Rent one of our boats by the half day, the full day, or your whole stay, the easiest boat rental AMI visitors can book, with the gear loaded and the dog welcome aboard.
The boat is yours for your entire reservation, and you are the one at the wheel. Before you pull away, John walks you through it, shows you the water, and tells you which sandbar is worth the run on that day's tide. Then he stays on his phone the entire time you are out.
Loaded and ready before you arrive, all of it at no extra charge:
A small fleet is a choice. Every boat gets looked at before it leaves the dock, John knows the exact condition of each one, and you step onto a boat that was checked this morning. The lineup grows and changes as we do. The standard it is kept to does not.
John and Kristen Orr, owners and captains
Call about a boat and John picks up. He has been on these waters for more than thirty years, he meets you at the boat ramp himself, and guests name him by first name in their reviews. You are talking to the person who will hand you the keys.
John and Kristen own Compass and run it themselves. The person who takes your call is the person who meets you at the ramp, loads your cooler, and waves you off. That is a different kind of morning than picking up keys at a counter.
Compass has placed in the top three of the Bradenton Herald's Bradenton's Best awards for three straight years, voted on by people who live here.
Jewfish Key, Passage Key, and the bars off Egmont Key are where most guests spend the middle of the day, anchored in water shallow enough to walk across. Which one is worth it depends on the tide, and John tells you before you go. Egmont sits inside a protected state park reachable only by boat, which is part of why it stays quiet.
Several waterfront restaurants around Anna Maria Island and Cortez have real dock space, so lunch is part of the day rather than a stop on the way home.
Dolphins show up along the Intracoastal side most days, and manatees move into the warmer shallows through the cooler months. We will not promise either, but on a normal day the odds are good.
Staying at a waterfront rental on the island? We deliver the boat, help you tie up, and get you oriented before we leave, so you skip the ramp and the parking entirely.
Delivery is most popular with guests keeping a boat for several days, because the boat simply lives at your dock and you head out whenever the morning looks right. It is the detail those guests bring up most often afterward.
Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Bradenton, Palmetto, Ellenton, and Sarasota. We keep the range tight on purpose, since a boat delivered late is worse than no delivery at all.
The single most repeated theme across our reviews is not the boats, it is how little friction there is from booking to the moment you pull away from the dock. That is deliberate, and it is the part we work hardest on.
Guests notice a well kept boat the second they step aboard, and they notice a neglected one faster. Our fleet is small enough that every boat gets attention before it goes out.
Ask where to go and you get an answer for that day: which sandbar the tide is right for, which dock to tie up at for lunch, where the dolphins have been working this week.
A few phone calls, texts, and an online rental agreement that was easy to fill out, and we were on the water. John rocked at explaining the details of the boat, and it ran like a dream. Drop off was just as easy.Dan S.Verified Google review
The fleet is clearly well-maintained and modern (the Bluetooth sound system and GPS navigation made our day so much easier).Vincent B.Verified Google review
Super easy rental with John and his crew. We painted the picture of what we were wanting for the day and he told us exactly where to go. He grew up here, so he knows all the ins and outs.Justin M.Verified Google review
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 needs a Florida Boating Safety Education Identification Card to operate a boat with 10 horsepower or more. Born before that date, a valid photo ID is enough. The current rule is published by the state wildlife agency (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).
The renter must be 18 or older and the person driving must be 21 or older. These are bareboat rentals, so real boating experience matters. Not sure yours is enough? Call and ask rather than finding out at the ramp.
No captained tours, no tubing or towing behind the boat, and no trips in unsafe weather. If conditions turn, we reschedule you without a rescheduling fee. A short refresher on the rules of the water is on the U.S. Coast Guard boating safety site.
The calendar shows what is open, so you see availability for your dates without waiting on a callback. Choose a half day, a full day, or a longer stretch, and pick the boat that suits your group size and experience.
Before you arrive the boat is fueled, the cooler is aboard, the floats and snorkel gear are loaded, and the safety equipment is checked. None of that is your job and none of it costs extra.
Come to the Kingfish Boat Ramp about fifteen minutes ahead and we will walk you through the boat and the water. Staying somewhere waterfront? We can bring the boat to you instead and get you tied up before we leave.
Your dog is welcome on every boat, on a four hour trip or a two week one, at no extra charge and with no separate pet boat. Fishing is allowed on all of them too, so bring your gear if that is the plan.
There are two optional add-ons, and both are priced up front. The fuel fill service is $25 plus the cost of fuel, so you hand the boat back without hunting for a fuel dock, and most guests take it. The prop and skeg protection is $75 and covers damage to the propeller or the fin under the engine, which is the sensible call if the shallows here are new to you.
Two things we hold to: nobody gets towed behind a running motor, and nobody goes out in unsafe weather. If the forecast turns on your day we'll just reschedule, and you pay nothing for it.
June through August is peak season here, the water is warm enough that nobody hesitates to get in, the sandbars are lively, and the afternoon storms roll through fast rather than settling in for the day. It is also when boats book out first, so summer weekends want as much notice as you can give them.
April, May, September, and October give you most of the summer experience with a fraction of the traffic on the water. The bars are less crowded, the late-afternoon light is better, and same-week availability is common, which is why guests who have been out with us before tend to come back in these months.
The water is cooler and swimming is a shorter affair, and the wildlife makes up for it. Manatees move into the warmer shallows through the cooler months and the whole bay is quieter, so a half day is usually the right call rather than a full one.
A valid driver's license is required, and anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 also needs a Florida Boating Safety Education Identification Card. Born before that date, a photo ID is enough.
Coolers, floats, masks and snorkel gear, a Bluetooth stereo, GPS, a depth finder, a bimini top for shade, and every piece of Coast Guard required safety equipment, all at no extra charge on every boat. The only optional extras are a fuel fill service and prop and skeg protection, and both are priced plainly on the boats page.
Yes, on every boat, on every rental length, at no extra charge.
Yes. Multi-day and weekly rentals are available. We can discuss delivery to a suitable waterfront dock. If your vacation rental is off the water, ask a local marina such as Keyes Marina about reserving a slip, then confirm the boat and slip arrangements with us before booking.
Seven days a week, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Pickup is at the Kingfish Boat Ramp, 752 Manatee Ave in Holmes Beach, about fifteen minutes before your start time so we can walk you through the boat. If you are staying somewhere waterfront, we can deliver instead.
Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Bradenton, Palmetto, Ellenton, and Sarasota. We keep the delivery range tight on purpose so a boat is never late.
Check the calendar, choose your boat and your hours, and we will have it fueled, loaded, and waiting at the ramp or at your dock. If you would rather talk it through first, call John at (941) 877-0825.