Your Best Days Start On The Water

Everything you need to know about getting quality time on the water without the high cost and low availability of most boat clubs.

No. Sovereign Boat Fleet is a self-drive boat rental service - not a club or membership. You pay only for the days you use. There are no initiation fees, monthly payments, annual dues, or an annual commitment. Quit whenever you want.

Yes. You will be required to complete a comprehensive boat-instruction course with our USCG-licensed captain. Once you are proficient, the captain will approve your use of SBF boats at all locations. We pass the captain's charge through at cost. Becoming a confident captain is an exhilarating experience, and you may eventually decide to buy your own boat.

All boats are self-drive, which means you must be proficient in boat handling and know basic rules of the road. You will receive an evaluation of your boat-handling skills before your first rental. Most people who have boating experience easily pass this evaluation. If you need instruction, a USCG-licensed captain or certified instructor is available at an additional charge. If alcoholic beverages will be served during a party on the boat, state and federal laws prohibit the boat operator from drinking and driving, so in this case you need a captain. SBF can arranged a captain for hire, at cost, with sufficient notice.

Our captain will familiarize you with the boat. Hands-on training is available from a certified captain or instructor at cost. It may be the best money you ever spend on boating, toward becoming a safe, confident operator.

After paying for your package, you will receive an individual password for our reservation calendar. You may make up to four reservations at a time for any date within the following 12 months. Each time you use one reserved day, you may reserve another so long as you have days remaining in your package. In this way, you can keep up to four future days reserved at all times as long as sufficient days remain in your package.

A cancellation made by 10:00am on the day before your reservation will not count as a used day. A cancellation after that deadline will be charged because the boat must be made available to other renters with proper notice. Rain or cool weather alone does not waive the charge. You will not be charged when USCG or NOAA small-craft warnings are in effect or when a named storm affects the area. Check the forecast the morning before your reservation.

You have 12 months from the date of your first use during which to use your package days.

Yes. Payment terms are available for packages of 12 days or more. The current terms are shown in the pricing section.

Yes. Only one weekend day may be reserved during a given weekend, although Friday and Saturday or Sunday and Monday may be booked consecutively. Insurance permits travel up to 25 miles offshore. For safety, SBF boats are limited to no more than 8 passengers at one time. Overnight cruising is permitted as long as the boat is tied up at a marina at night. Our insurance does not permit overnight anchoring.

Yes. Provided that enough days remain in your package, you may reserve a boat for up to 3 consecutive nights and 4 consecutive days during the week. Insurance requires the boat to be secured at a marina each night. Overnight anchoring is prohibited.

The marinas in St. Petersburg and Palm Beach operate from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, but haul-outs stop at 4:30 pm For an earlier departure or later return, call us so we can ask the marina to launch the boat the afternoon before or retrieve it the following morning. The Bradenton/Cortez marina is open 24/7.

Yes. In this respect, renting from SBF resembles ownership. You must clean and wash down the boat, flush the engines with fresh water and if the electric toilet has been used, pump out the holding tank. This is part of the boating experience. If you are unable to perform these basic boating chores, SBF will hire outside personnel to prepare the boat for the next renter, for a fee.

Yes. Similar to a car rental, a $69 boat-insurance charge applies for each used day and is billed at the end of the month. You are also responsible for the fuel you use.