If you are not handy or your time is limited, maintenance can easily run $3,000-$5,000 a year or more for a recent boat around 30'. Insurance, upgrades, depreciation, maintenance and storage will run yearly around $3,000-$5,000 for a 20’-25' sailboat, $5,000-$8,000 for a 25’-30' sailboat, $8,000-$16,000 for 30’-40' sailboat, and $30,000-$50,000 a year for a boat like our J44. Many of our members who are starting out eventually buy their own boats (and often use our expertise as brokers to help them make a good decision), and boat ownership can be a source of great pleasure. Membership at Sound Sailing can help you decide if sailing is for you, and what boat size and type makes sense.

We offer two types of memberships: Daysailer and Yacht Memberships.

Daysailer memberships allow you to use our daysailers as often as you want for one year from when you sign up. You can take your friends or family, or sail single-handed. When you have the boat reserved, it's your boat. The principal restriction with Daysailer membership is that you may only have one 4-hour reservation outstanding at a time. This allows all members equal use of the boat. Since there are never more than 7 members per boat, and 6 time slots per weekend, (9:00 am to 1:00 pm, 1:30pm to 5:30pm, and 6:00pm to sunset) you can easily sail as often as you wish. Many members sail over 20 times a year, and we know of one member who sailed 50 times in a year! Members can keep on sailing if their boat is not reserved afterwards. Typical availability is over 90% for daysailers booked at least a day in advance.

Yacht Memberships allow you to sail our larger yachts about 15-20 days, again over one year from the membership start date. The amount you pay in is reduced as you use the boat. We have 1/2- and full-day rates for week and weekend days. Weekend days are in higher demand than week days, and priced according, so if you primarily use weekend days, you will be able to sail around 15 days per year. Availability in our program is far better than with our competitors, some of whom will have 10 members per yacht. There are never more than 8 members per yacht with Sound Sailing Center. Cruising Yacht use runs from 1:00 in the afternoon to noon the following day. 1/2 days run from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, or 5:30pm to noon, allowing members to take the boat for an overnight in one of the nearby harbors. Weekends start on Friday at 1:00pm, and run till noon on Monday.

Refund Policy: NO CASH REFUNDS. There will be no refunds on credit cards or checks. If for any personal reason a customer decides to withdraw from our services, a credit will be issued valid for one year.

Key benefits and features of Yacht Memberships are as follows:

• Plans are good for a year, or until your pre-paid credit has been used up.
• Members can have 2 reservations outstanding at any one time.
• Members are to supply their own Towels, Linens, Charts, GPS, navigational tools, flashlights and return the boat neat and washed down.
• Fuel is included. Members do not have to refuel their boat for trips less than two days long.
• Members can use any boat in the fleet smaller than their membership boat. A $100 checkout fee will apply if they have not  used the boat before.
• Reservations for 1/2-day use are 30% off the normal member rate.
• Reservations can start 24 hours earlier or be extended by up to 24 hours for no charge. No-charge extensions must be made by calling SSC, and can only be made 22 hours before the start of the trip.

The following benefits and conditions apply to all Memberships:

• Members must be onboard and in command for all their reservations.
• Members can cancel Daysailer reservations without penalty. Naturally, we, and the other members appreciate as much advance notice as possible.
• Daysailers may not be used if winds over 16 knots and/or gusts over 19 knots are forecast. Yachts may not go out in small craft warnings.
• Members can cancel Yacht reservations 2x without any penalty. Additional cancellations will be charged to your account. If another member takes over some or all of the time you had reserved, the charge will be reduced by the amount of revenue SSC receives from the other member. The sooner you cancel, the more likely another member will be able to take over your time. There is no charge for cancellations due to rain, visibility under one mile, or small craft warnings being posted.
• Members are entitled to 10% off all SSC services such as classes.
• Members are entitled to 50% off Ensign racing.
• Members are entitled to exchange privileges at the Boston Sailing Center on Boston Harbor.

Membership is essentially a boat sharing arrangement, with Sound Sailing Center handling all the maintenance and details. We never have more than 8 members per boat, so even if you decide Friday afternoon that you want a boat for Saturday, odds are you will have a boat.