The keywords are "Defective Prop SCAM" Only go here if you don't mind having your vacation RUINED. In other words --STAY AWAY!!! We paid $250 to rent a pontoon boat.They gave us a completely DEFECTIVE boat and then claimed we damaged the prop on the boat. The boat itself was decrepit, dirty and about 50 years old. Nothing on the dashboard worked, we had no idea how much gas was in it and the speedometer was broken. There was no safety ladder and they didn't even bother to tell us how to start the boat that's been jury rigged to require a 7 step non-intuitive method to start. (As in - no one could figure it out, unless they have ESP.) The boat was already on when we got on, an old man who works there, told us only how to back out of the dock. But he did warn us: "No matter what you do - DO NOT EVER TURN OFF THE PROP ENGINE." He should have told the boat not to turn itself off, because that's what happened. Interestingly, our boat stalled inexplicably, only 5 minutes out the gate, and I could not turn it back on. I called Action Watercraft for help, and the JERK owner Dave Miller was rude, obnoxious, berated me and called me stupid! The second we got back to the dock, Miller ran over to our boat, lifted the prop and started flipping out (BELLIGERENT!) that we damaged his prop. He ended up charging our deposit of $250.00 for the prop - but since I refused to hand my credit card over to cover the damage - he (or flunky) FORGED my signature!!! (They copied the info from first slip.) I fought the FORGERY through my bank and finally WON but it was 6 months of back and forth aggravation. Our BAD experience happened in July 2010, but based on current reviews, they're still at it. Every story sounds just like ours. PLEASE READ ALL THE REVIEW SITES, Trip Advisor and especially YAHOO, WHERE MOST OF THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS RESIDE. Lastly, there are plenty of other places in OC to rent a boat so do your research. I feel sorry for Action Watersports - because people often confuse Action WaterSPORTS on 52 St. OC with the HORRIBLE Action WaterCRAFT on 142 St. Fenwick Island DE. People are unknowingly giving Watersports a bad reputation, thinking they are reviewing Action Watercraft on 142nd. read more

I had an awesome time jetskiing here. Their normal rate is $79 + $10 for gas for a total of $89. This is higher than most places, but I found a coupon on their website for $20 off a ride after 6 PM. I called to inquire, and the friendly girl on the phone said that they would honor the $20 off even though I wanted to come in at 3 PM. That was pretty sweet. I've rented at a few places in OC but this place had the best/fastest jetskiis, friendliest staff, and BY FAR the largest riding area. I'll definitely come here for all my jetskiing needs from now on. read more

BEWARE!!! STAY AWAY!!!!!! STAY AWAY!!!!!! READ REVIEWS!!!!! I would like to start off by saying that my family and I have owned many boats over the years and we have always been on the water. We came to Action Watercraft because we sold our boat last season because we were not using it enough and wanted to rent a pontoon boat for the day. We got a rental for just under $300 for 4 hours. Everything was good when we got there, the receptionist was a nice lady who charged us for the boat. The individual showing us our boat was nice, but had the boat running when we got there. I noticed that it was not running well and was way under powered but I was not going to make a big deal about it. The boat was beat and was over 10 years old. As we were pulling out of the channel the boat was running rough, but we were going. We stopped, turned the boat off and dropped the anchor to eat a lunch. After about 30 mins of eating we wanted to cruise around a little more. We tried to start the boat but it wouldn't kick over. Before cranking it too much we called the company and asked what they advise before they try and blame anything on us. The gentlemen was extremely rude on the phone and said that we don't know what were doing and we are doing it all wrong. He walked us through some instructions of what he wanted us to do and while doing this it just stopped cranking all together. The rude man then proceeded to tell us that he was going to charge us an additional $60 to send someone out with a new battery. We told him that we went going to pay for that extra charge and demanded that he send someone out. A mechanic came out about 45-60 mins. later of waiting, he was a nice individual who tried to replace the battery but it didn't fix anything. He then proceeded to get us in the process of towing us in. When we made it to shore we went in and talked to the receptionist and she said the man in charge of the rentals refunded us half of our money back, but the rude man that we talked to wasn't there. We asked the women if she could send him up to the office so we could talk to him and get our money back. She was friendly and called the man on the walkie. We asked her if he was the owner and she said no he wasn't, but he was the highest in charge currently at the time. When the man walked in he proceeded to tell us that we were trying to start it the wrong way. He was extremely rude and was just demeaning the whole time. He said that he doesn't know what we could have possibly done to break there boat. We then asked if we could speak with the owner and he then proceeded to tell us that he was the owner. We then asked the receptionist if he was the owner and she said no he was not, then he told us that he was "basically the owner". We were so fed up that we decided to just take the half refund and walk away. There was no changing this mans mind, and we weren't going to waste anymore time being belittled by some rude gentleman. My advice is to stay away!!!! BEWARE!!! STAY AWAY!!!! read more

We went to Action Watersports this past weekend... Carl, Sarah, and Joe where all very pleasant to deal with. We brought our young daughter with us and while we were filling out the paperwork, he took her outside and played tic tac toe with her... Joe our leader was excellent and also very friendly... They are all excellent and we might be back next weekend for some more fun!!! Thanks.... read more

I've only had good experience with the owner and staff here. They were very flexible when I purchased a ski from them, which was in great shape. I've also had some repairs done to my boat here, after having a very negative experience at another shop, and they've done a great job. They were very up-front about the costs, called to update me on everything, and have always been fair. Regarding some of the reviews about damage to rentals, I do believe it's your responsibility to examine the watercraft before you take it out and while it's out, whether being towed or not, it's your responsibility if it gets damaged. read more

