I’m putting together a labor day camping trip (near Traverse City, MI) and I’d like to introduce 4-5 of my friends to kayaking. It turns out the local liveries/rental shops want $60/day for a kayak. We’re talking ‘rec boat’ rental here, nothing fancy.
Is this as big of a rip off as it seems, or do I just have sticker shock from not renting the past few years? What do you guys do when you take people paddling?
Loaner/Rent From Rei
I loan my friends my two other boats or send thenm to REI or Southwest Paddlesports in Houston. $60.00 bucks is way too much. Send us the name of that guy and we’ll “blackball” him from any future kayaking profiteering!
Get your friends on the water and they’ll be paddling with you in their own boats real soon.
Not a ripoff…
– Last Updated: Aug-24-05 10:15 PM EST –
That's about what it runs around here for a full day.
And it's a shorter season up there..
But it sounds like you can save money if you pick them up in Houston???
Makes the case for collecting several boats of your own.. ;-)
hey Brian
I think a buddy of mine rented from that same place last year! He was pretty shocked, I told him to just borrow mine from now on. I would make the same offer to you but I am down in the St. Joe area.
Just paid $45 per day near Ocean City MD
I rented sit on top, surf and rec kayaks all for $45 per 24 hour day or $125 per week at Coastal Kayak in Fenwick Island. Great people and apparently, great prices.
http://www.c-kayak.com/details.asp
$$$
I just rented a tandem sit-on-top for my son and his girlfriend this last summer and it cost me $14 an hour. Thats in Longisland sound along the Ct. coast. It ended up costing me about $45 for three hours. Its getting very expensive to intro friends to kayaking by renting.
rentals too expensive
Rentals in Chincoteague, VA are $150 per week. In OBX–$100-120 per week. Since we go these places often, we just purchased 3 kayaks—2 new–1 used. Figured a 3-4 trips to these places would almost pay for buying our own!
Still Affordable In PA
Blue Mountain Outfitters rate is $35 for solos and $45 for tandems.
Lee’s in K’zoo
For roto boats, including sea yaks, $30 for the first day, $15 for every successive day. If I remember correctly, I had to have a credit card with reserve enough to buy the boat outright lest anything should have happened.
Jim
sounds about right…
there are a variety of prices around here (chicago) from $14 an hour ($56 all day) and $45 a day another place.
maybe some p.net’ers nearby have old boats you could rent from them for a day? (meh…transportation may be too much work…)