Boston Harbor Boat Rentals

Do not rent a boat here! We rented a boat for a few hours and it broke down with an hour left of our afternoon, while we were in the middle of the channel, and we had to wait for someone from the company to tow us back to shore. That was not the worst of it! The next day we had a ridiculous charge on our credit card and a message from Don claiming that we broke his boat by running over rocks, which was absolutely absurd, as we had not been anywhere near rocks and certainly would have felt it if we had. It gets worse. Later that week Don reviewed the GPS and admitted that our story checked out and that we had not been near any rocks but that the people who rented the boat the day prior HAD been near rocks and had beached the boat at one point. Don assured us he would remove the charge from our card, but one week later the charge was still there and we had a message from Don telling us that he had decided it was our fault after all and we owed him the money. Stay away from this business if you do not want to get ripped off!

We rented 2x and both were nothing short of a disaster. The boats Don rents are crap. Boats don’t work and owner is one uptight, temperamental and nasty dude. If you want a boat that backfires and smokes and can’t be put in low speed or his other boat which could only go 8 knots, then be berated and not get your full money back, then this is just the place for you. You would be better off avoiding Boston Harbor Rentals. Deserves no stars. Run away, don’t walk!

Do not rent from this company. Extremely unprofessional. Got a Groupon when I tried to make the reservation the guy on the phone stated I needed to have experience when I said I have driven a boat before he said it was not enough and I needed to pay $ 100 for an hr long class to rent a boat for 2 hrs! It did not say anything about this on the website. Also said I could hire someone for $ 50 an hr. When I asked for a refund he said he didn’t know anything about that and hung up on me. He is now texting my personal phone harassing me. So unless you are some kind of navy captain prepare yourself to pay for lessons or hire someone to intrude on your family trip!

Don was so cool. Our afternoon trip was spectacular!!! We took a group of 10… we supplied the people and Don supplied everything else.

Incredible experience! Packed up some friends and split the costs made this trip super cheap and unforgettable. There so much to see EAST of Boston.
Boston Harbor Island Boat rentals made it all possible! Highly recommend these guys!

WOW! So UNprofessional. Booked the 25′ WELLCRAFT 250 SPORTSMAN CUDDY CABIN more than a month in advance. We confirmed the meet up spot that morning with Donald Symington over the phone and he tried to ask us if we could push back out appointment 2 hours before our appointment. We declined as we had people coming from out of state for this event. When 6 of us met at at the confirmed meet up spot at barking crab no one from the company was able to be found. WE had to reach out to this company and call them to ask them where they were and Donald Symington told us it was going to have to be pushed back an hour later and we would have to have a smaller boat.
So we inconveniently go and have a bite to eat at the barking crab to wait the hour, and then connect with him over the phone after an hour later and he states that both boats are being fixed and we have to cancel.
Poor business and a wasted trip!!! We had friends come from out of state for this event. I would not rely on this company at all! Save the time and trip and use a different more reliable company.

Similar to the other reviewers, I found the owner, Don, to be incredibly abrasive, erratic, rude, immature, and unprofessional. He also had some ridiculous requests for money after the boat was returned. He did deliver the boat as promised, but not without massive headaches.

DO NOT –REPEAT– DO NOT give this man (don) any of your money i honestly dont feel like even getting into my entire conversation with this man let me just say that in my 45 years on earth ive never had a ruder more horrendous conversation with anyone in my entire life-​this is after i called once a week for 3 weeks each time he said he would call me back and never did-​im a very patient person and i think i gave him more then ample time to get back to me-​ive had worst enemies treat me much better than he treated me on the phone-​if i can get just one person to not pay him for his services and save you from our blood pressure going up ive done m job-​i sincerely hope this guy gets what he deserves and goes out of business

My friends and I had the most wonderful time yesterday evening thanks to Don. The service was amazing and the ride was so enjoyable. There were 11 of us which is not an easy number to round up but Don was super patient in making sure we were all taken care of. The ride was very smooth and this is coming from someone who gets woozy on a swing set. I look forward to another adventure just like this. What a wonderful way to spend an evening.