We decided at 9pm we wanted to go on a boat the next day. Called and were told no problem, come at 10:30. They called again to confirm the next morning. Got there and there were quite a few other people there also renting, but the staff handled everyone quickly and professionally. I have never driven a boat before and i had 3 teenage girls with me. We also rented fishing rods. Pros: friendly, fast service. Very nice boat, which worked fine. Ability to go and do whatever we wanted to. Cons: very little instruction. I figured out the boat but i had a few tense moments. We didnt catch anything, i think because there should have been some weights on the hook. But i dont know anything about fishing and there was no instruction. It would have been very useful to have a knife available. We got really lost coming back. The staff did try to give us hints and landmarks but everything looks the same. We asked other boaters and they pointed us the right way. I would definitely rent from here again. It was really fun and the girls loved it. Some better maps and instructions would be helpful. read more

NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE! Don't give them business on 142nd Street! I completely agree with everything Robin O. stated in her review. We had the boat started for us, and yes, the motor stalled on us in the middle of the bay. Let's just say the owner could have cared less about our concern/complaint. We had no idea how much gas it had in it. The owner told us that we had gone in shallow areas and put too much sand in the prop. Well, I know for a fact that we stayed in the middle of the channel and the bay. With so many rental places in OC, I will make sure to tell my family and friends about my negative experience here. I have been in the service industry for years and deal with complaints all of the time. You can always take the time to hear someone out and listen. Well, that was not the case on our vacation. read more

Let me start off by saying this place is a scam, like the others have said below. Do NOT go here and waste your money. The owner steals your money by saying 'you' ruined his boat. He let's you take out one of his boats that is trash and then expects you to drive it. We got one of his boats and it kept shutting off on us, at least five times. We turned around since it was not working and were trying to pull in- it shut off again and we had no control. Almost hit the cylinder block on the bridge. We finally gained control back and headed in to the dock. The girl pulling us in, pulled us in on an angle and she made us hit the dock. They said it was our fault, but nobody here wants to take responsibility for giving us a piece of crap boat. Do not ever go here. He will take your security deposit money and blame everything on you. He will also call the cops on you because he can't handle an adult conversation. Go to the place across the street. Never come here- the owner is horrible! read more

I want to warn everyone to stay away from Action Watercraft. My now wife rented a boat from Action Watercraft with several of her closest friends and the boat broke down leaving them adrift. Action Watercraft let them drift for several hours before finally rescuing them and then, unbelievably, charged them for towing them back and took their security deposit despite the fact that it was Action Watercraft's boat that was not operational. The owners then screamed at my wife and her friends to leave the store and when I contacted them they told me those "little girls" didn't know what they were doing and refused to refund the money (which we did get back but only by contesting the charge with our credit card company). It is our understanding that they have ripped off a number of other customers with these bogus charges. Please, take it from our bad experience and stay away from this unreputable company. read more

Read and pay attention to the bad reviews! I wish I had before I rented a pontoon boat from Action Watercraft!! The Arogant Owner, will steal your money!!! The boat was not working right, it was not steering properly and had very limited power, no anchor and kept tilting in the front and taking on water. There was an old crab cage in the water with no booie. The engine got a hold of this cage and just stopped. When we called for assistance, the owner told us to drop the anchor and get the crab cage off. If he came out would charge our deposit if he had to come out an get us!! We cannot drop an anchor if there was none on the boat. We jumped in the water and got the cage off the blade. We got the boat going, Then the boat tilted in the front and took on alot of water! Again, we called for help, 6 times! Scared for our lives and that of our daughter, we said enough of this and headed back to shore. Again the boat tilted and took on even more water! We finally made it back and the self serving owner Dave Miller said he was charging us full replacement cost for a new blade, because we damaged the blade. We asked, how can you charge full replacement on a used blade. A member of our party said, just sue him at which point the Owner told us he is now charging us the whole deposit because we threaten suit! Bad enough he already had our full rental costs of $291 for 4 hours had the faulty boat less than an hour. He said he wont be able to rent the boat out again because the blades were damaged. At this point he called the police to have us removed instead of talking with us. While we waited for the police, he rented our boat out and we watched it go back out to the water!!!!! So, now he has our full rental and he collected a second full rental on the so called damaged boat. He collected double rent, this was done within 15 minutes of us returning the boat. What kind of idiot deals with his customers this way? His water craft we were in was unsafe! Total disregard for the safety of my kid! He will steal your money! Total cost for less than an hour, $600! The Fenwick Island police told us they get called out to his place all the time because of this same so called "damaged the blade'. I accepted responsibility at first for the rusted damaged blade, but to take my whole deposit because some one in my group said to sue you was inappropriate and just down right shifty. Double renting the boat that he said was damaged by us, was also shifty! I will not only file suit, I will dispute the charges with my credit card company and will be telling any one and every one to stay away every chance I get. read more

This past summer I had the pleasure of going to ocean city for the first time in a decade. While down there a bunch of my college buddies convinced me to rent a pontoon boat with them and spend the day out and about on the water. I was given the oh so wonderful task of planning the adventure, as they are all lazy bums, but I took to the internet and looked up different rental places. Action water craft was one of the first on Google and I called them up. The person who picked up the phone was both prompt and pleasant answered all of my questions, and trust me I had a lot of them as I am woefully ignorant about all things boats, and scheduled an appointment for me. When my buddies and I got there, everyone was quite smiley and got us set up and on the pontoon right away. When we came back everything was quite simple, someone was there to help us tie up and told us to stop by the office to finish everything up. I went back in and once again everyone was more than helpful, I had my deposit returned to me no problem and went on my merry way. I would RECOMMEND Action Watercraft to anyone interested in a fun day! read more