The Boat Club Story

OUR HISTORY Excel Boat Club opened our doors twelve years ago to an alternative way of boating on Lake Minnetonka. In fact, we pioneered the idea. We wanted to offer a variety of quality boats and an easy boating experience for our customers: no gassing, no docking, no maintenance. Tom Jacob owns the boat club and launched this boat club concept more than twenty-years ago in Montana. Some would say – in true Minnesota speak, “So, the concept was ahead of its time, then.” Tom is both passionate and enthusiastic about his business model. He makes every customer experience a personal meet and greet. And, he makes sure that each and every customer expectations is exceeded. That passion and enthusiasm -- to provide hassle-free boating FUN -- is shared by the EBC Staff.

OUR LOCATION The Excel Boat Club is on Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior,MN. Membership will give you a fun-filled day of boating be it a leisure picnic cruise or a day filled with water sports.

OUR STAFF Our professional and courteous staff members, move all of your gear to and from your vehicle and the boat – both loading up and unloading. It’s our job to move everything you bring – including coolers. Free use of ski's tubes and wake boards is included and is fun for people of all ages! We valet you in and out of the marina; provide catering through great local restaurants; (some offering discounts to Excel members), make dinner reservations for you at lakeside eateries. We clean and fuel the boats every time they go out. And, we take care of all the repairs, storage, and winterizing. To sum it up, we pamper you!

OUR GROWTH Our first year, 30 customers joined our club. As our reputation grew, so did we. Our customer’s friends and families who join them had no idea this boating opportunity existed. By 2010 we capped the Boat Club at 180 members. In 2012 we will cap the membership at 200.

OUR TYPICAL CUSTOMER While other businesses have tried to copy our model, by offering “unlimited use” boating can cost 25% to 55% percent more than our most popular Minnow Package. Unlimited uses doesn’t add much value because our customers weren’t able to use the boat THAT much. When we first launched, eleven years ago, we offered unlimited use, but we quickly learned that most of our members didn't boat more than ten times a summer and asked for smaller boating packages. We listened, catered to their needs and retained them as customers. Word spread, their friends joined and our business grew. Our typical customer is a family with two to three children fourteen years of age or younger. This typical customer is an active family with busy lifestyles and limited time to use a boat. That is why people look to Excel Boat Club instead of buying their own boat.

OUR SERVICE MODEL Even though we could take more members, we choose not to. We prefer to have a personal relationship with each customer. We know every family member by name. That relationship and our service is what our clientele is looking for. Through the years many of those customers have become long-time friends. Past members who have bought boats, (many purchased our boats), or cabins or are just too busy to boat, stay in contact with us. Others have left and returned again when it became more practical for them to use our services.

Excel Boat Club is the pioneer of the Boat Club concept. Customer Loyalty, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Relations, Customer Service and fantastic boats. This is what Excel Boat Club is all about and we hope it is for you!