Boat Clubs in Annapolis, MD

The boat clubs we list in Annapolis are Carefree Boat Club and Freedom Boat Club. Membership gets you access to a shared fleet without owning, maintaining or storing a boat yourself.

May through September is the best all-around time to boat Annapolis waters, including the Severn River and nearby Chesapeake Bay. Jonas and Anne Catharine Green Park identifies April 1 through September 30 as its busy season, with the slow season beginning October 1.

NOAA records near Annapolis put the warmest daily average water temperature around early August at about 80°F, while early-April water averages in the upper 40s. Choose the day by the marine forecast, not just the calendar: the National Weather Service warns that winds and waves can change substantially along the Bay’s complex shoreline, and thunderstorms can produce sudden hazardous gusts.

Source: Anne Arundel County Government (aacounty.org)

From Annapolis, you can cruise Spa Creek, Back Creek and the Severn River, then continue onto Chesapeake Bay. Spa Creek is the downtown harbor route, with the Truxtun Park launch and a 6 mph harbor speed limit. Back Creek is used by pleasure craft and has a narrow, marked entrance with berthing facilities along the creek. Both creeks branch from the Severn, where the city identifies designated anchorages off Horn Point for a pause before heading farther out. Chesapeake Bay is the open-water choice beyond the Severn’s mouth.

Source: City of Annapolis (annapolis.gov)

From Annapolis, boaters can make day trips around the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, Sandy Point State Park, Kent Narrows and St. Michaels. Thomas Point offers an on-water view of a National Historic Landmark; Sandy Point has a sandy bay beach and first-come day docking; Kent Narrows draws pleasure boaters with marinas, dock bars and crab houses; and St. Michaels is a Miles River waterfront town with museums, boutiques, restaurants and crab houses.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland does not issue a recreational boating license, but people born on or after July 1, 1972 generally must carry a boating safety education certificate when operating a numbered or documented pleasure vessel. This includes personal watercraft, whose operators must be at least 16. Anyone under 16 operating a motorized vessel 11 feet or longer without a certificate must instead be supervised by someone 18 or older who holds a valid certificate, or who was born before the cutoff. Exemptions include commercial operators, qualifying visitors, private waters, and those born before the cutoff. Renters of motorized vessels other than personal watercraft may be issued a 10 day temporary certificate after reading a safety sheet. Maryland Natural Resources Police administers the program.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland Natural Resources Police (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland boaters should know the state’s life jacket, alcohol, registration and personal watercraft rules, enforced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Police. Children under 13 must wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket while underway on a recreational vessel under 21 feet; children under 4 need added infant safety features. Operating while impaired is illegal, and an alcohol concentration of 0.08% is considered boating under the influence. Mechanically propelled vessels used most in Maryland during the calendar year must be registered. PWC operators must be at least 16, wear an approved life jacket and may not operate between sunset and sunrise.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland sets no general minimum age for operating a motorized vessel other than a personal watercraft, but an operator under 16 is never unsupervised. Under Natural Resources §8-712.2, someone under 16 must both hold a boating safety certificate and have an eligible supervisor aboard. For vessels under 11 feet, the supervisor must hold a certificate; for vessels 11 feet or longer, the supervisor must hold one and be at least 18. Someone born before July 1, 1972, may also supervise.

Personal watercraft operators must be at least 16 and carry a certificate if born on or after July 1, 1972. The rental operator sets its own minimum, so confirm it when booking.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (mgaleg.maryland.gov)

Alongside the boat clubs on this page, Annapolis has 14 boat rentals, 31 marinas and 40 boat dealers.