It’s that time of year again! The sun is getting brighter and the water is getting warmer.. Obviously, the best way to get the boat you want, on the day you want, at the location you want, is to plan ahead. During busy months, when the kids are out of school or on big holiday weekends, this can mean reserving three weeks in advance for the most popular boats. However, we all have those times when opportunity comes a-knockin’ on short notice: an old friend suddenly alerts you that she’s rolling into town, a dinner party leads to talk of how great it would be to get out on the water, or you suddenly find that an appointment was cancelled and you now have a free day. Your first reflex should be to jump on your phone, click open the Freedom reservation site, and start scanning for availability. But everything is booked! Those who planned ahead have reserved every vessel at your favorite Freedom locations. It may seem bleak, but don’t despair yet, you still have several options. Here’s how I initiate Plan B… and C… and D.
If I have more than a day before a proposed outing, my primary course of action is to jump on the waitlist. It’s a simple matter of picking the date and location on the reservation site and clicking on the Waitlist button beside the boat I want. However, because that limits my chances to that specific vessel, I almost always opt to instead select the Waitlist Any Boat button above the boat list. I’d rather up my odds and lock in a randomboat before I start getting picky and attempt the difficult task of acquiring a specific type. I’ll leave that for a “fine-tuning step” if there’s time. From here, all you can do is sit back, hope someone cancels their reservation, and wait for an email notification to pop up. Just remember that there will probably be other members on the waitlist vying for the same cancelled reservations, so catching the email notice early and jumping to the reservation site to snag the boat is imperative. Those that work on a computer all day or have great email notifications on their phone are the most likely candidates to win this race for the boat. The waitlist method of last-minute reserving requires vigilance, patience, and a good working knowledge of your email settings.
Ok, so let’s say that I’ve seen a few cancellation notifications in my email from my waitlist attempt but I was beaten to the punch by other members. Now what? Well, I know that the dockmasters send out reservation confirmation text messages to those who have reservations the next day to make sure they’re still coming. So, the afternoon prior to the day I want a boat, I contact the dockmaster at each of the locations I would be able to depart from. I ask them if they know of any cancellations and, if not yet, I ask them if I can get on their waitlist. If I don’t hear anything by 5:00, I contact them again to check in. Dockmasters have a very demanding job on busy days with many other diverse requests, so I understand that my plans for the following day may not be at the top of their duty list. On days when I’ve got the flexibility to continue waiting until the afternoon on the “day of”, I will call to find out if there’s a boat that was never checked out because the member just didn’t show up. That’s a possible penalty fee for that member but it’s an opportunity for me!
But what if I still don’t find a boat? Is there anything else I can try? Yes! There’s the old “hail Mary” option. I can call the main office to see if anyone in administration knows of any boats that are not currently showing in the system (coming off the repair list, being transferred from other locations, brand new replacements, etc.). This is usually a more infrequent possibility but it’s worth a shot and the office staff is very helpful.
In summary, if I cannot plan ahead, I know there’s a chance that I’ll have to forego my last minute idea of going out on a nautical excursion but I’m certainly going to give it a try.
The reservation system waitlist is convenient but it isn’t a “lock” and the email notification can be easy to miss. It’s a fully automated system, after all.
Contacting the dockmaster(s) is a more immediate option but is not helpful until the day prior or day of. Dockmasters have the most up-to-the-minute information regarding what’s currently at the dock and what will be at the dock in the future and do their best to deliver great customer service. In return, I take the opportunity to show them my appreciation in the form of sincere gratitude (plus a little paper donation to remember me by).
Giving the office a call is a long-shot but it’s entirely possible that they know something that has not yet been disseminated through the system. They will also do their best to get members out there if possible and will work all the angles.
It’s not. If you think about it, all those reserved boats were taken by someone, right? How did they do it? Ok, so there are times when even the best planners can’t see the future and know they’re going to want a boat on any given day. However, there are a couple other ways to go about increasing your odds massively. That’s what I lay out in this blog. Don’t forget that Spring Break (which is now extending for at least a MONTH) has a lot to do with the volume of folks getting out on the water.
Mark May 4, 2020
We need more boats available?
