Captain's Club:Monthly Boat Washand ProtectionPlans in Tampa Bay

Captain's Club starts at $8.50 per foot per month for Clean and $14 per foot per month for Protect, so a 24 foot boat comes to around $204 or $336 a month. Quarterly runs $30 to $35 per foot per visit if you'd rather we came out four times a year. Clean covers washing, drying and the interior. Protect adds fresh protection on the gel coat, and it's the one most owners are on.

Every visit covers a low pH wash across all surfaces, stainless and brightwork, glass and water spots, non skid, scuff marks on the hull sides, compartments, and seats and vinyl. Protect adds gel coat protection on top of that. It's bow to stern, inside and out, and because one of us is on your boat every single month, problems get spotted while they're still cheap to deal with.

For a lot of owners, honestly, yes. If you rinse the boat after you use it and you're not leaving it in salt water for weeks, quarterly protection will hold a finish in reasonable shape. Monthly does more, because Florida works on a hull every day and four visits a year leaves long stretches where nobody's looking at it. There's no sense in us talking you into monthly if it isn't going to suit you.

More than a wash, yes. That's a fair thing to ask and we're not going to pretend otherwise. What the plan is actually buying is a boat that's ready every weekend without you doing it, and a gel coat that doesn't quietly slide back toward needing correction. Restoration work starts at $55 per foot, so a boat that gets let go for a few years is a four figure job to bring back. The plan is what makes that a thing you don't have to think about.

The sun doesn't wait for you to go out. A boat sitting on a lift or in a slip is being worked on by UV and salt air the whole time it sits there, and in some ways a boat that's used regularly and rinsed does better than one that just sits. The plan is looking after the asset, and that's true whether you were on the water in February or not.

No. Most members are at work while we're on the boat. All we need is access, and we'll send photos when we're done.