Courtesy / Freedom Boat Club
The Linekin Bay Resort in Boothbay Harbor.
April 7, 2021
Freedom Boat Club of Maine expands to Boothbay region
File photo / Jim Neuger
"We've had a lot of interest to open a club in the Boothbay area so are thrilled to partner with Linekin Bay Resort," said Marina Holdings owner Steve Arnold.
As a surge in outdoor recreation sparks greater interest in boating, the Freedom Boat Club of Maine is gearing up to expand its footprint to the Boothbay region.
This spring, it will lay anchor at Boothbay Harbor's Linekin Bay Resort, bringing its total to five locations and 29 boats.
It also has locations at Yarmouth Boat Yard on the Royal River, at Moose Landing Marina in the Sebago Lakes region in Naples, Fore Points Marina on Portland's eastern waterfront and Sunset Marina in South Portland.
Members have unlimited access to new model-year boats at all five locations in Maine, plus more than 265 locations across the United States, Canada and France at no extra charge — bypassing the hassle and cost of boat ownership.
“We’ve had a lot of interest to open a club in the Boothbay area so are thrilled to partner with Linekin Bay Resort,” said Steve Arnold, owner of Marina Holdings, which includes Yarmouth Boat Yard, Moose Landing Marina and Freedom Boat Club of Maine. “It’s a beautiful resort and the boating in the midcoast region is phenomenal. Our members are very excited.”
Scott Larson, owner and managing partner of Linekin Bay Resort, said the Boothbay area provides "a wide variety of locations to explore," while Freedom Boat Club provides different types of boats to try out.
The Boothbay club will start out with two new vessels, a Sea Fox 22-foot center console and a BRIG 24-foot rigid inflatable.
Arnold, a Florida native who moved to Maine in 2003 after a career in finance, bought the Freedom Boat Club of Maine franchise in 2017. In a 2018 "On the Record" interview with Mainebiz, he said he was impressed by the organization's business model and "robust training" for new franchisors.
Membership trends
Asked this week about where new Freedom Boat Club members are coming from, Arnold told Mainebiz that half of new members signed since December have chosen the flagship location in Yarmouth, 26% have signed in Portland and 12% have signed in South Portland even before its first season opens this summer.
In terms of leads, however, Naples is the top spot with 32% indication an interest in that location, compared to 24% for South Portland, 23% for Portland and just 19% for Yarmouth.
"We believe the shift in interest is the growing awareness of our new locations," he said. "And as we grow our network of clubs some members are shifting their 'home port' to club locations closer to their home or to the club where they enjoy spending the most time in the water."
He also said that many members sign up for an ocean-based location and then switch to the lake because they enjoy that experience more.
One of the great things about being a member, he said, is that "you can regularly enjoy both lake and ocean boating experiences without having to worry about trailering a boat."
He also noted that it's harder to find a boat to buy this year given limited inventory for new and used vessels. Interestingly, about 40% of Freedom Boat Club's new members are women.
Hiring plans
Freedom Boat Club of Maine currently has four full-time, year-round employees and is looking to hire one more, according to Arnold.
It has also signed on 30 dockhands to help at various locations from April through mid-October, and five U.S. Coast Guard training captains to help members with navigation, safety and training this summer.
Freedom Boat Club of Maine also relies on marine technicians from the Yarmouth Boat Yard and Moose Landing Marina service departments for vessel maintenance and repairs, Arnold said.
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