Salty Bottom Boats

Salty Bottom Boats runs its private charter business from a dock on Palm Avenue near the Garrison Bight channel, founded by Captain Chad Harris after more than a decade living and working on the water in Key West. The business operates three customizable vessels, giving it enough range to book different group sizes and trip styles on the same day without turning bookings away.

Trip offerings include sandbar tours, which anchor guests in shallow, calm water for a few hours of wading and relaxing rather than active sightseeing, standard sunset cruises timed to the evening light show over the water, and snorkeling excursions for guests who want to get in the water and see the reef up close. Dolphin encounters round out the wildlife-focused trips, taking advantage of the regular presence of dolphin pods in the shallow waters around Key West.

Beyond the standard charter menu, the business also runs more specialized private events, including tiki boat outings built around a party atmosphere on the water, and has hosted both celebratory events and what the company describes as wake and celebration of life gatherings, suggesting a crew comfortable handling a fairly broad emotional range of private bookings beyond simple tourist outings. Scooter and golf cart rentals are also available, letting the business serve customers’ land transportation needs alongside their time on the water.

Captain Harris describes his crew, naming several members by name, as having become family at this point, a detail that reflects the kind of small, tightly knit team typical of an independent charter operation built around one founder rather than a larger corporate structure. Operating near Garrison Bight rather than downtown puts the business within easy reach of the historic charter fishing fleet docked along the same channel, while its focus on leisure charters like sandbar tours and tiki boat events distinguishes it from the fishing-focused operators that dominate much of that same stretch of waterfront.

Because the fleet includes three separate vessels, the business typically has room to run a sandbar trip and a tiki boat event on the same afternoon without one booking crowding out the other, a flexibility that smaller single-boat operators often cannot match. Sandbar stops generally involve anchoring in a few feet of water where guests can wade, float, or simply relax rather than actively swim, making them a popular choice for groups with a wide range of swimming ability or comfort in open water. Private events like the wake and celebration of life gatherings the crew has hosted are typically planned in direct conversation with the captain, allowing for a more personalized itinerary than a standard public charter format.