I am extremely disappointed with our experience renting a boat and tube from Your Boat Club on July…read more20.
We picked up our boat at 2:30 p.m., and before we even left the marina, the boat was making a noticeable grinding noise, that the sales person heard too. Once we got out onto the lake and increased our speed, the noise temporarily went away, so we assumed everything was okay.
We were on Lake Mille Lacs and found a calmer area to take our children tubing. Before leaving the marina, we specifically asked whether tubing life jackets were included, and we were told yes. However, when we got to our tubing spot, the only life jackets on board were the standard orange emergency vests. We had to return all the way to the marina to get the proper life jackets, only to be given three youth jackets \(50-90 lbs\.\) and one adult jacket. Our group consisted of two adults and two teenagers, so we didn't even have enough properly sized life jackets for everyone to tube. We had to share jackets, meaning not everyone could participate at the same time.
After tubing for about two hours, we were heading back when the boat suddenly made the same loud grinding noise and completely stopped working. My husband immediately began calling for assistance while the boat drifted across the lake toward shore. Eventually, he had to get out and manually walk the boat to a nearby dock to keep us safe.
What happened next was even more frustrating. We waited nearly three hours for them to look at the boat. A salesperson and someone introduced as a mechanic arrived, but the mechanic appeared to be intoxicated. He actually fell into the lake while attempting to inspect the boat, nearly striking his head on it. The owner of the dock witnessed the incident and asked him to leave because he was so impaired. That was completely unprofessional and unacceptable.
To his credit, the salesperson was polite, apologetic, and drove us back to our vehicle, which we appreciated. However, that does not make up for the experience. My husband started calling for help around 4:30 p.m., and we didn't make it back to our car until approximately 7:30 p.m. We lost a significant portion of the five-hour rental that we paid for through no fault of our own.
To make matters worse, I have now received a bill for $750 in repairs. I find this completely unacceptable. The boat was making grinding noises before we ever left the marina, and it ultimately failed because of what appears to have been a pre-existing mechanical issue. We should not be held financially responsible for repairing a boat that was already experiencing problems.
This rental turned what should have been a fun family day into a stressful and frustrating experience. I hope Your Boat Club carefully reviews what happened, reconsiders these repair charges, and takes steps to ensure future customers are provided with safe, properly maintained equipment and adequate safety gear.