On his podcast, Clark Howard answers real reader questions on money, credit, debt, retirement, travel, and more, along with co-host Christa DiBiase.

Clark's answer: I’m actually OK with boat clubs. Now, last time I said that, we heard from a couple of people on Clark Stinks whose boat club had gone bankrupt. But in your case — unless you pay a huge upfront fee and the club goes under the very next week — it’s a much better choice financially.

With a club, they handle all the maintenance and they buy new boats as the old ones wear out because they're getting far higher utilization out of each vessel. Why is boat ownership normally so ridiculously expensive? It’s because most people end up using a boat way less than they intended. The boat just sits and sits and sits, but you're paying that heavy overhead cost the entire time.

You don't have to store it, you don't have to haul it, and you don't need a heavy-duty truck just to get it to the water, exactly like you pointed out. Best of all, if you realize you're not using it as much as you thought, you give them your 90-day notice and you're completely out. It’s a much better way to be a boater.