayaking, canoeing, motor boats and other small boats. See also *Rowing club *Yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifi ...

in the United States, Europe and Canada and is considered the largest marine Franchisor in the US. The company was founded in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

Florida, has been in business since 1989. In 2000, FBC became a franchisor and has been named as one of

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

magazine’s top 500 franchises more than once since then. Through franchising, the club has grown to about 210 locations, 2,400 boats and over 20,000 members. Freedom Boat Club is based on the concept of a shared asset model, which is similar but very different from

fractional ownership Fractional ownership is a method in which several unrelated parties can share in, and mitigate the risk of, ownership of a high-value tangible asset, usually a jet, yacht or piece of resort real estate. It can be done for strictly monetary reason ...

. Buying a membership gains access to a fleet of boats that are shared among the members of the club. The fleet consists of a variety of boats such as

bow rider A bow rider is a kind of runabout boat with an offset helm and extra forward seating. They are between 17' and 35', use stern drive or outboard engines, and hold between six and ten people. Its open bow area distinguishes it from a cuddy boa ...

s, cruisers, deck boats and fishing boats. Members aren’t limited to the same boat – or the same type of boat – each time they go on the water. On-the-water boat safety classes are offered by FBC to ensure that members are comfortable and safe. Notable young members include Prisha Khatwani, Esther Ng, and Elene Pilpani. Freedom Boat Club.com
/ref> In Northeast Florida, realtors have used FBC to attract home buyers by bundling a membership with property that doesn't already have access to the water.Realtors use boating lifestyle to attract home buyers in a challenging market - Jacksonville.com
/ref>

History

In May 2019,

Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Today, Brunswick has more than 13,000 employ ...

announced they will acquire Freedom Boat Club.

References

{{reflist

External links

Freedom Boat Club Website
Yacht clubs in the United States 1989 establishments in Florida