Chris and his team are the absolute best in the area! Chris is always super responsive and truly wants the best for all of his clients. We know they're busy but they made us feel like we were their only clients.. We highly recommend Chris and his team! Side note.. the relationship even continues when a major storm is approaching! If I could give them 100 stars I would great prices cannot beat the service. read more

Easy to find, boat rentals just on the other side of the bridge where Charter boat Row is located. Decent boat rentals for those who don't need a Captain. And know a little about boating and navigation. read more

Wonderful service by Anthony. Great day out at sea. Truly enjoyed the whole experience. Thank you!! Will keep you guys in mind for the future. read more

First time in Key West, my fiancé rented us a boat for 12:30-4:30. About 1pm guy comes to the boat... immediately with a sarcastic unprofessional vibe about him. Would talk to my fiancé but anytime I would ask a question he had a snarky comment to make. While he's giving my fiancé directions to where we want to go, he starts telling us where we can stop to dock our boat and get a bite to eat and tells him that while we are there he can swap me out for a "younger model". We got off the boat right then. So disrespectful. And the lady in the office didn't care to hear anything about it. While that may not be her job, she could've said that she was sorry for the bad experience. Never will go back here again. read more

Spencer's Boatyard is a hidden gem in Key West. We traveled to Key West last month and rented from Spencer's 2 days. The father and son of the family owned business are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The 23' Seafox we rented was a perfect boat for 5 adults. The son was eager to show us how to use the controls and GPS equipped on the boat. The front office staff was polite and professional. I as well, am not sure of all the negative reviews for Spencer's Boatyard. Boating in the Keys is not for the novice boaters. The staff is kind enough to provide you with a chart so you won't run aground. Furthermore, the boats do have GPS which state depths as well as chart plotters which show you where the vessel has previously traveled. Familiarize yourself with the waters/maps/charts/tides prior to heading out down there. Spencer's Boatyard, thank you for 2 enjoyable and hassle free days on the water last month. We will definitely be booking again with you on our trip down next year! read more

Spencer's Boat Yard - Boating Near Me - Key West, Florida

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6 days ago To get a true picture of the character of Spencer's owners - read their rude responses to the reviews. Had we read these prior - we would not have rented. Boat needed many repairs. The depth finder didn't work and when we asked they said we wouldn't need it. Whether we needed it our not, it should work. The bilge was running for some unknown reason most of the day. SEE PICTURES! Two doors were broken and opened and crashed shut the entire day, cup holder had been ripped out and trim was popping out with exposed nails by the ladder where my daughter cut her hand on a rusty part climbing back into boat. We have rented boats many times all over the country and this was the first time we have ever had one in such bad shape. We found the workers to be very condescending and therefore we didn't mention any of the problems as we just wanted to pay and leave. All other experiences in Key West were above and beyond excellent. Sunset Watersports - parasail, waverunner ride, Sunset Sail Keywest Sailboat - HighTide, Fish Key West. read more

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Everyone was super nice. We rented a 22 Parker for the day and enjoyed it very much. read more

I'm not sure why all the bad customer service reviews the lady working the desk was extremely helpful. Set us up with fishing poles and showed my boys where to buy bait across the street. Waited patiently while my large group gathered our ridiculous amount of stuff and made great recommendations for our day out on the water. The staff helped us with navigation showed us numerous places on the map and gps to find ship wrecks. We caught tons of fish. We snorkeled a ship wreck. And swam on a splash pad we rented from them. We rented a pontoon boat. It was the perfect size. We have a new found respect for sailors and pirates and navigating the oceans and tides. But we think for our first time boating we had the most wonderfully successful day! At the end of the day we showed them pictures of our catches and they took the time to tell us the names of the fish we caught. We had a great laugh! Apparently we caught grouper! Loved our experience. read more

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Great Family owned operation. Father and son go above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and are knowledgeable before you go out.

