The Trip

Pre-Night Boarding
Boats will be ready at approximately 7:00 pm. On the morning of your arrival date, you MUST contact us with your projected arrival time. Arrangements will be made with you at that time as to your boat and its location. We will leave for you on the boat a guest register that will need to be filled out entirely. We will also leave you important information regarding our rules and regulations and a recommended safety checklist. Please review the information we leave for you on the boat to be prepared for the next morning.

Morning and Paperwork
Prior to leaving the harbor on the morning of your departure all contracts, damage waivers, and guest registers must be completed and all charge slips must be signed. You must come to our office with your guest register at 8:00 am sharp to complete your paperwork. The person who has made the reservation is responsible for going through the contract and personally signing for the boat. Any and all persons who have provided us with a credit card that has been charged toward the reservation must appear in person at this time with their photo id and the card itself for verification to sign their charge slip before departure. Please remember that third parties are not able to sign another person's charge slip for them. Also, any fees due to Starved Rock Adventures and your security deposit must be paid either in cash or with a credit card. Personal checks cannot be accepted.

Orientation
Late arrivals for contracts may experience delayed departures because we launch people in the order in which they have completed their paperwork. You must complete an orientation on proper operation and maintenance of the boat before your departure. This orientation takes approximately an hour and a half. In order to leave with the houseboat, you need to have two drivers to have completed this. Please remember that only persons who have completed the orientation may operate the boat. After you have received your orientation, you are driven out of the harbor by one of our staff. This is because of the large size of the houseboat coupled with the small area to navigate it amongst many privately owned, expensive boats inside Starved Rock Marina. After you are out of the harbor, your driver leaves you on your own to begin your time out on the water.

Overnight with the Houseboat
For your protection, we do not want you driving the houseboat at all after 5:30 pm.  This is because our office will be closed and if something happens, if you have an operational problem with the boat, there is no one at our office to help you. We expect to hear from you every evening by 4:45 pm to tell us where you will be spending the evening and if you are planning an extended trip on the other side of the locks. You may begin moving the boat again in the morning at 7:30 am. If you plan to spend any evening in our harbor by returning to the marina, you should coordinate with us ahead of time when you expect to arrive so that we can be ready with someone to bring you back into the harbor by also piloting you back in and docking you in your slip. Remember, under no circumstance may you operate the houseboat inside the harbor of Starved Rock Marina.

Return of houseboat and check out
Your party must be in harbor and completely off the boat by 2:00 pm on your return date. Before you leave, your boat must be refueled and inspected for any damage. Please allow at least half an hour for this procedure. A charge may be assessed for late boats because our housekeeping and mechanical staff needs to have enough time to prepare them for other persons who may be renting the same houseboat that evening. We will charge you per gallon of gasoline used, and if there is any damage done to the boat we will also go over it with you and charge you for that. Return to our office before you leave for the final calculating of the bill and to pay the charges. Your security deposit will be refunded at that time with us crediting the card back or returning cash that was paid to us with a check. Under special circumstances, we may hold your security deposit up to 5 days if we feel we may need to calculate charges for damages that cannot be properly identified and/or assessed on short notice, and please note that we also reserve the right to charge the renters' credit card(s) for damages or services discovered after you have left.

There is a charge for exceptionally dirty boats. Please make sure all garbage is removed from your boat and placed in the dumpster in the parking lot. Also please strip all sheets, pillowcases, and towels and place the used linens in the laundry bags provided for that purpose. Do not remove the mattress pads or blankets into the laundry bags unless they are clearly dirty because otherwise our staff will attend to them. Make sure that all dishes have been washed, dried, and put away. Do not put dirty dishes back into cupboards or drawers because you may be charged if you leave dishes for our staff to wash.