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Reservation Details

How do I rent a boat?

Figure out what type of boat you want.

 

​Prior to Arrival
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  • Make sure you have someone in your group that is over 18 years old, has a valid United States Driver's license, and can speak fluent English that can drive and rent the boat. ID cards and out-of-country licenses WILL NOT be accepted.

  • Make a reservation either online or by calling us at 765-344-1989. Walk-ins are welcome as long as we have availability.

  • Once you make your reservation check your email for confirmation. We highly recommend you read over the confirmation email to make sure your boat, date, time, and information are correct. If you do not see an email check your spam. If you still don't see it contact us so we can resend it.

  • Read over our rental agreement and have all drivers take the boater safety test that is in your confirmation email before arriving.

  • This will save you approximately 20-25 minutes in our office. 

  • You will NOT receive extra time or money back if you are not prepared when you arrive.

  • Look over our lake map and get a good idea of where everything is and our lake laws. 

  • Put a pin where the boat rental is located so you can easily find your way back.

  • Please go over the Indiana Boaters Handbook before you come to have a better idea of the boating rules and regulations.

  • Read over our frequently asked questions page so it can answer any questions you might have before your rental.

When to arrive
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  • There is a $7 park entrance fee per car for Indiana residents and a $9 park entrance fee for out-of-state cars.

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  • Arrive 30 minutes before your reservation start time so we can send you out on time. If you are renting at 9 am you can arrive 2o minutes prior. On weekends we encourage renters to arrive up to 45 minutes early. It is your responsibility to make sure you have enough time before your start time to find parking, unload your car, change clothes, go to the bathroom, take our driver test if not taken before arrival, sign our check-out agreement, get fitted for life jackets, load up the boat, and get instructions. Arriving 10 minutes before your departure time will not allow you enough time to get out, and you will miss out on part of your rental. Once you arrive at our office please notify the office person, so they can mark the time you arrived. 

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  • Rental times are not extended for late arrivals and refunds, discounts, or extra time are not given.

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  • We have a 1 hour hold time for reservations. If running late you will still be charged the full rental price of the original rental, and you will forfeit that time on the water. The boat still needs to be returned at the scheduled time. If you are running late you MUST contact an employee and get confirmation. You can call 765-344-1989 or text 765-592-3046. If we do not speak to you it will NOT be confirmed that you are running late. There is no guarantee that we can extend your rental and there are no discounts for not getting your full rental time due to being late.

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  • If we have not heard from you 1 hour after the start of your rental the rental will be forfeited and charged in full. If you still have not arrived or spoken (communicated) to an employee about arriving late your rental will be considered a no-show and charged in full. At this point, your rental will be available for other renters.

Once you arrive

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We will need you to do the following once you arrive:

  • Have drivers and whoever is in charge come into our office. Here you will pay, give us life jacket sizes, and show us all driver's licenses of everyone driving. Your credit card and driver's license is required for paperwork so please make sure you bring them with you.

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  • All drivers and people in charge will read our rental agreement and take a boater test. You can do this before arriving to save about 20-30 minutes of your time. All drivers MUST be present and show us their ID and get instructions to drive. Make sure you read over the agreement! We are not responsible for the renter not reading it and skimming over it.

  • While the drivers are signing off everyone else in the group can start loading onto their assigned boat.

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  • Employees will get you all of your life jackets and any other equipment that you rented. Please do not attempt to get life jackets, tubes, etc on your own. An employee MUST be the one to get these for you to make sure everything is correct.

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  • We will have an employee go over the boat damages with you and take pictures. The pictures attach to the rental agreement after the renter has signed off on them. The renter can also make any comments they would like on the contract.

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  • Our staff will then test the drivers over what they learned on the test and go over safety, driving instructions, and how to navigate the lake. Please make sure all drivers are there to listen! Getting life jackets and going over instructions will take approximately 10-15 minutes.

Returning the watercraft
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  • Once your rental time is up you will return the boat to the end of the dock for it to be filled up with fuel and checked over for damages. This will take about 10 minutes.  Our crew will then park the boat for you, and you will be directed to the office to pay for any fuel, fines, or damages. You can pay with cash or credit card.

 

  • It is against the law to not pay for your fuel! If you do not pay for your fuel we will contact the Conservation Officers and the park security, and the fuel will be added to your card or you will be taken to court.

 

Damages
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  • Two days before your rental we will authorize your deposit amount on your card. If your card fails to authorize we will call you and have you give us another card number. If you are unable to provide a valid card the rental will be forfeited.

 

  • If the boat comes back in the same condition as it left in and all gas is paid for the deposit will not be charged. Damages past your initial deposit will be your responsibility. Please keep a lookout for logs, rocks, and shallow spots. These will damage the propeller and the ladder if it is left down. We ask that you stay approximately 200 ft from shore to lessen your chances of hitting something. You will be charged a $30 service charge plus parts if an employee is required to come out to help you if the issue is not the fault of Raccoon Lake Boat Rental.

