Everything you need to know about the club.

Freedom Boat Club San Diego & Channel Islands is a members-only boat club with seven dock locations in Southern California: five in San Diego County and two in Ventura County. Members reserve a boat, show up at the dock, and head out. The club handles the maintenance, cleaning, storage, slip fees and insurance.

We operate seven locations across two clubs.

Freedom Boat Club San Diego

• Mission Bay Dana Landing: Mission Bay
• Mission Bay Seaforth: Mission Bay and the ocean inlet
• Marina Cortez (Harbor Island): San Diego Bay and Point Loma
• Oceanside (Oceanside Harbor): open ocean off North County
• Chula Vista: South San Diego Bay

Freedom Boat Club Channel Islands

• Ventura Isle (Ventura Harbor): the Ventura coast
• Anacapa Isle (Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard): Channel Islands Harbor and the coast

You join the club, complete training with one of our licensed captains, and then book boats through the reservations system app. When you arrive, your boat is clean, fueled and waiting at the dock. When you return, you hand back the keys and we take care of the rest.

Freedom Boat Club was founded in 1989 and is the world’s largest boat club, with 450+ locations worldwide. Members get reciprocal access to worldwide locations so a boat is never far away, even on vacation.

Membership has three parts: a one-time initiation fee, a monthly membership fee, and fuel for the trips you take. The exact numbers depend on the plan you choose and your needs. For accurate membership information, schedule a dock tour with one of our friendly representatives.

Call or text (619) 837-8177 to book a dock tour and a membership representative will go over the options with you. Our membership office is open 8am–5pm.

Both clubs offer three membership plans. A membership representative can match one to how and when you like to boat.

• Platinum Membership: boat 7 days a week, with access to the larger Platinum-level boats, year-round.
• Freedom Membership: boat 7 days a week, year-round.
• Weekday Membership: boat Monday through Thursday, year-round.

Yes, and we recommend it. A tour lets you see the boats, meet the dock staff, and get pricing for the plans that fit you. Tours are available at all five San Diego locations and both Channel Islands locations.

Call or text (619) 837-8177 to book a dock tour and a membership representative will go over the options with you.

Most memberships include a second captain from the same household, typically a spouse.

No. There are no extra or hidden fees. The only costs are the one-time initiation fee, your monthly dues, and the fuel you use.

For most boaters, yes, and it is far more predictable. Owning a boat is a variable cost: on top of the purchase, depreciation, a slip or storage and insurance, you pay for every repair and all the maintenance, and those expenses add up.

Slips in San Diego and Ventura County marinas can also have long waitlists. A membership is a fixed cost you can count on. Your monthly dues do not go up when a boat needs work, because we handle the maintenance, repairs and replacements.

As often as you like. Members get unlimited boating at their home club’s locations, subject to membership type and reservation availability.

San Diego members can pick up boats at five locations: Mission Bay Dana Landing, Mission Bay Seaforth, Marina Cortez, Oceanside and Chula Vista. Channel Islands members can book from Ventura Isle and Anacapa Isle.

Book through the Freedom Boat Club app for iOS and Android or the online member dashboard. Pick your location, date and time, choose a boat, and confirm. Your boat will be ready at the dock when you arrive.

Yes, with a little planning. Every member can hold four active reservations at a time. As soon as you use one, you can book another to get back to four, so you can keep summer weekends and holidays on your calendar.

Southern California also boats year-round, which spreads demand across the calendar, and same-day and next-day openings are common, especially on weekdays.

No. Boating is available between sunrise and sunset, and overnight boating is not permitted.

All offshore boats have a 50-mile radius from the docks at our San Diego and Ventura County locations. Your captain will go over the local waters, hazards and good routes during training, and San Diego members can even fish into Mexico.

A few boats are marked harbor-only in the reservation system, such as the pontoons and Duffys.

No. We are not a rental company. Every boat in the San Diego and Channel Islands fleets is reserved for members.

