BAY CITY BOAT RENTAL
PROVIDING TIPS FOR SAFE BOATING IN BAY CITY
Boating in Bay City can be a very fun experience, but with it comes plenty of dangers and risks. The best way to minimize potential dangers and maximize your fun is to be prepared and knowledgeable before setting sail. To help boaters of all experience levels, we built this web page with tons of helpful resources to build your confidence before hitting the water. Scroll through this page and soak it all in, or select the topic you want to look at to jump to that section!
BAY CITY WEATHER
We understand that a safe and enjoyable boating experience is very weather dependent, and the last thing we want to do is cut your reservation short due to inclement weather. This is why we included a couple links to our favorite weather services to help you plan your outing. Be sure to review our cancellation and weather policies when selecting a reservation date.
SAGINAW RIVER WAKE-ZONE MAP
This map will also be posted on your vessel
BOATER SAFETY IN BAY CITY
At Bay City Boat Rental, we care about your safety! Please review the Boater Safety Handbook and our customized bulletin before your reservation date.
BoatUS.com is another great resource which provides endless articles with boating advice and tips for everyone, from the experienced boater to the first-timer. Below is a handful of articles hand-selected by the owners of Bay City Boat Rental with information and guidelines best suited for boating in Bay City, MI.
Select the description of each article to read it!
- Link to BoatUS Seamanship guide. Explore all the articles they have to offer!
- Using the SCAN Techique to Avoid Distracted Driving on the Water - Seach, Concentrate, Analyze, Negotiate
- Gear and Throttle Basics - A quick review of shifting gears and smoothly working the controls and throttle.
- How To Anchor - Anchoring tips and best practices
- Leaving the Dock in the Wind - Five tactics to get away from the dock when the gusts are against you.
- Proper Docking - Too fast and BANG. Too slow and you lose control. Here's how to dock an outboard with finesse.
- How to Throw a Line Like a Pro - It's a basic lifetime skill. Master it and it will serve you well.
THINGS TO DO IN BAY CITY
The Saginaw River flows right through downtown Bay City which hosts many summer-time events, including a number of concerts at Wenonah park – anchor our boats next to the sea wall to get VIP seats to any of these concerts! Click the link below to learn about all the downtown events.
GENERAL RULES WHEN RENTING WITH BAY CITY BOAT RENTAL
- Anyone renting a boat must be at least 25 years of age. Passengers may be younger, but are under the supervision of the renter. The “renter” is the individual who signs the waiver and operates the vessel.
- Driving a boat while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is illegal, and we, too, will enforce this.
- DO NOT LITTER! Please respect the waters that we are so lucky to have access to. Do not throw any garbage, or the like, into the water. You will be provided with a large trash bag to collect waste.
- When navigating in the channel (between the red and green buoys) remember RED, RIGHT, RETURN. RED buoys indicate the RIGHT side of the channel when RETURNING from sea.
- Respect the wake zones. Your boat will be equipped with a map of the river indicating where the no-wake zones are. There are also signs in the river that indicate “no-wake” zones. These zones are legally binding and you can be ticketed by local officials for violating.
- Our vessels are equipped with GPS units with mapped out “keep-out” zones. A “keep-out” zone is an area with unknown dangers below the water surface. When these zones are entered, a siren will sound on the boat. If you hear this siren, turn around immediately and return to a safe area of the water.
- You are expected to clean up after yourself at the conclusion of your reservation. If the vessel is left in an unacceptable manner, you will be subject to a $200 cleaning fee.
- If setting anchor in the river, point the front of the boat up-stream. The river flows north into the bay.
- All vessels must be returned to the dock before sunset.
- Tying off to other vessels is not permitted.
- Pets are not allowed on board our vessels.
- All passengers boarding our vessels must sign the liability release prior to the reservation. This can be done the day of the reservation.
- We ask you to not worry about refueling our vessel unless absolutely necessary. We take care of refueling after your reservation and charge the card on file accordingly unless the “prepaid fuel” add-on is chosen when booked.
- Never stop in the middle of the channel. The channel is marked by green and red buoys. If you stop to swim, fish, set anchor, etc, pull off to the edge of the channel.
- Alway give way to larger vessels, especially those 1,000 foot freighters that frequent the Saginaw River.
