US SAILING Knowledge Base

Adding a Keelboat Program For Fun and Profit

Adding a Keelboat Program For Fun and Profit

Presenter: Richard Jepsen, OCSC SAILING, Commercial Sailing School in San Francisco Bay-offers US
SAILING Keelbo at Certifi cation
Work Phone: 510 843 4200
Email: rich@ocsc.com

So, you have a good small boat prograrn, providing a great service to the community allarge, introducing them to sailing in an ordered and professionalw ay. Your program is blessedw ith a greaLs ailing location. You have good demographics resulting in a great market. You have great student satisfaction, your entry level courses are full for most of the season, but students keep drifting away after a few weeks or months. Your social activities, races, advanced training help somewhat to retain your clients, but you feel there is something else missing.

Consider adding a Keelboat Program. There are many benefits and the obstacles, while real, are manageable. Most importantly, you give your student base a long term reason to continue to patronize your facility.

o Benefits
1. Keelboats and Independence
2. Attracting More Adults
3. Bridging the Gap From Dinghies to Big Boats
4. Enhances the Social Aspect of a Day Sail
5. The Timid Student
6. Intimate Setting for Instructor and Students
7. Point to Point Sails More Convenient
8. Navigation Training Easier
9. More Students per Boat
10. Easier To Tap Into Would Be Bareboat Charter Market

o Challenges
1. Cost of Equipment
2. Per CourseC osts-InstructoOr n Board?
3. Sailing Location Requirements
4. Docking Requirements
5. Instructor Skill Requirements

o Exploiting Benefits
1. Expanding Your Geographic Limits for Rental or Training
2. Club Events-Adding Fun To Education
3. Cruises-Combining Social With Educational Value
4. Offering Special Training Specific to Keelboats
    o Navigation
    o Anchoring
    o Cruising
    o Basic Training for Timid Sailors

o Dealing With Challenges
1. Finding Low Cost Keelboats
    o Tiller Steered Trainers At Low Cost
    o Exploiting Relationships With Dealers/Manufacturers
    o Mid-rangeC ruisers-Donations/Leaseback/BorroBwoea dts
    o Partnering With Existing Keelboat Programs
    o Storage/Berthing/lvloorings/Rafting
2. Marketinga More ExpensiveP roduct
    o EstablishingV alue-SeeB enefitsA bove
    o Identify and Advertise the Unique Value of Keelboat Training
    o IntegrateY our MarketingF or KeelboatI nto Whole Program
3. Instructor Acquisition and Development
    o Consider How They Will Manage Adults As Students
    o USCGL icensingIs sues

o Wrap-Up/Q&A