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 North Myrtle Beach
The rental fleet is pontoons, tritoons and deck boats. Tell us the dates and the head count for North 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 North 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.
Marsh creeks north, open Waterway south
North Myrtle Beach sits on a stretch of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway that is wide, well marked and almost always calmer than the ocean on the other side of the dunes. Most days out of here run south down the Waterway or north toward the state line, and plenty of people never leave protected water at all.
Behind Cherry Grove the marsh opens into a network of shallow creeks and back channels. They are beautiful at high tide and a lesson in patience at low, so check the tide table before you plan a day around them. A pontoon draws little, but little is not nothing.
Barefoot Landing sits directly on the Waterway, which makes it the obvious lunch stop and the easiest landmark to steer by if it is your first time out here.
Planning it
Timing a day out of the north end
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.
Wind here tends to build through the afternoon, so a morning start usually buys you flatter water and a more comfortable ride home. If you are taking a group with small children, that one decision matters more than which boat you pick.
The Little River Inlet to the north is the nearest cut to open ocean. Rental pontoons are usually held to inside water rather than the inlet, so if running out past the jetties is the point of your day, say so in your request and we will route it accordingly.
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 North 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 North Myrtle Beach
- The Cherry Grove marsh creeks. Shallow back channels behind the beach, best worked on a rising tide. Pontoon friendly water, when the operator allows fishing at all.
- The Intracoastal Waterway. Docks, bridge pilings and channel edges hold fish along the whole stretch, and you never leave protected water.
- Little River Inlet jetties. Rock structure at the inlet mouth. Coast Pilot notes the bar channel changes continually, and rental pontoons are usually barred from the inlet.
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 North Myrtle Beach
Anything else, put it in the message box on the form and we will answer it before we route your request.
Usually not. Operators here generally restrict rental pontoons to the Intracoastal Waterway and the creeks behind it, and keep them out of Little River Inlet and the open Atlantic. That limit is set by the operator and their insurer, not by us, so confirm it in writing before you plan a day around going outside.
On a rising tide, yes. Those back channels are quiet, shallow and full of birds, and they feel a long way from the beach crowd. On a falling tide you risk finding the bottom, so ask your operator which creeks they are happy for you to explore and at what stage of tide.
Request quotes
Check dates in North 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
Myrtle Beach boat rentals
Boating out of Myrtle Beach, the middle 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.