There is a boat for every kind of boater. The San Diego fleet covers cruising, fishing and watersports: pontoons, including regular and slide toons, bowriders, cabin cruisers, center consoles, pilot house fishing boats, and the Platinum Regal 26XO cruiser.

The Channel Islands fleet at Ventura Isle and Anacapa Isle has Defiance pilot house fishing boats and center consoles, Quicksilver Weekender cabin cruisers, a luxury pontoon, and 100% electric Duffy boats for harbor cruising.

Most boats in the fleet run 22 to 26 feet and carry 6 to 12 passengers.

It depends on where you live and what you want to do on the water. San Diego and the Channel Islands are two separate clubs. San Diego members get unlimited access to the boats at all five San Diego locations, and Channel Islands members get unlimited access to the boats at Ventura Isle and Anacapa Isle.

Members of either club also get reciprocal access to the other club’s boats and to Freedom Boat Club locations nationwide.

San Diego locations

• Mission Bay Dana Landing: pontoons, including regular and slide toons, cruisers, bowriders and the Platinum Regal 26XO. Best for family cruising, watersports and dock-and-dine on calm Mission Bay.
• Mission Bay Seaforth: Mission Bay’s fishing boats, both pilot houses and center consoles. Best for fishing, with the ocean inlet and bait barge very close.
• Marina Cortez: nearly everything except pontoons, including fishing boats, cabin cruisers, bowriders and the Platinum Regal 26XO. Best for fishing Point Loma and south toward Mexico through a close, easy inlet, plus bay cruising and dock-and-dine.
• Oceanside: offshore-style boats, with center consoles and a cabin cruiser. Best for offshore fishing and whale watching on the open ocean; there is no large bay here.
• Chula Vista: a pontoon, bowriders and a center console. Best for wakeboarding and mellow cruising in South Bay, which is more sheltered from the wind than the north end of San Diego Bay.

Channel Islands locations

• Ventura Isle: pilot house fishing boats, a center console, cabin cruisers and an electric Duffy. Best for offshore fishing with bait tanks and fish boxes on board, family day cruising on the cabin cruisers, and quiet Ventura Harbor cruises on the all-electric Duffy.
• Anacapa Isle: pilot house fishing boats, a center console, a harbor-only pontoon and an electric Duffy. Best for offshore fishing with bait tanks and rod holders on board, and relaxed cruises around Channel Islands Harbor on the pontoon or the all-electric Duffy.

You can pull up to waterfront restaurants near every one of our harbors. Guest dock space is usually first come, first served, so arrive ahead of the lunch rush or call the restaurant first.

• Mission Bay: Café Bahia at the Bahia Hotel, Paradise Point Resort, and The Dana on Mission Bay.
• North San Diego Bay: Portside Pier, Joe’s Crab Shack on Harbor Island, Bali Hai, Vessel at Kona Kai and Fathom Bistro on Shelter Island, and Point Loma Seafoods.
• Coronado and South Bay: Glorietta Bay, the Coronado Cays, and restaurants a short walk from Chula Vista Marina.
• Oceanside Harbor: Harbor Fish & Chips and Lighthouse Oyster Bar & Grill.
• Ventura Harbor: Ventura Harbor Village, including Brophy Bros., Andria’s Seafood, Boatyard Pub, Margarita Villa and The Greek.

Yes, through reciprocal access. San Diego and the Channel Islands are separate clubs, so your unlimited boating is at your home club’s locations.

When you want to boat at the other club, you book its boats as a reciprocal member, the same way you would at any other Freedom Boat Club location.

Yes, if your plan includes reciprocal access. You can boat at 450+ Freedom Boat Club locations across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

Reciprocal bookings are limited to four per location per calendar year, and some locations may require extra training or licensing.

Call or text (619) 837-8177 or visit our Locations page for addresses, parking and directions to each dock.

No. Many of our San Diego and Channel Islands members had never driven a boat before joining. Every new member completes training before their first reservation, whatever their experience level.

Training is free, one-on-one, and led by a licensed captain. Your captain works with you in our office and on the water, on the same waters you will be boating.