We've been coming to the Keys every year for a long time during lobster season, and have always found it difficult to find a reliable boat rental that keeps their records in order when you make a reservation far in advance, keeps their boats in great working order, are great with communication, and make sure you actually have a dive flag and life vests on board (I mean, come on, this has legit happened to us before). We've been getting out boat at Spencer's for a few years now and are always extremely pleased at both how we are treated as customers and the quality of the boats. Even when we thought we didn't have enough gas to get back, they sister ya via phone (we made it back without having to search for a gas station on another island because we went so far out lol). The deck boat we typically rent is perfect for lobstering with a nice open front for arranging your gear, and places on both the front and the back to jump in. The well-maintained canopy definitely helps out with all of that summer sun! In 2019, we are looking forward to once again using Spencer's for our boating needs. Thanks again, y'all! read more

Rented a boat with my family. Really enjoyed the service booking. The boat yard location was very convenient. Nice friendly staff. I would if provided a higher review but the sales woman over the phone sold me on the 22ft angler. I do nit recommend this boat to anyone. It's by far the worst boat in the fleet. Really should be used as a service boat. They had no business renting this to us. The pricing was fair I would just wish we would of reserved a different style boat. If you use this company make sure you grab the deck boat of pontoon. Rick the owner was a cool guy I would come back. But stay away from that angler!!! read more

Horrible, go anywhere else. Captain had a bad attitude from the start, exceedingly unprofessional, rude. These people should not be in a customer service industry. Booked them for a trip and canceled on us the day of the trip, but still charged us anyway. Will NEVER book with them again or recommend this company. read more

I would give -0- stars if that was an option. These people know nothing of customer service. We rented a boat for the day. Their employee showed us a map, how to use the GPS, etc. we wanted to go to the reef for snorkeling. They suggested that due to the size of the boat, the winds, etc that we would be better off going to an island. An island in what he called "the lakes" saying it would be calmer. He told us we would see a ship wreck and could snorkel that area. He told us this island had shade and beaches and would be a nice day. What he FAILED to tell us was to avoid one side of the island. He also didn't warn us that there were sand bars and all would be affected by tide. We had a group of 6. We played. Collected seashells. Spent the day. Then when we went to leave we discovered the boat was sitting on sand. The water had gone. We had no cellular service. Another thing he didn't mention as he gave us directions to this island. Soooo we pushed. We pulled. We tried. But no getting boat off the sand. All us Verizon ppl had no service. One person in our group had sprint. She had 1 bar. Sometimes!! If we stood just right. Holding phone in the air. We might get a signal. We made contact with owner. He chastised me for going so far!! Then he told me to wait for high tide!!!! When I said I needed him to send a rescue boat. He scoffed and said "who will sit with the boat? You expect me to stay with the boat?" I told him we had a membership with Boat US. I gave him our membership number. He did call and get Boat US to come to our aid!!! Hallelujah!! When we got back to dock. I asked him why he could not our would not come to our aid. He said "NOT WHEN IT IS SELF INFLICTED!" He had no care or concern for us getting off that stranded sand bar. Told us to wait for high tide. Which we were told it was a King Tide and it may have been 14 hours later before tide was back Yet we were pulled out of that sand bar by the rescue boat. Yes we had a membership but it still cost us an additional $700!!! Moral of the story is don't rent boats from this company! Not helpful and didn't care if we were stuck out in the water all night long. Terrible experience. Can't say enough good things about BOAT US. read more

Easy in. Easy out. Good price. He gave us a little extra time since we showed up a little early. It was great. Good boat. Good instructions.

Beware of extra fees! I recently rented a boat and ended up having issues lowering the engine down during the middle of my trip likely due to a faulty solenoid. I understand that problems with boats happen all the time, but the issue I have with Spencer's was how it was handled. I called the rental phone number multiple times with no response and had been left stranded on the water for more than an hour. Two of the people on the boat were mechanics and eventually got the engine down. Once back to the dock I explained what had happened and asked why no one answered the phone to help us. Their response was "we were probably out on the dock and we dont answer the phone." They complained that we were 15 minutes late and proceeded to charge us extra fees. They stated that we likely made up our story and lost track of time. read more

Was able to snag a rental from Spencer's Boat Yard two days before we arrived (on Valentine's weekend!). We rented the 22' Panga which was perfect for relaxing on the water and doing some fishing farther offshore. Upon arrival we were greeted with a smile and the cutest dog behind the counter! Checking in and getting our boat was a breeze. They provided us with a map and desirable places to fish so we could avoid any large swells (there was a strong wind from the North). We had a great time out on the water and the boat ran perfectly. Would recommend Spencer's Boat Yard to anyone in need of a 1/2 or full day rental in Key West! read more

