Boat Rentals in Nantucket, MA

Rental fleets in Nantucket include Sailboats. What is available on the day depends on the company and the season, so it is worth checking a few listings.

September is the best overall time to boat from Nantucket Harbor into Nantucket Sound, with July and August better if your priority is the warmest water. NOAA’s coastal guide shows Nantucket Island water averaging in the mid-70s in July and August and around 70 in September. Town records identify July and August as the peak boating season; private moorings in shellfish areas must be removed before October 15, a useful sign of the seasonal wind-down. Choose the day carefully: heavy fog is frequent in spring and summer, thunderstorms are most frequent in July and August, and tidal current runs through the Nantucket Harbor entrance channel.

Source: Town of Nantucket (ncei.noaa.gov)

From Nantucket, you can cruise Nantucket Harbor, its shallow upper reaches, or pass through the jetties into broader Nantucket Sound. Nantucket Harbor is mostly minimal wake and carries daily ferry traffic. Head of the Harbor offers more sheltered anchoring, but its approach is a narrow, unmarked channel bordered by shoals. Polpis Harbor is enclosed and protected, with no-wake signs at its mouth. On the island’s west end, Madaket Harbor and Hither Creek are shallow waters requiring local knowledge; launch there at Jackson Point or Walter Barrett Pier, or use Children’s Beach for Nantucket Harbor.

Source: Town of Nantucket (nantucket-ma.gov)

From Nantucket, good day-trip targets are Coatue, Great Point, Polpis Harbor and Wauwinet. Coatue is a boat-accessible sandy barrier with beaches and birdlife; Great Point draws visitors for surf fishing, wildlife watching and photography; Polpis Harbor suits a secluded-beach swim or picnic; and Wauwinet offers remote harbor scenery on a cruise through Nantucket Harbor.

Source: Town of Nantucket (nantucket-ma.gov)

Yes. Massachusetts requires a boater safety certificate, rather than a boating license, for motorboat and personal watercraft operators born after January 1, 1989; those born on or before that date must comply by April 1, 2028. Personal watercraft operators must be at least 16. Children under 12 may operate a motorboat only under direct onboard supervision by a certified adult age 18 or older.

Rental customers are not generally exempt, and temporary rental certificates are only under consideration for lower power boats. Exemptions include direct supervision, qualifying nonresident certificates, merchant mariner credentials, certain military and commercial fishing operators, and recent boat buyers carrying a temporary certificate. Massachusetts Environmental Police administers the program.

Source: Massachusetts Environmental Police (mass.gov)

Massachusetts boaters should follow Massachusetts Environmental Police rules on life jackets, sober operation, registration, and personal watercraft use. Children under 12 must wear a life jacket; so must PWC riders, waterskiers, and canoeists or kayakers from September 15 through May 15. Operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs is prohibited, and operators with a 0.08 BAC are presumed impaired. Motor powered boats used on public waterways, including boats with electric motors and PWCs, must be registered. PWC operators must be at least 16, may not ride between sunset and sunrise, and must maintain slow, no wake speed within 150 feet of swimmers, shorelines, launches, or moored boats.

Source: Massachusetts Environmental Police (mass.gov)

Massachusetts sets 12 as the minimum age to operate a motorboat without direct adult supervision, if the operator satisfies the applicable boater safety certificate rule; personal watercraft operators must be at least 16. A child under 12 may operate a motorboat only while accompanied on board and directly supervised by a certificate holder at least 18. Direct supervision requires visual contact and verbal communication at all times while underway.

Certification is phased by birth date under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 90B, section 9E: people born after January 1, 1989, have been covered since April 1, 2026; those born on or before that date must comply by April 1, 2028. Rental operators set their own minimums, so confirm when booking.

Source: Massachusetts Environmental Police and Boat and Recreation Vehicle Safety Bureau (mass.gov)

Alongside the boat rentals on this page, Nantucket has 1 boat club, 2 marinas and 2 boat dealers.