Capt. Dean May 11, 2020
Mr. Norris, Thank you for the feedback regarding current availability. This has indeed become a challenging year. Besides the fact that not all of our new vessels have arrived yet due to factory slowdowns/shutdowns, our membership base is very eager to get back out there on the water after so much time under restriction. Further, the lack of a set school schedule leads to an unusually high daily usage rate by families. Try my “pro tips” in this blog. They work for me when I need to get boats for our New Member Orientations.
Mark Newman May 10, 2020
Its almost impossible to get the boat you want and the day you want unless you book it 2 to 3 week in advance. When it was under the Chain of Lakes management Venetian Cove had 16 pontoons available for us there now there are 3. Little Lake Harris has only 3. Most of use are retired and want to take friends and family out for a nice relaxing day with a bimini top for shade. You can’t do that on a Skiff. Speaking for myself I would like to see at least 12 pontoons in Venetian Cove and 6 at Little Lake Harris. If that were done you could make your plans with family or friends without telling them that maybe in 3 weeks I can get the boat I’d like if you can change your life around to fit mine. As you can tell i’m not happy with the way things are turning out with our boat choices and selection. Please get us more 4 stroke 90hp pontoons. The 90’s are fast enough and won’t cost an arm or leg to run.
Capt. Dean May 11, 2020
Mr. Newman, Thank you for the feedback regarding our boat distribution. Balancing fleet numbers and types of boat per location is something we are constantly working on. We will take your suggestion under advisement as we assess the variety of boats at our Lake Harris locations.
Mark Newman May 11, 2020
I appreciate your willingness to look into our problems on Lake Harris and I hope that in the near future you will see that the need is justified. I know that I have not even tried to reserve a pontoon because they were all taken on the dates I wanted. I and I feel others are not willing to sit around waiting for someone to cancel their reservation hoping that we can get a pontoon to take out on the day we want.
Larry Berg May 17, 2020
I am surprised to hear about the shortage of pontoons. I joined because of fishing and some use of a pontoon for family. I have always used fishing boats when available. I am upset about the trolling motor situation. Many times in the past I have not been able to get the boat I want, and when I go to get my boat, the boat I wanted is there and they tell me that they cancelled this morning. I think there should be a record of cancellations by member and when they cancel more than once in a period of time, there is a penalty. I think people are making multiple reservations for fishing boats several days in advance to have a boat available, just in case, and then cancelling at the last minute, for whatever reason.
Capt. Dean May 17, 2020
I like that idea, Mr. Berg! I will bring it to the table at our upcoming meeting for discussion and likely implementation. At the moment, we only enforce a penalty fee if there is no contact and the member does not show up for their reservation. As for new boats, although the order for projected need is placed very fall for the future year, the manufacturing slowdown has reduced our new arrivals to a trickle. We can’t work with that situation so we have gone outside our normal distributors for boats that might be on hand. There will be over 60 vessels coming in between now and June 1. Regarding the trolling motors, there are now six trolling motors at our Chain of Lakes locations for your convenience.
Mark May 17, 2020
How many of those 60 boats are pontoons and how many of them are coming to the Chain of Lakes.
Capt. Dean May 18, 2020
Mr. Newman, currently 63% (20) of the vessels at the Chain of Lakes are fishing vessels, 25% (8) are pontoons, 9% (3) are deck boats, and then there’s the sailboat. We will base the number of pontoons delivered according to demand versus fishing vessels which looks to be around three at this point. That takes the ratio to 53% fish and 34% pontoon.
Mark Newman May 31, 2020
Capt. Dean I’m a fisherman also but I think the ratio of 53% fishing to 34% pontoon should be reversed. I’m sure you have the numbers to show how many members are asking for pontoon versus fishing boats. Please look at the reservation list on big and little lake harris and see how often the pontoons are on the wait list. For me if I see that the pontoons are taken on the days I would like thats it, I don’t go on the wait list because I can’t plan my or my friends day around a wait list. I’m sorry if you think I’m harping on this to much but I can get a pontoon maybe one out of five times that I’ve tried using different dates.
