It's taken me a little time to decide if I should write this review or not. What led me to write it…read morewas Facebook. More specifically, the Maine Boat Rental Facebook page. I'll get back that in a bit. I rented the boat I'm writing about from August 15-17, 2025. First I want to tell you what happened and I will provide facts supported with pictures Maine Boat Rental provided me (actually a video of the boat before I took possession and several pictures showing the damage they claimed I caused).
After returning the boat, I received an e-mail on 26 August stating,
"This email is to confirm a one-time charge in the amount of $251.74 has been successfully completed. The reason for this charge was $26.74 GAS FILL, $175 BENT BIMNI ROD SCRATCHES ON REAR AND FRONT OF BOAT, $50 ADMIN FEE FOR CC FOR SECURITY DEPOSIT and is associated with your reservation CC A5L-GDV.
If you have any questions, please contact Maine Boat Rental at [207-313-6248] and we will be happy to assist you."
I immediately called them and they said the Bimini rod was bent and there was damage to the hull of the boat. I asked them to send me the video/pics and they did. Me being me, I looked at the pictures and then watched the video (the one taken before I rented the boat). I ended up doing screen-shots of the video. I compared the screen shots with the damage they said I did, then put an Adobe pdf file together to send them showing that EVERY scratch, gouge, bent rod, etc., was already on the boat.
I sent that file to Maine Boat Rental and asked when I was going to get my refund. About a week later I received an e-mail from Nichoal that said,
"After spending a lengthy amount of time comparing videos and pictures, I have found that the bimni bar was bent badly during your rental and the cost of replacing that is over $1,200.
I have also found that there are in fact new scratches on the boat the worst of them down to the fiberglass and will require a in-depth patching process to ensure water intrusion will not happen in the future."
I asked her if she saw the Adobe pdf file I sent her and she hadn't (remember, she claimed to have spent a "lengthy amount of time comparing videos and pictures" - obviously not looking at their own Facebook page). I again sent the file which clearly shows the damage they charged me for was already on the boat. Once she realized I did my due diligence, she immediately refunded my $175 in damages.
Now, what caused me to write this review. I was looking at other reviews and their Facebook page. Facebook has 2 pictures showing their ski boats all docked together (posted on July 17, 2025). The last boat (farthest from the picture taker) is the boat I rented. In that picture, taken almost a month before I rented the boat, is the bent Bimini rod. The bend in the bar clearly matches the damage picture they sent me. That was the icing on the cake.
How many renters have been charged for this Bimini rod they claim is over $1200? I have yet to find a Bimini top for more than $500 but that's not the point. The point is unsuspecting renters are renting from Maine Boat Rental and probably getting charged for damage that was already there. They probably charged every person that rented this particular boat, July 17 through now, for that damage. Pretty crappy way to try and get more money from people. I mean, $1000 for a 3-day rental isn't enough?
I just caution you, if you're planning on renting a boat from them, to take pictures of every bit of damage (bent rods, scratches, prop damage on the engine, etc.). In fact, make sure the person from Maine Boat Rental dropping off the boat is in those pictures so they can see you took them before you got the boat not after the fact.
The pictures I've posted - higher resolution pictures = damage they said I caused / lower resolution pictures = screen shots I took from their video before I got the boat.
For the record, I did rent from them (I am Sean M on the contract and fuel receipt).