The pontoon
Flat deck, rails the whole way round, shade over the middle and a swim ladder off the back. It sits steady when everybody stands on the same side to look at something, which is most of the day.
Boat rentals
Boat rentals in Myrtle Beach
The rental fleet is pontoons, tritoons and deck boats. Tell us the dates and the head count for Myrtle Beach and we route it to operators who have one free, instead of you calling round every marina on the coast.
- Free to send
- No obligation
- Local operators only
Boat club membership
Going out more than ten times a year?
Then dues usually beat paying a day rate every time you go. Answer eleven questions about how you actually use a boat and a rep comes back with the clubs near Myrtle Beach worth your time, not all of them.
Under ten times a year? Renting is almost certainly cheaper, and we will tell you so.
The longest protected runs on the Strand
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway runs the whole length of Myrtle Beach a mile or two behind the oceanfront, which is the part most visitors never see. It is protected, it is deep enough for anything you are likely to rent, and it connects north to Barefoot Landing and south toward Socastee and beyond.
The swing bridge at Socastee is the landmark that anchors the southern end of a day out of Myrtle Beach. Above and below it the Waterway stays wide and easy, and there is enough distance in either direction to fill a full day without repeating yourself.
Because you are starting in the middle of the Strand, you get more choice of direction from here than anywhere else on this coast. That is the practical argument for launching in Myrtle Beach rather than at either end.
Planning it
Getting the most out of a Myrtle Beach day
A rental day here goes better when it is planned around the water rather than the clock. These are the things worth knowing before you pick a start time.
Traffic on the Waterway is busiest at midday on summer weekends, and the wake off passing boats is the main thing that turns a pleasant cruise into a bumpy one. An early start or a late afternoon run gets you the flattest water and the best light.
Half day rentals are common here and often the right call. Four hours on the Waterway with a swim stop is a full day out for most groups, particularly with children aboard, and it leaves you the evening back on shore.
Before you book
- Ask how fuel is billed. Top off on return, flat fee, or by the hour. All three exist locally.
- Ask for the damage deductible in writing. The number you personally owe, not the coverage.
- Ask where the boat may go. Inside water only is the norm for rental pontoons.
- Ask who calls a weather cancellation, and whether you get a refund or a credit.
The rental fleet
Pontoons and tritoons only
Two aluminium tubes or three. That is the whole decision on the rental side, and the right answer usually comes down to how many people you are taking and what the forecast is doing.
The tritoon
Same deck, third tube underneath. More power, a firmer turn and a noticeably better ride once the water chops up behind a passing boat. Ask for one if your group is large or the forecast is breezy.
Want a center console instead? That does not sit in the rental fleet. Regular access to one means a club membership in Myrtle Beach.
Read this before you pack rods
Can you fish from a rental?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on the operator. It is the single question people forget to ask until they are standing on the dock with a tackle box.
Why some operators say no
Hooks, bait and fish do real damage to a rental pontoon. Treble hooks tear vinyl seating, cut bait soaks into carpet and never fully leaves, and scales and blood turn a same day turnaround into a deep clean. Plenty of operators solve that by banning fishing outright on their rental fleet.
Others allow it with conditions. Common ones are no live bait, no cast nets, no bottom fishing, rods kept in holders under way, and a cleaning charge if the boat comes back messy. None of that is unreasonable. It just needs agreeing before you book rather than discovering after.
Ask it exactly like this
"Is fishing permitted from this boat, and if so what are the restrictions, and is there a cleaning fee?" Get the answer in writing. If fishing is the whole point of the day, say so in your request and we will route you to operators who allow it rather than ones who turn you away at the dock.
Worth knowing too: the rental fleet is pontoons, tritoons and deck boats. If you want a proper fishing platform with a live well and rod holders, that is a center console, and regular access to one comes through a club membership rather than a rental.
Where people fish near Myrtle Beach
- The Waterway behind the city. Structure along the banks, and the swing bridge at Socastee at Mile 371.0 marks the southern end of an easy day.
- Rock ledges, Mile 347 to 365. Coast Pilot reports numerous rock ledges through this stretch and advises extreme caution. Structure holds fish; it also holds propellers.
- Murrells Inlet, a short drive south. The nearest working saltwater inlet to Myrtle Beach, and the nearest real ocean access.
Locations from NOAA Coast Pilot 4. A South Carolina saltwater fishing licence is required for saltwater fishing, and size and catch limits apply and change through the year. Check the current rules with SCDNR before you go, and confirm with your operator where that particular boat is permitted to run.
Straight answers
Questions about Myrtle Beach
Anything else, put it in the message box on the form and we will answer it before we route your request.
That depends entirely on the boat and the traffic, so ask your operator for a realistic running time rather than working off a map. What is safe to say is that a half day gets most groups a comfortable run with a stop, and a full day opens up the north or south end of the Waterway properly.
Operators set their own rules, and they vary. Some hand over the keys after a dock briefing, others put you through a proper on water orientation. If nobody in your group has run a boat before, ask specifically for the latter. Docking against current is the part that catches people out, and the Waterway has current.
Request quotes
Check dates in Myrtle Beach
One form, about a minute. The more you tell us about the day you have in mind, the fewer back and forth emails you get from operators.
- Free, with no obligation to book anything
- Goes only to operators who can serve your dates
- You deal with the operator directly on price and terms
Nearby on the Grand Strand
North Myrtle Beach boat rentals
Boating out of North Myrtle Beach, the north end of the Grand Strand.
Little River boat rentals
Boating out of Little River, the top of the South Carolina coast.
Murrells Inlet boat rentals
Boating out of Murrells Inlet, the saltwater inlet south of the beach.