  • This includes running out of fuel, so please keep an eye on your gas gauge.

 

  • Please read over our fees both on our website and your confirmation email.

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  1. Most affordable

  2. Will use less gas

  3. Holds up to 13 passengers

  4. Best if you want a lot of room

  5. Best for small kids, older adults, and handicapped

  6. Tubing- Yes

  7. Skiing/Wakeboarding- No

  8. Fishing- Yes

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Pontoons

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1. Most expensive

2. Will use the most gas

3. Holds up to 10 passengers

4. Not the best if you want to bring coolers and a lot of items

5. Not as good for small kids, older adults, and handicapped

6. Tubing- Yes

7. Skiing/Wakeboarding- Yes

8. Fishing- No

Ski Boats

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1. More expensive than pontoon

2. Will use more gas

3. Holds 2 adults or 1 adult 2 kids

4. Only has a small glove box

5. Not good for small kids, older adults, or anyone with physical problems or afraid of water

6. Tubing- No

7. Skiing/Wakeboarding- No

8. Fishing- No

Waverunners (PWC)

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Cancellation/Refund​

  • We require a 48-hour cancellation notice. If you cancel before the 48 hours we will refund you the full amount of the rental. If you cancel within 24-48 hours there will be a $50 charge. A cancellation within 24 hours of your rental start time or a no-show on the day of the rental will result in the customer being charged their rental in FULL. This charge cannot be used for future rentals. No exceptions! We are a small seasonal marina and cancellations or date changes affect us significantly. A last-minute cancellation or date change affords us little chance of rebooking the rental. We uphold a strict cancellation policy.

  • If we by chance can re-rent your boat we will only charge you the difference if any of the original time. For example: if you had a rental for 4 hours and we can re-rent it for 4 hours you will only be charged the $50 cancellation fee. If you had a rental for 4 hours and we are only able to re-rent it for 2 hours you will be charged the difference between the 4 and 2-hour rental. We try our absolute hardest to get it re-rented, but cannot guarantee that will happen.

  • You MUST talk to an employee when making a cancellation! If you do not actually SPEAK OR COMMUNICATE VIA TEXT OR EMAIL to an employee you will get charged. Emailing us the night before or the day of does NOT count! If you plan on emailing it MUST be more than 48 hours before the reservation time. You MUST also get a confirmation of the change from an employee.

  • After we make a refund on our end it typically takes 4-5 business days to show up on your account.

  • NO EXCEPTIONS EXCEPT FOR EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS LISTED BELOW. 

  • There are no refunds/discounts due to late check-ins, early returns, change of plans, illness, weather, or car problems. 

  • Renter will pay the FULL price of the reserved time even in the event they did not show up for the rental on time. If running late you will still be charged the full rental price of the original rental, and you will forfeit that time on the water. The boat still needs to be returned at the scheduled time unless told otherwise by staff. 

  • Weather- Inclement weather is defined as weather where there are unsafe conditions. This includes warning of severe storms, high wind advisory, or tornado as defined by the National Weather Service (NWS). If there are inclement weather conditions in the Raccoon Lake area at the time of renters departure then the rental reservation will be postponed or delayed, and the reservation can be rescheduled

  • In case the weather turns severe (lightning) while the renter is on the lake if at all possible return to the dock. Renter needs to always be aware of the weather and their location on the lake, and start heading back as soon as the weather starts to look bad. If unable to return, seek a place of safety such as a cove or a protected shoreline, and call LESSOR immediately. Anchor the boat at the bow (front) into the wind. LESSOR cannot give refunds for time not used during a pop-up storm, but the renter can reschedule and receive a time credit. Note: if the renter doesn't return to the dock renter will NOT be given a refund or credit. LESSOR asks all renters to think about not only their safety but the safety of the employees and come back to the dock when they see severe weather approaching.

  • The renter can end their rental early and receive a time credit if there have been at least 45 minutes of heavy rainfall during their time, there are severe thunderstorm/tornado warnings, or lightning at the time of the rental. Credits are only given for severe weather conditions at the time of the rental and not future forecasts. Time credits are only given for the time that was not used. The voucher MUST be brought in when you decide to use the credit. We cannot give refunds. 

  • If there are storms in the forecast for the day you would like to rent and you don’t want to cancel 48 hours prior to see if the weather changes you can call our staff and let them know. You can then wait until the day of. If the weather ends up bad as stated above you can cancel without penalty. 

  • If weather conditions are overcast, cold, hot, windy, or raining, but no warnings are issued by the NWS AT OUR LOCATION, your rental still stands for the day and cannot be canceled or returned early for time credit. 

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