My daughter bought me a HomeRun coupon for a full day of boating for Mother’s Day. Don has provided EXCELLENT customer service! I had worked with him to schedule our day of boating on several occasions but every time, we have had to cancel.
In spite of the cancellations and numerous phone calls, Don has always been totally accommodating and a pleasure to do business with.
I would recommend him and his business highly!

This place is truly a scam! DO NOT book here! I stupidly bought a LivingSocial deal here … I arrive with 3 other people and there wasn’t a person in sight to greet us. Then someone finally arrives and says that they overbooked that day and had to give us a boat that wasn’t in the best of shape. I was told that gas and taxes would be about $ 40.00 and I thought that was weird since we didn’t get a receipt but handed him my credit card since we were late already. One of the workers hopped onto the boat with us so that we could drop him off at a different boat where he was meeting others. Fine. When returning the boat we were told everything was fine. As we were walking up the ramp, they stopped us to tell us the propeller was broken and that it would cost $ 100.00 to replace it … I’m sorry WHAT? YOU’RE EMPLOYEE told US that the boat was compromised and now you want us to pay for something we didn’t cause?! I fought over and over about the charge and they’ve been telling my credit card company that they never said the propeller was broken even though I have THREE other PEOPLE who were there and heard it all! Tell me Harbor Boat Rental, why in the hell am I being charged when I’ve already paid for gas and taxes then?

Had an amazing time today! We booked the 17′ for 4 hours plus a 2hr lesson from Steve. He taught us the basics of boating, docking and navigation. When we were ready he let us go on our own. We had tons of fun exploring the islands in the harbor. I definitely plan to rent from them again when I return to Boston.

Bought the Living Social for 5-​person boat. Here are the highlights:
Pros:
Access to a boat and freedom to navigate the harbor on your own (good for those with some boating experience)
Inexpensive and casually run by Don
Flexibility — Don is happy to accommodate schedules and changes if notified in advance.
New engine (2014) on the boat so it was easy to start.
Garmin GPS was able to make up for rickety boat gauges and was useful for speed/​depth/​navigation.
Don met with us to review the navigation, life jackets, practice maneuvering the boat, etc. before we left.
Cons:
Don is difficult to get a hold of… keep calling, call him back and call to confirm. I wouldn’t trust text/​email.
Older boat so gauges were not that accurate.
Because Don may be difficult to get a hold of you may find communicating with him a struggle/​annoying.
Overall: We had a great time! Don said that we could reschedule if the weather looked bad but he needed to know 3 hours before our launch time because he did not want to put the boat in and bring it over just to have us change our mind. Very reasonable prices and requests. He was flexible in letting us stay out 20 minutes longer when we called to request this from the boat. Just make sure to communicate with Don to reserve, confirm and remind — he is difficult to get in touch with but well worth it when you do!

Here are the facts of our day on one of their rental boats.
1. Boats are seaworthy but tired. Gauges did not work and the boats are not especially clean.
2. Service by the staff is excellent.
3. Beware the company owner who is prone to shouting at you from his boat. Apparently this behavior is not new. I have owned boats for 20 years. I am well aware of weight distribution. Yesterday I am barely underway since I was in the no wake zone when a guy in a passing boat (she looked to be around 34 ft; the boat not the guy) starts shouting at me. Apparently he had decided that the weight was not properly distributed which was complete nonsense. The engine was running smoothly (you need to operate by hearing since the gauges did not work) and the vessel was safely underway with no danger to passengers or the vessel. I will steer clear of the abrasive individual that owns this firm. I will not be returning. You will have to make your own choice based upon the facts.

Don is really honest man, he will put extra efforts to satisfy your needs and to solve any problems. They have many kinds of boats and will try to give you full instructions for your safety.
Just you need to be on time to avoid any conflicts may happen. All the best for them

The boat is yours to do what you want. Just like having your own boat, but it is waiting for you at a dock. Very accommodating staff that will do what you ask.

