Isle of Palms Marina — Attraction in Isle of Palms

She Crab ruined my holiday Name of a boat, not the soup! Emily, dock master could have resolved our issues easily but chose to escalate attitudes, frustrations & anger of me my guests and her employees. I rented a 10 ppl boat for 8 hrs Sunday, Memorial Day weekend. We left the dock, within 15 mins I called the office concerned the boat wasn't going fast (after no wake zone) 10 knots max. They said "it was working fine yesterday, it's just that you have 10ppl, it takes a while to trim the boat" It was painfully slow and making weird noises. After leaving Caper's Island 1/2 way to Shem Creek a Sheriff pulled up, said no one supposed to sit on front of boat, then asked to see all 10 life jackets, you guessed it, only 8 on board, "honk the horn" nope that didn't work, made us turn around go back to Marina, I called told them what happened and that the boat wasn't running well, "there's nothing we can do, no other boats but will bring you 2 jackets by jet ski. It was 4 hours into our day, finally made it to Shem Creek. COULDN'T dock the boat cuz reverse now wasn't working! Our daughter had to be at work by 3, but cuz of engine problems, Sheriff making us go back for life jackets, no reverse so couldn't dock properly, she didn't get there until 3:30! First time in 6 years she's been late! 1st time! I called the Marina AGAIN! They sent someone who confirmed the engine was broken after saying "this boat's seen better days!" I was so upset, I told him to call/text me when fixed n I met my family n guests at a bar a long walk away! An hour later n 4 calls, someone called "you're all set" I asked what do you mean? It was a broken cable! At 5:30, started to limp back to IOP marina. Called again, they said "are you going to be here by 6pm! UM NO! Boat broken, "so are you going to be back by 6?" NO! NO! we got there at 6:20, I walked into the office to be angrily met by Emily n her very upset staff (apparently 6pm is their, I'm done time limit). She said "I know you had some problems, I can offer you 10% off ($50) or a coupon for $200 off next rental! There was no "I'm sorry for all the problems! She argued w/ me "I should have brought the boat back ASAP and gotten another! REALLY? your staff told me, deal w/it we don't have any other boats! Then tempers started getting hot. Rather than acting professional and defusing the situation, her and her staff started getting "all up in our faces". Granted we responded with "how dare you"! Do you know how disappointed we are? The boat broke down! We were stranded at the end of Shem Creek! Emily says "there could have been worse places to break down!" Oh Hell No! That's when I chose to leave, only to turn around and see her staff shoving one of my guests out the door, yelling F@ck you! Yeah real professional! We are so upset! The IOP Marina staff should be ashamed of how they treated us! We've rented from there before but will never again! They have an older boat fleet and will lie to you saying "it worked fine yesterday!" Whoever owns this place, I'm sorry for the way I and my guest behaved after a long frustrating day! I hope ours is a unique problem otherwise, your business isn't going to make it! Feel free to respond so we can discuss this further...

Rented a slip for a week the end of September. Booking was as easy as picking up the phone. When we arrived I went to the gas dock, filled out some paperwork, paid and was on my way in 10 minutes.

The boat slip was fine but be aware if you have a fishing boat with an onboard charger, the plugs on the dock are 30A and your normal extension cord will need an adapter. You can get one at West Marine but they aren’t cheap. Better to get it from Amazon before you go. Also, if you have a bay or flats boat the docks may be a little tall so make sure you have fenders.

The staff were fine. I wouldn’t call them friendly, but they took care of what needed done. The grill in the market is actually pretty good and is worth stopping in for even if you aren’t using the marina.

The parking was fine. It was a bit crowded on Saturday but I had no issue finding a spot.

I used a slip on the locked dock. I wouldn’t have left my rods on the boat, but it was plenty secure to leave other things on the boat.

Overall it was a good stay and I would recommend IOP Marina if you are...

BOAT RENTAL -- Fantastic experience

My girlfriend and I rented an 18' center console from the Marina's "Low Country Boat Rentals." We had a wonderful time exploring south towards Charleston Harbor and North towards Dewey's island.

Charles, the deck hand who helped us, was very patient and explained everything we needed to know in detail, with props! The boat ran well, came with a Garmin GPS plotter and depth sensor, and offered a loud stereo system with Bluetooth connectivity. We only wish the bow cushions were secured better as they occasionally went askew while cresting big waves/wakes.

Lots of rules regarding where you can go with the boat. It will seem awfully limiting at first glance, but honestly leaves you with plenty to explore. My recommendation, go north. Charleston harbor is quite stressful since you're sharing the waterway with freight ships.

Side note, y'all know you should tip your dock attendants, right? We handed Charles a tip before setting off, and he revealed to us we were the first renters to do so. Are you serious? TIP YOUR...