Island Shuttle Boat Tours

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United States
Savannah, GA
Island Shuttle Boat Tours

We provide eco/history/maritime tours of Savannah's creeks, rivers, and sounds; we go to Daufuskie and Ossabaw and every island in-between.
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We do champagne sunrises, romantic sunsets, and bachelorette trips anytime! Call us for the best boat ride ever! In the interest of safety, we travel during daylight hours only and observe a 25 mph wind speed operating limit.

09/01/2026

Cleaning day! There is something strangely satisfying about doing this:-)

08/31/2026

Happy Birthday Suzy!

That motor is 4 years old! The boat it is mounted on is 10. Dash 1 is a Key West DFS 203. (dual console, fish and ski--but we don't do either of those things:-). We bought this boat in 2020 in anticipation of the Savannah Boathouse opening, and us starting a shuttle service to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina . It came out of the Freedom Boat Club fleet after 3 years of service and 1600 hundred hours of hard use. In just about a year and a half we put 900 hours on the Suzuki 150 that came on the boat. Then the motor gave up the ghost on the way to pick up a family on an August morning. With help from our friends we found a motor in Chapin South Carolina and drove up there to give the man a check for 15 thousand dollars and took this motor to Hale Marine Services inc. where it got hung on the boat and rigged up. It has been a trooper. The only issue we've had was self inflicted. I thought putting Sea Foam engine cleaner in the gas tank was a good idea. It wasn't. I learned my lesson.
Because we burned 900 hours in a year and a half we've planned on 600 hours a year, now split between Dash 1 and Dash 2. That estimate was pretty good as this one has 1,150 hours on it at 4 years. As everything revolves around hours of prop time it's important to know how many hours we will operate in a year as the fixed operating costs like dock rent and insurance and office rent have to be spread across these hours. Then we add in the variable costs like fuel (5 gallons per run to DI at $5.75 per gallon) and scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Add in an allowance to replace both hull and motor and you can get a fair assessment of what the boat costs to operate per hour. ($80)
We charge $180 per hour to operate this boat. (A DI run takes an hour.) That number gets adjusted for inflation which is a thing. Every trip to Daufuskie requires about 2.5 hours of labor. We charge/pay $100 per run for labor, either to another Captain or ourselves. There are a lot of uncompensated hours, but that comes with owning a business. The trade off is that we get to spend time with wonderful humans and their dogs.
If you multiply 1150 hours times $180, this little Suzy has generated $207,000 of gross revenue over her life span (in today's dollars which are worth much less than they were 4 years ago). We will run her for another year and then look at a new motor. She will go to a line of work that doesn't involve taking children across the Savannah River for hire, like crabbing.

08/28/2026

Are you having guests visit from out of town? Our two hour loop tour will be the best part of their stay in Savannah. They will love the experience and you will feel like a super host for coming up with the idea.
Promise:-)

08/27/2026

Early is good!

08/25/2026

When it comes to marine services we either do it or know someone who does. In addition to water tours, trips to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina on our boats, Captain services on your boat, and boater proficiency training; we also move boats by water. This dusty gal must have spent a long time in the barn but she started right up and got to the hoist at (Hogans) with no drama. She's headed to a broker in the Carolinas. Whatever you need, give us a call. We won't steer you wrong.

08/22/2026

Churnin' and burnin'

As we wind down the summer season and move into fall's cooler days it's fun to think about the great times the summer of '26 provided.
Families to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, bachelorette loops with Billy, super-positive moments teaching ladies that docking a boat isn't so hard after all and magical mornings when it's just me and God and Quality Rock Q105.3 on the boat going over for a pickup.
You will probably not become wealthy being a charter boat captain, but it will make you happy with yourself and your life and the world around you:-)
If you live on DI please keep a couple of ladies in your thoughts and prayers. Ms. Beverly is having to move her home as the ocean was eating the land around it, and Ms. Tracy is having to pack up and move her household off of DI due to a health event in the family. Both of these evolutions have been extremely stressful and difficult for these women and we admire their "grit and tenacity." We are also glad that we get to help them navigate the obstacles of being on an island with no bridge.
You might notice that we don't pay for advertising. But somehow the calls and texts keep coming. That's mostly thanks to you! We appreciate you.

08/19/2026

Not sure what happened this morning but we have had 6 requests for transportation to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina for next month so far today!
Barely a peep for a couple of weeks and then; bam!
Busy is good right?
This afternoon I came to a regular customer's second home on DI to hang out and wait on some folks packing up their belongings at their home (now for sale) in Bloody Point.
On entry I found the condensate drain in the mini-split AC here blocked and dripping. Really glad I stopped by!
PSA If you have an AC running in a home that is often unoccupied (like a second/vacation home ) you should get it serviced regularly and make sure the technician cleans out the drain line. A clogged condensate drain can cost a whole lot of money in damage to your home.
It's also a good idea to have a place that is mostly unoccupied checked on a regular basis by someone you trust. Real estate agent, leasing agent, trusted neighbor, or maybe even your boat Captain:-)

Yep that is water in those seats. The owner and I are both glad I stopped by:-)

08/16/2026

Welcome aboard as we go get Dan and Bri and 3 pups from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina on Dash 1. On return we have to get Dash 2 out of the water as the barnacles are growing fierce these days. Best time to boat is early or sunset...

Address

8020 Highway 80 East
Savannah, GA
31410

Telephone

+19126575222

Website

http://islandshuttleboattours.com/

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