Chicago WaterCraft

Be wary — rude and unprofessional! We booked a pontoon boat for air and water show weeks in advance. They call us less than 24 hours in advance to tell us our boat has been trashed and our only option is to upgrade for twice as much without any apology or offer to split the difference.

For some reason my review hasn’t posted here. The owner called me to tell me if I didn’t take another review down he would sue me. Apparently being factual instead of pro them, is illegal in his eyes.

Extremely disappointed. Endangered 12 passengers aboard, including 5 passengers on another boat. Our boat ride ended with a call to the Chicago Police Department. Appalling lack of professionalism AND safety.
To make a very long story short, Vernon began our charter late and then asked for $ 40 cash since we wouldn’t have time to visit a dock with gas. I later found out that Burnham Harbor, where we intended to go, in fact has a gas dock that we was open and operational. Things only get worse from here!
Our float plan included visiting Burnham Harbor to listen to the Jimmy Buffet concert. Upon leaving the locks from the river, the waves in Lake MI were crashing over the sides of the pontoon and soaking everyone and everything on board. I asked Vernon to go directly to Burnham Harbor to rent a slip. He at first refused, then said all slips were taken, although a friend aboard called and confirmed that there were in fact slips available. Without warning, Vernon changed his course to go farther out into Lake MI to rescue another boat in his fleet that would not start. He then attempted to side-​tow this boat, although the waves had worsened and the boats were smashing together, violently. He tried to enlist my friends and passengers to help him but we refused, pointing out the hazards of falling overboard or crushing a body or part between the two boats. After all passengers on both boats raised voices against Vernon’s judgment, an off-​duty police officer on Vernon’s other boat called the Chicago Police Department. Only then did Vernon take us to Burnham Harbor, but only to the southernmost point of the harbor. Taking all of our belongings that we could carry, he sped back off to his disabled boat with our food and drinks. We could not listen to the concert from this point, we were locked in by barricades, and eventually had to hitch a ferry ride to the other side to get a cab home. Upon asking for a refund, he refused, and even had his attorney e-​mail me. Later, his attorney backed out of representing him and my bank refunded my payment when I furnished proof of Vernon’s ticket citing him for recklessness.
In conclusion, Vernon and Chicago WaterCraft:
1) did not follow the agreed upon float plan;
2) did not follow my directions as my paid captain;
3) followed his own agenda, attempting to tow another boat in his fleet against the wishes of all passengers;
4) endangered all passengers with his recklessness, and was ticketed by CPD, for which I obtained proof through the Freedom of Information Act.

To celebrate a friends 30^th birthday, we chartered a pontoon with Captain Patrick and it was not a good experience — and it’s hard to mess up getting a group of girlfriends together to hang out on a boat in the playpen. Not only was our Captain condescending when we asked for clarification as to our schedule, he took charge of elements of the trip without the input of the host, which made for a series of uncomfortable conversations.
After charging the group for 5 hours on the boat, he had us leave the playpen two hours early so we could chug all the way to Burnham Harbor to get gas — which we didn’t need in the first place — just because he didn’t «include» gas in the price — all for a mere $ 50 worth (on top of $ 900 for the boat — with the mandatory 20% tip paid in advance). After spending over an hour trekking to get gas — and we almost certainly spent half of the gas money on getting to the station in the first place, we just decided to hop off the boat to avoid the headache.
Another display of blatant lack of professionalism came from his demeanor. I highly doubt he would have felt the need to physically touch the hips and waists of the passengers if it was a group of young men. We left disappointed and sufficiently creeped out — all seven of us. If you’re going to charter a boat, stay far away.