This was a blast. The rental was pain free. The boat was ready for us when we showed up. If you’re a pleasure boat owner you are probably going to think that the boat is a bit dinged up and you would be right; however, the engine was great, the depth sounder worked fine, and it is a rental in a crowded urban harbor. It was perfect for us. If you want highly varnished bright work, you are probably better off buying your own boat and being the only driver; if you want a fun time seeing Boston from the ocean, the rental works out just great.
We had the 20′ center console which was comfortable for six adults and we took a four hour evening rental. This was long enough for us to head out to spectacle island, tie up at the dock ($ 20) eat our picnic on shore, then head back to the city via a couple of other islands along the small craft channel entrance to Boston Harbor. An easy hour just putting around the harbor rounded off the day.
Just be warned, in any kind of swell — and you are in a busy tidal waterway/​ocean — this boat is not a particularly dry environment. Just be prepared, with dry clothes, waterproof jacket/​pants, and everything you want to keep dry stowed in the front locker and you will be fine.
Also, don’t forget to budget for gas — in money and time; you will have to fill up before you return — allow 30 minutes for this (trying to rush in a no-​wake zone is not going to be a relaxing end to your day.)
All in all, six adults for four hours, rental, mooring, gas and taxes came to around $ 14 per person per hour. A great way to spend the evening in Boston. Thanks guys.
(Do not forget DRY CLOTHES!)

This, my friends is what’s up.
You like boats? Of course you do.
Sure all those harbor cruises are nice, but once you’ve done a few, you get the point.
This however takes the same idea, and kicks it up a notch by putting you in control.
Make some sandwiches, pack up a cooler, grab some friends, some sun screen and head out to explore the Boston Harbor and its Islands.
In well under 4 hours we were able to zip up around the tobin and Zakim bridges, head over past castle island and pleasure bay to spectacle island, then turned south and headed to marina bay, and then doubled back to deer island.
It was a great time. 3 of us took turns navigating the boat, charting the course, and keeping lookout for rouge ways, boats and the like. All in all it was a great time, and a reasonably inexpensive way to spend a day.
Do it!

Captain Don is the rudest, most unprofessional businessman I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with. The day before my reservation, I called to see if it could be rescheduled since the weather called for thunderstorms during the time of our ride. I was shocked when Captain Don immediately snapped, told me no I could not reschedule, then continued on a rant about how he was «in the middle of something really important,» and told me I had no idea what kind of stuff he was dealing with. He then told me he hadn’t had a chance to look at the weather and told me, not asked, told me to call him back when he had time for me. Flabbergasted (literally the only appropriate terminology for how I felt) I agreed to call him at a later time. I figured everyone gets busy, overwhelmed and stressed; I caught him at a bad time. I waited a little more than an hour to call him again and resolve this. I decided to go into the second call like the first conversation never happened. I call again, Captain Don answered and I said, «Hello, I would like to reschedule my reservation for tomorrow evening due to the impending inclement weather,» his response, «You know, I really feel like you’re pressuring me and I don’t appreciate it.» (I honestly wished I could have recorded this). I asked him to handle his business with some degree of professionalism. He then tried to interrupt me, so I spoke louder, when he started TAUNTING me «Who’s yelling now?! Who’s raising their voice now?!» I told him that his behavior and attitude were beyond inappropriate and unacceptable for a businessman and I hoped he did not treat all his customers the way he had been dealing with me. He mockingly apologized for not speaking to me the way I felt I deserved to be spoken to and continued to tell me that I was been aggressive towards him and he had a lot he was dealing with that I was not at the top of his priority list. He then hung up on me.
Disgusting and appalled, I was able to contact Trubates and get a refund of my purchase. This man was beyond rude and unprofessional, he seems to just be unstable. Spend 2 hours on a boat with him? No thanks. Good luck to anyone that dares.