The best time to reserve a boat for next summer is the autumn before. Our fleet is planned around the coming season, and the boats that go into the water in spring are generally spoken for before spring arrives. Waiting until the first warm week means choosing from what is left rather than from what you wanted.
Why autumn is the natural moment
A lake house in October is quiet. The leaves are turning, the water is cold, and the boat has either gone home with us or is about to. It is also the moment when the next summer is easiest to picture, because the season you have just finished is still fresh.
That matters more than it sounds. When you call in October, you know how many people actually came to the house, how many of them wanted to be on the water, and whether the boat you had was the right size. By February that knowledge has faded into a vague sense that it was fun.
There is a practical side too. A seasonal lease is a planning decision for the provider as well as the customer. Boats are allocated to docks, delivery routes are set, and the fleet is prepared around the reservations already in hand. An early reservation is not a deposit on a maybe. It is how the season gets built.
How the fleet fills
We lease a finite number of boats across four lakes, and each one is reserved for a single household for the whole season. That is the product: one boat, one dock, one family's schedule. It is not a pool that can absorb a rush in June.
So availability is not a marketing device. It is arithmetic. Every reservation removes a boat from the list, and the list does not refill. The largest crews are also the least flexible, since a group that needs twelve seats has little room to accept something smaller.
We are not going to invent a deadline for you. There is no cut-off date after which we stop taking reservations, and no penalty for calling in January. What we can say honestly is that the later you leave it, the more likely it is that the boat you want is already at someone else's dock, or that the lake you want has no availability for the season. That is pressure, not a deadline, and it is worth planning around.
Choosing the boat
Three shapes cover almost every lake-house summer, and the choice is usually dictated by the crew rather than by taste.
- Pontoon, up to 12. The entertaining boat. Deep seating, easy boarding, room for grandparents and coolers and children at the same time. If your house regularly has more than eight people on the water, start here.
- Ski and wakeboat, up to 8. Built for towing and for the teenagers who will spend the whole afternoon behind it. Less lounge space, more purpose.
- Deck and bowrider, up to 10. The generalist. Enough seating for a family and guests, enough hull for a choppy afternoon, and manageable for a first-time boater.
Think about the peak weekend, not the average one. The boat has to work on the day when everyone arrives at once, because that is the day the lease is really for.
Choosing the lake
We deliver to private docks on Lake Waramaug, Candlewood Lake, Highland Lake and Woodridge Lake, also known as Lake of Goshen. Each has a different character, and the right one is normally the one your house is on.
If you are choosing a house as well as a boat, the decision is worth more thought than the boat choice. Candlewood is the largest and the busiest, with room for long runs and a social summer. Waramaug is smaller and quieter, and feels like a postcard from another decade. Highland and Woodridge suit families who want a shorter shoreline, calmer water and a house that is five minutes from the dock.
Our guide to the Connecticut lakes we serve covers each one in more detail, including the towns around them. What we will not do is claim a lake we do not deliver to. If your house is somewhere else, call and ask, but expect us to say so plainly rather than promise something we cannot staff.
What to have ready when you call
You do not need to have decided everything before you call. A short conversation is usually enough to work out the rest. Having these details to hand makes it faster.
- Your dock address. The town and the lake, plus anything unusual about access, depth or the approach.
- Your rough season. When the house opens and when it closes. We will confirm your dock and dates when you call rather than assume them.
- Your crew. The largest number of people likely to be aboard on a normal weekend, and whether anyone will be towing.
- Your boating experience. It changes which boat we suggest, and it is not a test.
That is the whole list. There is no form to complete in advance and no deposit to prepare before you have spoken to a person.
What happens next
We talk through the boat, the lake and the season, and confirm what we can deliver. If the boat you want is available, we reserve it for your household. If it is not, we will tell you what is open rather than talk you into something that does not fit.
Then the season runs from there: delivery to your dock at the start, the boat at your disposal, routine maintenance handled, and pickup at the end. One price covers it, from $10,000 per season, and fuel is the only ongoing cost you keep. The seasonal lease calculator will give you a feel for the number before you pick up the phone.
If you are still weighing leasing against a boat club, or against buying, the seasonal leasing page sets out exactly what is included. If you already know the lake and the crew, call us on (860) 295-4640 and we will start with your dock.
