Seasonal/monthly boat rentals

Is this “a thing” in the kayak/canoe industry: a season or monthly rental like what’s done in the ski industry? Rent the craft for a period of months, return or purchase at the end of the rental period.

The topic came up during a coaching session. I don’t have my own, and am not sure I want to dive into a purchase yet but not having a boat makes it tough to get coaching and practice while the water and air temp are still relatively warm. The coach suggested I try to find an off-season rental.

The local-to-me place has already closed up for the year but it made me wonder if this is even done. I can see where it would be a revenue source off-season; on the other hand, it’s also probably a potential liability for the merchant with stuff coming back destroyed.

Jump in and buy used. Then you own it and can use it whenever you want. I always make money on used boats.

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Agree with ppine. A local place I know rents kayaks weekly for around $200/ week. They are decent but not great boats, with not many options for smaller paddlers.

In my area I regularly see decent used boats going for around $500- $600, so 3 weeks rental. And if you’re patient, you can sometimes find even better deals. Also, as long as you purchased wisely, you can usually re-sell for what you paid or even more.

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I doubt it is economical. Rental places around here have boats what I think would cost $250. They rent them for almost $20 the hour. So after a long summer day of hourly rentals, they already almost re-covered the boat cost.

I’m not saying they are swimming in money since they pay for land, staff etc. but for you as a renter, it is better to buy if you have the option. but Compare that to a car rental, where you pay maybe $50 for a full 24 hours of a $20K car.

Buying also gives you a good boat. The ones i see here for rental are what is called recreational, as in short and wide. If you want to try to get into the sport, you are better off to buy a type you may like more (i.e. touring)

Obviously you need to research your local places. Maybe where you live there is a good deal.

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In my opinion, renting or leasing a boat would be similiar to using 20 dollar bills to start a campfire. Wasted money!

Buy used boat; use it, then sell it, and get at least some of your money back on your “investment”.
Want to move up to a better boat than the original?
Reread all above.

BOB

P.S. All boats picture below were bought used, played with & paddled some, and resold for more than I paid for them. Profit reinvested in boats I liked a lot, and kept for awhile or still own.

Starship by Blackhawk
Mohawk Probe 12 #3
Bell Wildfire


MRC Courier in kevlar
Wenonah Moccasion and Clipper Prospector 14

P.S.#2 Should have held onto that Wenonah Moccasin!!!
Kicked myself in the butt as it was driven away & said something like, “That was really dumb; selling that boat” !!!

In my area, the Dundee Marina and Gunpowder State Park have a sale each year in May. The outfitter also has a paddle day with numerous current models they stock. I wanted to upgrade and looked at the 120 Pungo and 140 Pungo in Duralite. I paddle that areas so I figured out the 140 was best in that location. Two years later, I tested fishing kayaks, but was ready to upgrade again and compared the 145 Tsunami against Perception and Necky kayaks. Two years later I tested the 175 Tsunami against other boats. CLC also stages paddle days, and they do paddle days around the country. Tested their boats, but couldn’t find one that fit.

I have concluded, after months of poking around, that seasonal rentals aren’t a thing…at least not in my area. All the more reason to purchase.

Have fun shopping around. If you’re patient you can score something very nice for not much money.

Seems that seasonal rentals have switched to SIT on Tops and Paddle Boards.