The club last year decided it wanted to build among trees on the west shore of Roys Bay, near Tapley Paddock.
But in January it agreed to work with the Queenstown Lakes District Council to gauge the community's response to a more open site on the waterfront.
Club member and architectural designer Nick Blennerhassett on Saturday afternoon put up the poles for a 7m-high, 22m-long, 16m-wide building.
As yet there are no architectural plans for the building.
If the MacDougall St site was chosen, the club would consider holding a design competition to encourage community feedback about what the clubhouse could look like, club captain Amanda Inkster said yesterday.
The building has to be 22m long to accommodate boats, called shells, for crews of eight.
The QLDC's property services agent, APL, will manage the process of consulting the public about a lease for the site.
APL director Jo Conroy said the Wanaka Community Board would probably instruct her to advertise after a community services meeting on Thursday.
The public would be given a month to respond and if submissions were received a hearing would be scheduled.
It is the first time in years the council has tested public opinion about waterfront buildings.
Former Queenstown Lakes mayor Clive Geddes suggested at his last board meeting last year the community should expect water-based sports clubs to use lakeside reserves and clubs should not shy away from applying to use them.
The only buildings on the Roys Bay lakefront are on the eastern side: the log cabin, which houses Wanaka's i-Site and a commercial jet-boating company, the Wanaka Yacht Club and the scout den at Eely Point.
Rowing club treasurer Derrick Wales yesterday did not know if the public would support the new site but said it was important to "test the water".
The advantages of the MacDougall St location included cheaper construction costs, better access, higher visibility and potential to attract other sports clubs to share with, Mr Wales said.
The club, which stores its shells in the showground woolshed, spent months researching sites before deciding last year on Tapley Paddock.