There is no time limit on on-water training: you keep going until you are comfortable, knowledgeable and ready to enjoy your boating. Refresher training is free and unlimited for as long as you are a member.

Yes. California requires everyone who operates a motorized vessel on state waters to carry a California Boater Card, regardless of age. This has applied to all ages since January 1, 2025.

To get one, pass a state-approved boating safety course and pay the state’s one-time $10 fee; the card is good for life. You need it before your first solo reservation, and our licensed captain will help you earn it during new member training.

Every boat carries the required safety gear: life jackets for everyone on board, a throwable flotation device, a fire extinguisher, sound signaling devices, flares and a VHF radio.

Under California law, children under 13 must wear a life jacket on a moving recreational vessel. Ask dock staff ahead of time about child and infant sizes so the right ones are on your boat.

Yes. Bring as many friends and family as the boat capacity allows, as long as a member is on board. Each boat’s maximum capacity is shown in the reservation system. There is no guest fee.

Yes. Dogs are welcome on all boats at all of our locations.

Yes. The pontoons at Mission Bay Dana Landing and Chula Vista are the family favorites: roomy, stable and easy to drive on calm, protected water.

Mission Bay suits young kids, tubing and first-time boaters, and Chula Vista’s South Bay is sheltered from the wind for mellow cruising.

In the Channel Islands, Ventura Isle’s cabin cruisers give families a cabin to get out of the wind and sun, and both harbors have an enclosed electric Duffy for easy harbor cruises.

Cruising, fishing, tubing and wakeboarding, dock-and-dine lunches, and wildlife watching.

Members wakeboard on Mission Bay and in the sheltered South Bay off Chula Vista, fish from Seaforth and Marina Cortez, and head offshore for whale watching from Oceanside.

Dolphins and sea lions are common in both San Diego and Ventura County waters, and gray whales migrate along the coast in winter. For watersports, bring your own tubes, boards and tow ropes; there are equipment rental shops near our docks.

You must be at least 21 years old, complete our new member training, and have your California Boater Card before your first solo reservation.

During the new member training process our licensed captain will help you obtain your California Boater Card. No prior boating experience is needed.

You pay only for the fuel you use. Boats are always fueled by our professional dock staff before you arrive for your outing. Our boating concierge will let you know refueling procedure for the marina you're boating from as it may vary by marina location.

Safety comes first. If wind, swell, fog or a small craft advisory makes conditions unsafe, you can cancel or reschedule. Dock staff watch the marine forecast and will tell you if boats are being held at the dock.

Tell dock staff when you return and they will walk you through the next steps. The club covers the insurance for the boats.

Call or text (619) 837-8177 between 8am and 5pm or request a dock tour online. A membership representative will show you the boats, answer your questions and go over plans and pricing.

You get the boating without the work or the unpredictable costs of ownership. An owner’s costs vary from month to month as repairs and maintenance come up. A membership is a fixed cost you can count on, because we handle maintenance, repairs and replacements when they are needed.

• No slip fees, storage or marina waitlists in San Diego or Ventura County
• No maintenance, repairs or cleaning
• No trailer, tow vehicle or launch ramp lines
• A fleet to choose from: take a fishing boat one day and a cruiser the next
• Seven local docks across Mission Bay, San Diego Bay, Oceanside Harbor, Ventura Harbor and Channel Islands Harbor
• Unlimited boating at your home club, booked from your phone
• Free training for the life of your membership
• Reciprocal access to 450+ Freedom Boat Club locations worldwide on eligible plans
• Member events and a local boating community

If you boat more than a few times a year, usually yes. Hourly and daily rentals around Mission Bay, San Diego Bay and the Ventura County harbors add up fast, and rental fleets see heavy use.

Members get unlimited trips, newer and professionally maintained boats, training, and a boat that is ready when they arrive.

Yes! We offer boat sales & maintenance services through H&H Marine, San Diego's largest inventory of new and pre-owned boats. If you'd prefer to own your own boat give us a call at (619) 837-8177 and let the representative know you're interested in purchasing a boat.