Poor customer service. We booked a boat for 10 people, the day prior to our reservation, gave them a credit card for the deposit, was told we could arrive at our convenience, but that we would be charged the full day, not a problem. The following day, we pay for a taxi from Duval to the harbor, all our belongings ready for a day on the water, and the man behind the counter claims the boat was double booked, and that he gave the boat to a group 30mins prior. My questions: if you knew it was double booked, why didn't anyone call us to let us know so we didn't have to exert the energy to come out. We could have potentially booked elsewhere, but what's done is done, what can we do about the situation? Do you have other boats available? He continued to yell at us, about how we "didn't give a deposit" and that he "doesn't run a charity" when we asked for reparations of just giving us whatever boats at the rates we were promised. Well sir, people who usually rent boats aren't usually looking for charity. We understand that everyone is trying to make a living, and we were ready to give you our business, looking for alternatives to fix your mistake, and you proceeded to disrespect ten grown adults, who would have come to an agreement if you weren't so busy yelling while we were being civil. It's against the law to advertise rates, take legal tender, complete a contract and then go back on it. Thank you for not charging our card, at least we didn't have to deal with that, which is why you get one star and not zero stars. Poor show sir, poor show. Suggestions for anyone wanting to book here: confirm your reservations, be sure to confirm that your boat won't be given away, and work with respectful people--- we all work hard to make a living, support local businesses with good business practices read more

Just finished a three day boat rental with Spencers Boatyard....outstanding experience. We have rented boats in Key West for the past 18 years....Spencer's is absolutely the best experience we have ever had. Clean boat. Up to date equipment. Just a great over all experience. Rick is awesome, Toby his assistant is awesome. Being a boat yard that is a boat yard first makes a big difference in the boats that are rented. Highly recommend Spencer's Boatyard for daily, weekly or longer boat rentals. read more

The poor reviews on this place are not wrong, I know now from experience, but let me start off by saying the guy that I dealt with may have been having a bad day but upon arrival he was very unfriendly. He asked if I have ever boated before and I have numerous times and he went over everything and then took me down to the boat. He said go ahead and get in, I was with my wife and he did not even address her or say anything to her. We both got into the boat and he said go ahead and sit down in the driver's seat. He then asked me to check the skeg and prop. Which I said the propeller? He then just looked at me and said you tell me. So I said you mean the button to lower the motor? He said I can't let you go out there today. I thought at first he was joking but he was like lets go back into the office and process a refund. He said I needed to get out of the boat and point to the skeg and prop. He was dead serious and said lets go and just left us sitting there in the boat as he walked back to the office. He said I did not know enough to boat. Now with a little more customer service classes he may have been able to handle the situation a little differently but I can guarantee you if a car mechanic told you to point to certain things in an engine and you were unable to do it does not mean you can't drive a car and the funny thing about it all is I knew he was talking about parts of the motor I just did not know he wanted me to get back out of the boat and show him which I will give it to him he tricked me by saying to get into the boat and sit down because I was under the impression that he meant lowering the unit into the water with the button on the throttle. Anyway he told me to wait as he checked in other people for boats. I waited for 20-30 minutes and when I saw him again he was like can I help you? I said yes you said you were going to give me a refund, and he was like oh I already did that but he never told me as I was standing there for 20-30 minutes. I asked him if I can have a print out for it and he said he emailed it to me, I did not receive the email until later on in the day but he did refund me but it had a same day cancellation fee of 50 dollars. I did not cancel it, he canceled it on me the same day, but for some reason there was an extra 21 dollars that I was not refunded and so the total "cancelation fee was 71 dollars" but it is what it is, based off the boat that we got to sit in for 2 minutes the seats were ripped and it was not in the best shape so if they need the 71 dollars more than me, I hope they apply it to boat repairs or customer service classes. The guy may have been having a bad day but by the looks of it he did not have much going for him to begin with. Anyway I don't want to hear any rebuttal from them because the facts are there are other places to rent boats down there and if you look at all the ratings they are the lowest ones (Hurricane Hole, Sunset Water Sports, Florida Keys Boat Rentals.) I just happened to pick the one closest to where we were staying and it was Spencers but hey you win some and you lose some, so I would advise to look elsewhere to book. read more

Took my boat in there to have the bottom painted, within a day it was peeling off. The drunk lady they had working the yard hadn't sanded the bottom When I went back they acted mad that I had a problem with the paint peeling off, they refunded nothing and offered to do nothing never go back to that place read more

