King Harbor at Redondo is the South Bay's own basin, smaller than Marina del Rey and with a different fleet in it: passenger catamarans, sport Fishers and party boats built for numbers rather than a couple. It is also the nearest harbour to Malibu with boats for hire, which is why searches for one keep returning the other.
What the South Bay charges
Read on 11 September 2026, Sailo lists 134 boats within reach of Redondo Beach at an average of 5,037 USD a day, from 549 to 29,000, which is close to the Marina del Rey figure because the two searches overlap across Santa Monica Bay. The Redondo listings themselves are different in character: a 36 foot Beneteau First at 300 for two hours, a 63 foot double decker catamaran licensed for 49 passengers at 1,400 for two hours, and a 65 foot Dittmar Donaldson sportfisher for 60 at 5,919 for eight hours.
Party boats and the passenger rule
The 49 and 60 passenger figures on those listings are the point of this harbour. A vessel certificated to carry more than twelve passengers for hire is inspected to a different United States Coast Guard standard, and the operators who have made that investment sell capacity: weddings, company days and fishing trips with sixty rods on board. It is why the price per head in Redondo can be a fraction of Marina del Rey's while the hourly rate looks similar.
Malibu, which has no harbour
Malibu has twenty one miles of coastline and a single pier with no basin behind it, so there is no fleet to rent from. Boats that work that water come from Marina del Rey, eleven miles south east of the Malibu Pier, or from Channel Islands Harbor at Oxnard to the north. A Malibu day is therefore a run up the coast on a boat booked somewhere else, and the run itself eats an hour of any block you buy.
What the water is like
Santa Monica Bay is open to the west and takes a north west swell straight in, so afternoons are usually lumpier than mornings when the sea breeze fills. The Redondo Canyon comes close inshore just outside King Harbor, which is why the sport fishing here is good so near the beach. Whale traffic runs through the bay from December to April, and the operators sell it.
Questions people ask about Redondo Beach boat rentals
How much is a boat rental in Redondo Beach?
Sailo lists 134 boats averaging 5,037 USD a day, from 549 to 29,000, read on 11 September 2026. A 36 foot Beneteau is 300 for two hours and a 63 foot passenger catamaran is 1,400.
Can you rent a boat in Malibu?
Not from Malibu itself, which has a pier and no harbour. Boats working that coast are based at Marina del Rey eleven miles away or at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.
Why are there so many large passenger boats here?
King Harbor's operators run vessels certificated to carry more than twelve passengers, which requires a stricter Coast Guard inspection. They sell capacity, so the price per head is often far below a private yacht charter in the same bay.