What is the short answer?
Choose a Duffy if you want a quiet, covered boat that one of your group drives, on calm water, for a price that covers the whole boat. Choose a pontoon if you want an open deck and a bit more speed, and someone in your group is comfortable handling a bigger boat. Choose a captained boat if nobody wants to drive, you want to go farther or faster, and you are happy to pay for a captain’s time as well as the boat.
The rest of this guide explains why.
What is a Duffy?
A Duffy is an electric boat built for calm harbor water. It runs on batteries, so it is nearly silent and there are no fumes, and it is steered with a wheel. Ours are 21-foot boats with a roof and windows all the way around, for up to 12 people, and they top out at 5 mph.
That last number is the heart of it. At 5 mph, a Duffy is easy for a first-timer to drive, gentle enough for babies and dogs, and slow enough that the trip is about the scenery. You will not get anywhere fast, and you are not meant to.
What is a pontoon boat?
A pontoon is a flat-decked boat that floats on two or three long tubes. Most have an outboard motor, open sides and a canopy overhead, with bench seating around a large deck. They are common on lakes and in harbors because the deck is stable and roomy.
Compared with a Duffy, a pontoon is usually more open, faster and louder, since most run on gas engines. The open sides are wonderful on a warm, still day and less so on a cool, breezy one. Rental rules, prices and driver requirements vary by company, so read them carefully.
What is a captained boat?
A captained charter comes with someone to drive it. That can mean anything from a small electric boat with a host at the wheel to a yacht with a crew. The advantage is obvious: nobody in your group has to drive, and the captain knows the water. The trade-off is that you pay for the captain’s time as well as the boat, and you usually book further ahead.
How do they compare on who drives?
- Duffy: you do. On our boats, the renter and the driver must both be 21 or older, and nobody needs experience. The Dock Master takes your boat to the end of the dock, hands over the keys, and gives a quick tutorial and a map. Driving one is very similar to driving a golf cart.
- Pontoon: usually you, after a briefing. A bigger, faster boat asks more of the driver, especially when docking.
- Captained boat: the captain. Everyone in your group is a passenger.
How do they compare on comfort?
A fully enclosed Duffy has the edge in changeable weather: shade on a bright day, warmth on a cool evening, and no engine noise at any time. A pontoon wins on open-air space on a perfect summer afternoon. A captained boat depends entirely on the boat; a larger vessel may have a cabin, a restroom and more room to move around.
How do they compare on group size?
Each of our Duffys carries up to 12 people, children and babies included. For a bigger group, you book more boats; with 22 identical boats in the fleet, a group can leave together as availability allows. Pontoons vary in size, and so do captained boats, where a large group may fit on one larger vessel.
How do they compare on price?
The structures differ more than the numbers:
- Duffy (ours): priced per boat, $125 for one hour or $250 for two. With a full boat of 12, two hours comes to about $20.83 a person.
- Pontoon: usually priced per boat by the hour, sometimes with fuel charged separately; check before you book.
- Captained: usually priced per boat or per person, with the captain’s time built into the price.
Whatever you choose, ask what is included, what costs extra, and what happens if the weather turns. Our own pricing page lists everything about ours.
What about the Naples Canals?
The canals are narrow and residential, and low bridges cross them, so the tide decides whether a boat fits underneath. That applies to every boat on the bay, which makes smaller, lower boats the natural fit for the canals. Ask any operator whether their boat goes into the canals and what the plan is when the tide is high. On our boats, when the tide is too high for the canals, you can still cruise around Naples Island, into Jellyfish Cove, Spinnaker Bay, Marina Pacifica and Mother’s Beach. The tides page shows the week ahead.
Which should you choose for your occasion?
- Birthdays and family days: a Duffy, for the shade, the slow speed and the price per boat. See birthday cruises.
- Proposals and date nights: a Duffy, for the quiet. See proposals.
- A group where nobody wants to drive: a captained boat.
- A big open-air party on a hot day: a pontoon may suit you better, if someone is happy to drive it.
- Team outings: several Duffys leaving together, each with its own driver. See team outings.
Where can you learn more?
Our complete guide to renting a Duffy in Long Beach covers our boats from booking to the dock, and how we compare lists the facts about our fleet next to the questions worth asking any rental company.