If I could give zero stars I totally would. We went up to key west of a bachelor/bachelorette weekend. Weeks before going we called Spencer's boat yard to reserve a fishing boat because we were going to go deep sea fishing Saturday morning. The woman on the phone assured us that the boat had rod holders and a big cooler for catching 30+ inch fish. Once we arrived there... THEY LIED!!! The man at the front and helping us was extremely old. I didn't get his name but He was a VERY VERY VERY old. He told us the boat was the best in key west and that he cleaned it. This boat was tiny and had nothing a fishing boat for deep sea fishing should have. We asked him where are we suppose to put the fish and he said in your cooler. Mind you the woman on the phone said they had one on the boat. We let the man know we didn't have a cooler bc deep sea fish are very large. He told us we could use his which only fit 20 inches. THE LEGAL CATCH AMOUNT IS 22inches and up... Sooooo I don't know how that makes any sense. He got annoyed with us and said lets just call it even and I can go home and you can go on your way. It was already 8:30 and finding another fishing boat at such a late time would have been a waste. We ended up making it work laying poles on the floor and making the best of what we had. I do not recommend them at all and am confused as to how they are even in business still. They lie! I'm pretty sure you can find better companies that are honest and friendly. read more

So my family and I were visiting and on our last day in Key west we decided to go on a fishing trip. We rented a bout from Spencer's Boat Yard and also had a captain come with us because we were unfamiliar with the waters. On our way back from the fishing spot our motor started to take in water causing the front of the boat to lift higher than usual. The operator of the boat was unaware of how much the boat was elevated and the top of the boat hit the underpass of a bridge. The damage was minimal however there was still damage to the boat. When we arrived back at the boat dock the owner (without checking for the passengers wellbeing) started screaming at the captain and the individual who rented the boat (my father). The owner then proceeded to lose his temper and call my father a d**k and an a**hole because my father didn't think he should be held accountable for the damage because he wasn't operating the vessel. The dock owner demanded a check be written for 5 thousand dollars even though the damage would cost less than a thousand to repair. The police ended up getting involved and my family wasn't held accountable. Long story short I don't recommend one come here for boat charters unless you would like to deal with the worst customer service I've ever experienced. read more

I went to Key West for my honeymoon intending on renting a boat for 3 days from Spencer's boat yard. We took the boat out the first day and ran into some problems with the engine on the way in (this is understandable sometimes boats have problems) and basically had to limp back to the boat yard. Once we arrived I went to the office to let them know there was something wrong with the boat after which they immediately accused me of causing the problem before even taking a look at it (to me that's the worst customer service anyone can provide). After they looked at the boat they let me know it was a simple fix and we'd be good to go the next day. He also mentioned I should have called to let them know I was having problems on the boat and they would have met us in the water (I admit it was a mistake not to call but I was thinking we should just get back and we can look at it then). At the conclusion of the day I decided we didn't want to take the boat out for the next two days after all the trouble we had during our first outing. Immediately they got very rude with me (remember how rude they were when I arrived back at the Boat Yard) basically telling me we can't cancel the next two days and we will still be charged the full amount. I let him know I wouldn't be taking the boat or any other boat out he offered as I didn't feel comfortable with them. In the end we had to dispute the charges through our credit card because they still charged us for the additional days. In all honesty I would have worked with them on this issues if they had any semblance of customer services. It was one of the worst experiences I've had in my entire life and I would never recommend renting a boat from them. read more

We just returned from an amazing trip to Key West and having a boat for 3 of our 6 days really made the trip. We received great advice from the staff at Spencer's and headed to the areas they recommended. We found the great little restaurant Salty Oyster at Stock Island, the Hurricane Hole bar and on our last day headed out to Boca Grande where we enjoyed watching the dolphins swim around us for a good 15-20 minutes. Our boat was clean and well equipped and our group of 8 had plenty of room on the large deck boat. The group at Spencer's is knowledgeable, helpful and great to deal with! read more

We rented a 26' deck boat for the day for a small group of us. We wanted to do some snorkeling, site seeing and relaxing. The Spencer's were very helpful. They filled our coolers with ice, then proceeded to provide us maps/GPS to a great snorkeling site and then we headed to an abandoned island to relax on the beach. It was the perfect day. Thank you so much for the great boat rental and for providing us the best path for the day!!! We had so much so fun!!!! read more