TY
TY
sounds hard to get a boat
It’s not. If you think about it, all those reserved boats were taken by someone, right? How did they do it? Ok, so there are times when even the best planners can’t see the future and know they’re going to want a boat on any given day. However, there are a couple other ways to go about increasing your odds massively. That’s what I lay out in this blog. Don’t forget that Spring Break (which is now extending for at least a MONTH) has a lot to do with the volume of folks getting out on the water.
We need more boats available?
Mr. Norris,
Thank you for the feedback regarding current availability. This has indeed become a challenging year. Besides the fact that not all of our new vessels have arrived yet due to factory slowdowns/shutdowns, our membership base is very eager to get back out there on the water after so much time under restriction. Further, the lack of a set school schedule leads to an unusually high daily usage rate by families. Try my “pro tips” in this blog. They work for me when I need to get boats for our New Member Orientations.
Its almost impossible to get the boat you want and the day you want unless you book it 2 to 3 week in advance. When it was under the Chain of Lakes management Venetian Cove had 16 pontoons available for us there now there are 3. Little Lake Harris has only 3. Most of use are retired and want to take friends and family out for a nice relaxing day with a bimini top for shade. You can’t do that on a Skiff. Speaking for myself I would like to see at least 12 pontoons in Venetian Cove and 6 at Little Lake Harris. If that were done you could make your plans with family or friends without telling them that maybe in 3 weeks I can get the boat I’d like if you can change your life around to fit mine. As you can tell i’m not happy with the way things are turning out with our boat choices and selection. Please get us more 4 stroke 90hp pontoons. The 90’s are fast enough and won’t cost an arm or leg to run.
Mr. Newman,
Thank you for the feedback regarding our boat distribution. Balancing fleet numbers and types of boat per location is something we are constantly working on. We will take your suggestion under advisement as we assess the variety of boats at our Lake Harris locations.
I appreciate your willingness to look into our problems on Lake Harris and I hope that in the near future you will see that the need is justified. I know that I have not even tried to reserve a pontoon because they were all taken on the dates I wanted. I and I feel others are not willing to sit around waiting for someone to cancel their reservation hoping that we can get a pontoon to take out on the day we want.
I am surprised to hear about the shortage of pontoons. I joined because of fishing and some use of a pontoon for family. I have always used fishing boats when available. I am upset about the trolling motor situation. Many times in the past I have not been able to get the boat I want, and when I go to get my boat, the boat I wanted is there and they tell me that they cancelled this morning. I think there should be a record of cancellations by member and when they cancel more than once in a period of time, there is a penalty. I think people are making multiple reservations for fishing boats several days in advance to have a boat available, just in case, and then cancelling at the last minute, for whatever reason.
I like that idea, Mr. Berg! I will bring it to the table at our upcoming meeting for discussion and likely implementation. At the moment, we only enforce a penalty fee if there is no contact and the member does not show up for their reservation. As for new boats, although the order for projected need is placed very fall for the future year, the manufacturing slowdown has reduced our new arrivals to a trickle. We can’t work with that situation so we have gone outside our normal distributors for boats that might be on hand. There will be over 60 vessels coming in between now and June 1. Regarding the trolling motors, there are now six trolling motors at our Chain of Lakes locations for your convenience.
How many of those 60 boats are pontoons and how many of them are coming to the Chain of Lakes.
Mr. Newman, currently 63% (20) of the vessels at the Chain of Lakes are fishing vessels, 25% (8) are pontoons, 9% (3) are deck boats, and then there’s the sailboat. We will base the number of pontoons delivered according to demand versus fishing vessels which looks to be around three at this point. That takes the ratio to 53% fish and 34% pontoon.
Capt. Dean
I’m a fisherman also but I think the ratio of 53% fishing to 34% pontoon should be reversed. I’m sure you have the numbers to show how many members are asking for pontoon versus fishing boats. Please look at the reservation list on big and little lake harris and see how often the pontoons are on the wait list. For me if I see that the pontoons are taken on the days I would like thats it, I don’t go on the wait list because I can’t plan my or my friends day around a wait list. I’m sorry if you think I’m harping on this to much but I can get a pontoon maybe one out of five times that I’ve tried using different dates.