If it sounds weird that there would be a yacht club along a canal that is generally thought to be corrosively toxic, you're on the right track: there's nothing but irony in the name of the place and the place itself. What real yacht club would serve PBR cans and serve food on paper plates, after all? The Gowanus Yacht Club, safely away from the actual Canal on Smith Street, offers umbrella-covered outdoor seating that brings locals out in droves during the warmer weather.