Boat Rentals

[Henz]

Can you pelase post some of your experiences with the different boat rental companies that you have rented from in the past particularliy describing which boats were the best and what you liked about them. No need to be negative though.

I rented the 20' Hydra in October of 03 on my Honeymoon from SeaHorse. SeaHorse offered excellent service and the boat was exacally what I expected and more. For jsut the wife and I Ithought it was perfect.
We are planning another trip with another couple in the near future but remembering the 20'Hydra layout etc particularily seating etc I am thinking about getting a slightly bigger boat. We will be staying at the N End of Elbow again and really liked the location of SeaHorse in comparison.
However, I am investigating the 23.5' KeyLargo from waterways in MOW but am alittle concerned about the travel time to get there and back from the N End of Elbow. I know its only about a 15minute travel but....
Another thing to consider is the area of service that each rental outfit will allow. This trip I would like to be able to go from Green Turtle to Little harbour. Any suggestions, thoughts etc would be greatly appreciated.

[DrRalph]

We regularly rent an Albury 20 or 23 from Island Marine on Parrott Cay near Hope Town. They are great people, those are great boats, and they are very convenient in terms of your location. We highly recommend them.

[Steamboat]

Various members of our family have rented from Water Way Rentals (specifically the 23 Key Largo) for the last three trips (fourth is scheduled for April but I think its the 23 Albury) and Jay and Samantha are the best people to rent from. The boats are well kept and seat plenty of people. The ride to/from MOW is short and didn't bother us at all for pick up/delivery of the boats (we rented three boats from Water Ways for one trip). For a typical rental with the 23 Key Largo, a group of 8 - 10 adults used about 100 gallons of fuel and 2 gallons of oil during a weeks rental and we went every where we wanted from North Guana to Little Harbour. The boat rides well and seems to be able to handle any of the seas we encountered. You may want to look at the 23 Albury that Water Way has just for a change of pace. If you have previous boating experience, talk to Jay about where you want to go and he may allow you to go further than the stated cruising area (when we inquired about going to Green Turtle, he just asked that we check in when we went by MOW and then on the return, check in so he knew we made it both weays without incident).

[ebseckar]

We have rented from both Sea Horse and Island Marine when staying on the North end of Elbow. 20' was as large as we went and I agree that you would probably want larger for 4 people. Both companies were very good, but we found Island Marine to be more convenient because of their location. If you fly into MH, they come and pick you up and then take you back for your return. In case you have a problem with, or question about, your boat, they are very close to where you are staying (5 minute ride). Only problem is, they did not give us permission to go to GTC. Guana was as far North and Little Harbour was as far South as they wanted us to go. When we rented, both Sea Horse and Island Marine offered optional insurance coverage.

[Abacoparrott]

still rent the Mercpangas over on MOW?

[Henz]

I would hope that any rental place would allow me free reign without going out any of the cuts that is. This will be my third trip back and I was practically born on a boat. Although most of my experience is fresh water. Keeping close track of the tides is really the only thing that I pay particular attention to

[GROUPERPAL]

They no longer rent the Mercpangas on MOW. They had too many engine problems. A shame because they looked like a great boat for diving...

[Jerry S]

They no longer rent the Mercpangas on MOW. They had too many engine problems. A shame because they looked like a great boat for diving...
were great boats, very fuel efficient, spacious and a very comfortablel ride..Tommy and Chris at MOW Marina are very stand up guys as well :)

[South Pause]

Just did a little quick math. When we go over in April, we will have my husband's folks with us. If we take the ferry over to Guana and return a week later,it will cost us $160.00 for the round trip total. (I know, the vouchers make it cheaper, but we would not have time to go get them cashed out.).

That sure does help justify getting a boat, for the entire stay, which we plan to do! We can then leave MH as soon as we jump in the rental boat, and return the next week when we want. Not only will we have the flexibility of a boat all week, but we have gained an entire day of vacation, not having to be at the mercy of the ferry schedule!

It's like getting 1 1/2 days of boat rental "free", and an extra day of vacation "free". :rolleyes:

[Henz]

huh, when you put it like that, it is basically getting one extra day of the boat for free. Yeah, we arent doing the ferry thing again this time..the only problem is that your at the mercy ofthe weather but your gonna get wet on the ferry too! I like the flexability of being picked up in the rental boat or jsut renting right from Marsh..

[South Pause]

For those who are comfortable getting their rental right in Marsh, assuming they are flying in there, and have no problem navigating to their ultimate destination, it is really the way to go.

We bring big garbage bags, tucked into the sides of our luggage, in case it rains. We can put the luggage in the garbage bags, or stow it in the boat if there's room, and we also bring rain jackets just in case. We have had to cross a few times in rain, and if you are a little prepared, it's doable.

I especially like the idea of getting more vacation time. If you have to come back to Marsh at the end of your vacation hours before your flight, rather than being able to milk those last few hours wherever you're vacationing, it's just a waste of time. With a boat, you can go back much closer to your flight time.

[Henz]

yeah thats basically what I have been thinking as well. The lat two times we have dont hte ferry thing..This time I wanted to go it alone..Like you said, you jsut have to pick the boat you want and basically every rental place will pick you up.

[Jerry S]

We have done it both ways several times and got our A** kicked in the rental boat both ways :( It is a cr**shoot at best..

[a j chase]

Do I understand that you are saying that Island Marine will come over and pick you up somewhere in Marsh and at the end of the week they will deliver you back to Marsh? We always use Island Marine, but aways get the rental from our cottage, and us the ferry both ways. Having them pick us up and deliver us to Marsh Harbor sounds much better. Do I have the thing correct? Tipper

[ebseckar]

Do I understand that you are saying that Island Marine will come over and pick you up somewhere in Marsh and at the end of the week they will deliver you back to Marsh? We always use Island Marine, but aways get the rental from our cottage, and us the ferry both ways. Having them pick us up and deliver us to Marsh Harbor sounds much better. Do I have the thing correct? Tipper

Yes. You are correct. When we have used Island Marine, we called them from the MH airport (or had the taxi driver call them) and they told us where we should meet them. They picked us up and brought us back to their offices to complete the paperwork. At the end of our trip, we brought the boat back to their dock. We did some more paperwork and then they took us back to MH. In the event of bad weather, you can always take the ferry and have Island Marine deliver the boat later.

[Henz]

yeah, we usually did the ferry crossing too but that schedule is sometimes hard to make. Plus, as SouthPause stated, it becomes expensive to take that ferry

[South Pause]

We have rented boats for years from Marsh and crossed to Guana.
I would say at least 2 dozen or more, and only had 2 bad ones out of all of those. Obviously, your odds go up a little for a choppy cross if it's winter time, but this is definitely our preferred way to go.

[Henz]

when do you usually go South pause and what boat do you regularly get

[South Pause]

Henz, We have gone in Feb., April, May, July, September, November, and probably other months as well. For some of our shorter trips, sometimes we do take the ferry and then rent from Troy for a few days on Guana.

We usually rent a 21', sometimes a 24' if we have additional people.
I think the boat is often a Dusky, but we have rented others as well.
Would have to check with my husband on the specifics.

[Henz]

has anyone out there rented the 23' Albury from SeaHorse..Please PM me