Renting a Boat Difficult Along the 3 Rivers Here
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
24 July 2011
By Gretchen McKay
Prices start at $45 per hour for a pontoon at Crescent Bay Marine in
Moraine State Park, which also rents sailboats, fishing boats and
runabouts.
No way around it, Pittsburgh's a boating city.
From the anglers trolling the Allegheny and Ohio rivers for smallmouth
bass and walleye, to the power boaters who zip across the water with
skiers and inner tubers in their wake, to the pleasure cruisers who tie
up as many as five deep on the North Shore before concerts, fireworks
or sporting events -- sometimes it's so busy on the water, you'd swear
we live in Florida instead of Western Pennsylvania.
But what if you don't own a boat or don't know one of the more than
66,000 registered boaters in Allegheny and surrounding counties from
which to mooch an afternoon on the water? No problem. It should be easy
to rent a pontoon or speedboat in a city with easy access to more than
328 miles of navigable waterways. Especially now that the rivers are
cleaner and more popular than ever for recreation.
Boy, was I wrong.
Save for Kayak Pittsburgh's fleet of solo and tandem flat-water kayaks
under the Sixth Street Bridge, it's slim pickings for would-be boat
renters on the Three Rivers. The only marina I could find that allows
you to play boat-owner for the day -- and I spent a lot of time looking
-- is Millvale Bait & Tackle in Millvale Waterfront Park. It isn't
exactly what you'd call a flotilla.
Nestled on the banks of the Allegheny River, the shop offers just three
22-foot, eight-person pontoons for rent. It's $200 for eight hours,
plus the cost of fuel.
Renters are confined to the 24-mile-long Pittsburgh pool, and grills
are forbidden. But coolers and picnic baskets are welcome, along with
kids, as long as they wear life jackets.
"I know," shop owner Jesse Santiago agreed when I called to check
prices and availability (he advises making reservations on weekends).
"You think it'd be wide open."
Actually, says Andy Talento, general manager of Verona-based Tri-River
Marine Trade Association, there's some good reasons boat rentals have
never taken off in the 'Burgh, the main one being the high cost of
insurance.
Pittsburgh District operates 23 locks and dams on the Ohio, Allegheny
and Monongahela rivers, and there's also a lot of barges and tugboats
on the water (the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers ranks the Port of
Pittsburgh as the country's second-largest inland port). So it can be
dicey for novice boaters.
"It's difficult to get people educated about the hazards of commercial
traffic, especially at night," Mr. Talento said. "An empty tow going up
the river is very dangerous and hard to see."
Adding to the financial risk is the ease with which a person could
steal a boat out of the water and the fact that inexperienced boaters
often go where they're not supposed to, damaging the bottom of the boat.
That's a reason I can relate to: When my husband and I rented a 58-foot
houseboat at Raystown Lake two years ago, we (he) accidentally drove it
too close to shore and ended up having to buy it a new propeller.
Who can blame local marinas for not getting into the rental biz?
If you're willing to travel to one of Pennsylvania's state parks or
larger lakes, though, you've got plenty of options.
Pontoons and low-speed motorboats can be rented by the hour at both
Moraine's Lake Arthur and on the 17,088-acre Pymatuning Reservoir in
Pymatuning State Park, the largest lake in the commonwealth. You'll
also find rentals at Presque Isle in Erie; on the Allegheny Reservoir
in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest at Kinzua Wolf Run Marina
in Clarendon; and at Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania's largest natural
lake. To the east, Seven Points Marina on Raystown Lake in Hesston,
popular with local houseboaters, offers fishing boats or ski pontoons
by the hour or day, skis, tow rope and vests included.
You also can find boat rentals across the state line in Ohio, West
Virginia and western Maryland, if you're looking for a day trip.
There is, however, a catch to renting in Western Pennsylvania,
especially if you're in your 20s and hoping to kick it up a bit on the
water.
While low-powered boats require just 5 minutes instruction from a
teenage dock worker, state law prohibits people who were born on or
after Jan. 1, 1982, from driving a boat with a 25 or greater horsepower
engine unless they hold a boating safety education certificate.
(Courses are offered both in classrooms and online; for more info visit
http://www.fishandboat.com )
It's even more restrictive in Maryland, where all people born on or
after July 1, 1972, must possess a boating safety education certificate
to operate any motorized vessel.
No surprise you can't drink alcohol while driving a boat (penalties in
Pennsylvania include fines up to $5,000 and 90 days in jail), though
cooking often is allowed; Crescent Bay Marine at Moraine is among the
state park concessionaires that rent gas grills for larger pontoons
($14). They also allow pets.
Also worth noting: Renters typically have to put up a sizable security
deposit, occasionally in cash, and also are required to pay for any
damages to the boat. (Expect to cough up about $100 for a propeller.)
And don't forget about gas -- while the first tank is free at Crescent
Bay, the final bill includes a 5 percent fuel surcharge.
On our 15-foot, 15-horsepower runabout, which we rented on a recent
Sunday at Moraine State Park, that added just $1.90 to the bill, or the
price of two cans of soda from the waterfront concession on the South
Shore.
During the week, it's fairly easy to get one of Crescent Bay's many
pontoons ($45/hour and up), runabout motorboats ($38/hour and up) or
sunfish sailboats ($48 for a two-hour minimum). But on a brilliantly
sunny weekend? Expect to stand in line or make a reservation (4 hour
minimum, and you have to push off by 10 a.m.).
Like most everyone else queued up, we'd hoped to spend the afternoon on
a pontoon. For our 2 p.m. arrival, we faced a wait of more than 2 hours
in the heat. So we went with a less-sexy runabout with our cans of Dr.
Pepper and a bag of Doritos.
The transition from landlubber to water baby couldn't have been
simpler: After a short driving and boating safety lesson from deckhand
Ryan Currie, 16, of Slippery Rock -- push the throttle forward to
accelerate, backward for reverse, steer clear of the shore and stay to
the right -- we were off, me perched on the cushioned seat on the bow
and my husband squinting in the sun behind the steering wheel.
True, it wasn't quite the roaring SeaRay speedboat I remember renting
with my husband when we were newlyweds in Miami. It was, however, a
perfect fit for a couple looking to spend a lazy hour on the water
without having to paddle.
Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1419.