USVI-On-Line

Does anybody have experience with renting a power boat on St John. Not interested in traveling far off shore but bigger than a dinghy for family of 4. Looking to fish,snorkel,ride around the island. Have owned a 24ft for 20+ yrs and DH is a boater safety instructor but do not have ocean experience. Any pros,cons,company recommendations? Thanks for all the valuable information everyone provides on this site!

I would love to recommend Wet Woody's!!!

The boat:
-Intrepid 366 Cuddy
-Head & Shower
-Queen birth
-Generator
-A/C
-Twin 350 Yamaha V8 engines
-Freshwater & Saltwater wash-down
-Fusion Stereo system w/CD player & built-in iPod dock
-Two seating areas

This boat is gorgeous...she is clean as a whistle!!! Kevin (the captain) is super friendly and lots of fun!!! Cassidy (first mate) is a total blast!!! Not sure about fishing...but for snorkeling and "riding around the island"...this is the ticket!



Check 'em out!!! Tell them Jen sent you!

http://www.wetwoodysvi.com/index.html

Have a great trip...whatever you decide!

16 & counting...

Ocean Runner rents good boats in the mid 20s ft. range -- Nauti Nymph of STT will bring any of theirs over too - You would have a fine time - don't really need a Captain if you have a responsible Capable DH.

Just emailed low key and ocean runner last week cause we wanted to do the same thing. We are avid boaters as well and own ours. They told me that boat rules were definitely changing with the BVI's and that you had to have ocean experience to rent without a captian. Just what they told me.

I rented from Ocean Runner 2 days last Feb. One day with and one day without a captain. I really believe they promote their own captians by stating that you need one if you do not have ocean experience. Unless this is some type of law or regulation that has recently changed this is NOT true. If you have open water boating experience, know boater safety rules, study a map and use good judgement you will be fine. I did a lot of research on this last year and found that most people will tell you that you need to hire a captain. I honestly think this is done to promote the captains. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of benefits to having a captain, but I dont believe it is necessary.

The Ocean Runner guys seemed to run a good operation. I would recommend Tommy if you decide to hire a captain. He can show where to do some fishing.

Good Luck

This thread is all over the place but I will try to put in my .02. I have personally rented from Ocean Runners, Nauti Nymph, and Awesome Power boats. They all run good operations. The original poster asked about renting a moderate boat for coastal cruising around St John. That would likely exclude The Wet Woody, sorry I have seen it and it's a nice boat but not what they asked about.
As for Ocean Runners requirement that you have open water experience or hire a captain, this is survival plane and simple. Their deductible on a power boat is probably in the ten to twenty percent of hull value range for there boats. There is no profit in pulling one off of Johnson Reef or Blunder rocks or ... well you get the idea.
Since the original poster said that they don't have any ocean experience then they will have to either hire a captain or lie plane and simple.
Also the new rules for boats entering the BVI's are up in the air right now and sure to change a few things in the future as to who goes and with which boats.
Jay