Boat Rentals in Brooklyn, NY

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

June through September is the best window for boating on Jamaica Bay and Brooklyn’s East River waterfront. Jamaica Bay measurements show an annual water temperature range from the mid-30s to upper 70s, while Brooklyn Bridge Park’s public East River kayaking season runs May through September, making late spring through early fall the practical local season.

Pick the day by weather and tide, not just the calendar. At the North Channel Bridge launch, low tide exposes mudflats and can make launching muddy; near Rockaway Inlet, currents are strong. Check the weather and tides before departing.

Source: National Park Service (nodc.noaa.gov)

From Brooklyn, you can boat on Jamaica Bay, protected Sheepshead Bay, New York Upper Bay, the tidal East River or Lower Bay off Coney Island. Jamaica Bay is marsh-lined and channelized; small craft can hand-launch at Floyd Bennett Field’s seaplane ramp, Mill Basin or Canarsie Pier. Sheepshead Bay is well protected, though its approaches are subject to shoaling.

Pier 5 provides New York Harbor access, while human-powered boats can launch at Pier 4. The East River connects Upper Bay with Long Island Sound and requires careful current planning. For more open water, Coney Island Channel links Lower Bay with Rockaway Inlet.

Source: National Park Service (home.nps.gov)

From Brooklyn, boaters can plan day trips to Sandy Hook, Great Kills Harbor, and Liberty Landing Marina. Sandy Hook combines bay and ocean beaches with the historic lighthouse and Fort Hancock; Great Kills Harbor offers a marina, fishing areas, and a seasonal swimming beach within Gateway National Recreation Area; Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City welcomes transient boats and has restaurants on site. These stops give crews a choice of beach time, fishing, history, or a meal ashore.

Source: National Park Service (nps.gov)

Yes, but New York calls it a Safe Boating Certificate rather than a boating license. The state generally requires recreational operators of motorized vessels to complete a state-approved course and carry the original certificate, including for personal watercraft. Operators of other motorboats must be at least 10, while PWC operators must be at least 14. Renters age 18 or older may operate a livery motorboat without a certificate after receiving basic instruction and safety information; a rented PWC may be operated without one only within a marked area near the livery. Renters under 18 need a certificate, and no one under 16 may rent a PWC at all. Course graduates receive a temporary certificate valid for 90 days. Valid U.S. Coast Guard operator licensees are exempt. New York State Parks administers the program.

Source: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (parks.ny.gov)

New York boaters should carry one U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket per person; children under 12 must wear one while underway on any boat 65 feet or less, including rowboats, canoes and kayaks, unless inside a fully enclosed cabin. Operating while impaired by alcohol or drugs is illegal, and a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher is intoxication. Mechanically propelled boats must be registered. Personal watercraft operators must be at least 14, complete a boating safety course, wear an approved life jacket, and operate only between sunrise and sunset. Statewide, boats and equipment must be Clean, Drain, Dry or treated before launching in public waters. New York State Parks oversees boating safety.

Source: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (parks.ny.gov)

New York's only statutory rental age is for personal watercraft and specialty prop-craft: Navigation Law §73-a bars a livery from renting one to anyone under sixteen, and in the same clause requires genuine proof of identification and age plus compliance with the boating safety certificate rule in section 49. A personal watercraft renter over eighteen may skip that certificate only where the livery keeps them within five hundred feet of the agent assigned to supervise, on a clearly marked craft.

Operating age is separate. Section 49 sets ten years for a mechanically propelled vessel and fourteen for a personal watercraft, each with a certificate; a personal watercraft operator may instead be accompanied by a certificate holder over eighteen. Rental companies set their own minimum age.

Source: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (nysenate.gov)

Alongside the boat rentals on this page, Brooklyn has 4 boat clubs and 4 marinas.