- Be polite – give a wave. When passing another boat, give a little wave hello. Boating is all about having fun and being part of the boating community. Embrace it, enjoy it, and share it for generations to come.
- All children under 6 years old are required by law to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life vest at all times while aboard a water vessel.
- Cancellation Policy: Cancellations made by customers can only be done by contacting Bay City Boat Rental by phone. Cancellations made one full week before the reservation date are eligible for a 100% refund. If canceled between one week and 72 hours before the reservation date, Bay City Boat Rental can either refund 50% of the reservation amount, or move your reservation to a new available date. If canceled less than 72 hours before the reservation date, the Renter forfeits the full reservation amount and is not eligible to move the reservation to a new date. However, if your canceled time slot gets reserved by another customer, Bay City Boat Rental will contact you and refund your full amount paid. Bay City Boat Rental reserves the right to cancel any reservation due to inclement weather. If this happens, the Renter will be notified and have the option to choose between a full refund or get moved to a new available date. If the weather looks iffy, always assume your reservation stands unless we contact you by phone. If canceled by the us, most reservations will be canceled the day of due to the unpredictable nature of weather in our area.
- During the rental period, we reserve the right to contact the Renter and require the Renter to return to the dock in the event of inclement weather. If the Renter is required by us to return earlier than the agreed upon time, the Renter shall be reimbursed for their remaining time
AND, OF COURSE, HAVE FUN AND BE SAFE!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We do not currently have an option to provide a captain. But if this is something that you are interested in, give us a call and voice your opinion. If the demand is there, this is something that we could offer in the future!
We will provide enough life jackets on your vessel for everyone in your party. However, you are free to bring your own if you want a more comfortable jacket to wear. If children or toddlers are part of your group, we do suggest that you bring a properly fitted USCG approved life vest for each child.
** KEEP IN MIND: all children under 6 years old must wear a USCG approved life vest at all times while aboard a vessel in Michigan.
Yes, there will be a map aboard your vessel detailing the “no-wake” zones, common landmarks, channel markers, restaurants, and areas of interest. We also have maps available on our website.
We are headquartered at Scotty’s Sandbar on the Middle Grounds in Bay City, Michigan. 1201 Evergreen Drive, Bay City, MI 48706
Weekends and holidays always fill up fast. The best bet is to book a month or more in advance to guarantee a spot.
Our standard offering is 4 hour and 8 hour rental durations and can be started at half hour increments beginning at 9am. We also offer a 2 hour “sunset” cruise which only has one start time – 2 hours before sunset.
You must be 25 years old to rent our boats. You can bring younger passengers aboard. Anyone under 18 is the renter’s responsibility.
Yes. After checking out, a waiver will be sent to the email provided and can be signed on the internet. On the day of the reservation, all passengers must sign a liability release prior to boarding the vessel.
Yes! However, it is limited to 1 mile past Channel Island for your safety (and insurance reasons). The onboard GPS will siren if you go too far out. You also have access to the Kawkawlin River, and boater’s beach in front of Bay City State Park.
Absolutely! The Saginaw Bay area is known for its amazing Walleye fishing, no way would we limit your ability to fish!
In the off-chance that this does happen, remain calm, drop anchor, and give us a call on our personal phone (listed on the boats). We will arrange a tow boat to come out and bring you back to the dock
Available dates for online rentals are from May 1st to September 30th. However, if you would like to rent a boat outside of this season, give us a call and if we still have a boat in the water we can set you up over the phone!
Normally, we will charge the card on file for the fuel used after your reservation has ended. However, you do have the option to choose the “fuel” add-on at checkout to pay a flat rate for fuel up front, in which case there will not be an extra fuel charge at the end of your reservation.
Yes you can! You will need to call and book over the phone to do this. The earliest start time we offer for online bookings is 9am, but if you call we can enter you in for an earlier start time! However, due to insurance policies, your start time must be at or after sun rise.
Find our contact info here: Contact Us
The day of your reservation, a temporary hold of $350 will go onto the card used to pay for the booking. This is used to cover low-cost incidentals, fuel charges, late fees, cleaning fees, etc. If fuel is pre-paid and the boat is returned on time in an acceptable condition, the full amount will be released back to your card. More details can be found in the waiver sent to your email after booking!
