Boat rentals in Alabama
Renting a boat or personal watercraft or PWC is the easy and reasonable answer for people who do not own a boat, but still want to enjoy boating. Sport boat, fishing boat, cabin cruiser, pontoon boat, canoe, kayak, or even a high-powered personal watercraft, Alabama offers plenty of opportunities to rent watercraft.
There are boat rental facilities situated across Alabama, including facilities at 28 of Alabama’s state parks. These state park boat rental facilities are located at Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, Miflin, Wolf Bay, Elberta, Magnolia Springs, Fish River, Marlow, Summerdale, Lillian, Pirates Cove, Josephine, Perdido, Perdido Bay, Weeks Bay, Magnolia River, Oyster Bay, Intercostal Waterway, Bear Point, Fort Morgan and Perdido River.
Waterways consist of the Alabama river system, mostly in Alabama but partly in the state of Mississippi, consists of the short Mobile River (formed by the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers), the tributary Black Warrior River and the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
The Tenn-Tom Canal is the most recent (and perhaps the last ever) of the major U.S. navigation projects to be completed (1984). It connects the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River, which joins the Alabama to form the Mobile River. While this canal has not realized its promise of a major commercial waterway, it does create a great cruising opportunity. You can navigate upriver from the Gulf of Mexico (at Mobile), into the Tennessee River, downstream to the Ohio and down that river to the Mississippi. Continuing on the Mississippi to New Orleans and then east on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, you will soon find yourself back at the start of your journey, Mobile!
Over 1,000 miles of navigable waters await you! We will suppose the Mobile-Alabama to be the primary river of this system, and that river can be navigated from Mobile Bay to just north of Montgomery, a distance of about 350 miles. The Tombigbee River, including the canal to the Tennessee is about 450 miles of navigable waterway. This would be from the confluence with the Alabama near Demopolis to extreme northeast Mississippi (near Corinth). The Black Warrior River, a tributary of the Tombigbee, can be navigated about 220 miles to the port of Birmingham. Much detailed information can be obtained from the Corps of Engineers web site (see links below), although it is difficult to find your way around that site.
The most interesting feature of this waterway is that it connects two major river basins, one of only a few places where this remarkable engineering feat has been accomplished. The scenery is varied, ranging from the coastal flats and industrial complex of Mobile to the remote and more rugged rolling forest of northern Alabama and Mississippi. In and around the larger towns you will encounter quite a bit of traffic, but in the more remote areas, you are likely to have the place to yourself. Check the links below for details of some trips on this waterway that were found on the web.
These and other areas of the state offer canoe and kayak rental liveries that are easy to access, provide for a fun and affordable day on the water, and may last from one hour to a multi-day overnight trip.
Alabama also has a limited number of businesses that rent boats and host waterway tours for company outings, special occasions and romantic getaways
Before renting any watercraft in Alabama, there are a few regulations and recommendations that should first be considered.
** Non-residents 12 years old and older, may operate on Alabama waters up to 45 days per calendar year without having to obtain a vessel operator's license. If operating a vessel for more than 45 days per calendar year, the non-resident must get an Alabama Non-Resident Vessel Operator's License. Non-residents who have obtained a vessel certification or license from their home state, may use that in lieu of the Alabama Non-Resident Vessel Operator's License.
Signs a statement they have successfully completed an approved boater education course or proficiency exam; and
Receives educational materials from the rental business and passed the test examination with a score of 90 percent or more.
Alabama Orange Beach - pontoon boat rentals