I can give this operation 0 stars - it has one star as it wouldn't let me post without giving it one star!! In good faith, we rented a boat sight unseen and upon arrival was given the wrong boat. We were told that they had fishing gear, tackle and bait for rent/purchase and they had nothing but some old poles- directed us to a tackle shop that also had nothing but tackle for bottom fishing. We had a three day rental and we went out for five minutes, realized the sham and brought the boat back. I have several groups of friends visiting KW in the next few weeks and all were eagerly waiting to get a reference. I sure can give them one -NEVER SPENCERS BOAT YARD. This establishment is a scam and gives Key West a bad name. Please don't let it ruin your trip like it did ours-GO ELSEWHERE!!!! read more

We had a great experience, Rick explained everything I needed to know to boat safely, looking forward to many more rentals in he future.

I have been renting boats in Key West for over 15 years and Spencer's is the best! Professional, helpful and reliable. I rented a 26ft deck boat for a week in open season for lobster. The boat ran great and it was equipped with GPS and charts. I would never rent from anyone else. read more

Rented a boat from here for the Swim Around Key West in June and was very happy with the experience. Would recommend using them and will rent from them again in the future. Easy pick up and drop off. Boat was in great condition. read more

Horrible customer service. If you don't like renting boats to people why do it? The man just completely insulted us. Made us really scared to operate the boat and I have been on the water for years. I would never recommend using them. This review is basically in line with others. The guy is a real jerk. read more

Didn't get the same boat as rented, also given faulty fishing equipment. No refund or compensation. Do yourself a huge favor and spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Spencer himself got aggressive and got into my face. Terrible service. read more

Being relatively inexperienced with boats I made sure to ask which would be the most suitable for me and my girlfriend to do a bit of touring snorkeling etc in the key west area. I was told on the phone when I reserved the boat that the 22 foot angler would be the best bet. Deposit paid, all fine. We show up at 8am to check in as advised to find the boat was not in the water but being serviced as the prop had been damaged the previous day. So we waited patiently until about 9am during which time I spoke to someone who I assume was the owner. I asked his advice about where we should go and mentioned again to him that I didn't have much experience, at which point he went off on one, basically trying to talk me out of going altogether. He was quite condescending as he explained that there was a lot of shallow water in the area and that the prop was damaged yesterday by "someone like me" and that the boat was an expensive piece of kit etc etc Also told me to be extra careful to watch the gps to avoid getting grounded anywhere. The boat was dropped in and we were to given our briefing. I was shown the controls and handed a map. A few areas were pointed out as possible snorkeling spots, and then the person tried to show me the Garmin navigation device. The screen was almost impossible to see and she and another guy that was on the dock said that as soon as we turned out of the sun we'd be able to see the screen. Which was ridiculous, because even shielding the screen completely from the sun it was impossible to see. Off we go then... Who the hell would send out a pair of novices into the ocean without a working gps? Especially when "someone like me" had run into shallow water and damaged the prop the day before... I wonder if the gps was working for them? Im guessing not. Idling out through the markers, no problem. But as soon as we were in open water, we really needed that gps. The area is very shallow in a lot of places, safe passages being often only 4-6' deep. Not long until we ran into our first patch of shallow water, circled around in there for a while, churning up the bottom of the ocean, trying to navigate our way out using the map, unsuccessfully. All the time squinting at the screen, getting more and more stressed as we seemed to be in a never ending sea of 2 foot water. Fishermen waving their arms at us like we are complete morons... like it is our fault. It became obvious to me that the Garmin was our only hope of getting back to land. Googling the instruction manual gave us some, but the screen was virtually un readable, so trying to navigate through all the various settings took us for ever- color contrast brightness, daylight, night mode who knows what else. Eventually at 1130 we illuminated the screen and finally we knew which direction to point in to get to the nearest patch of water more that 2' deep. So we wasted the first 3 hours of our day on the boat either watching it being fixed in the yard, or trying not to drown. When I pointed this out on our return, he practically ignored me as he went about adding up my bill. No discount, and more importantly no apology. How irresponsible do you have to be to send someone to send someone out in a boat without checking the navigation is working? This guy doesn't care as long as you don't break his prop. read more

I have rented from Rick at Spencers Boatyard twice and will rent a third time before we leave Key West. Could not be more pleased. I highly recommend them. Ron N from Augusta Ga. read more