For Sale By Owner
A Key West Charter Business, Ready To Hand Over
Island Daze Charters is for sale: the boat, the brand, and everything needed to run it. Bobby Mongelli founded the operation out of Geiger Key Marina and is moving on. If you have wanted to own your own charter instead of crewing someone else's, this is the short version of why it makes sense.
The Vessel
2024 Tahoe 1950 deck boat, Mercury 150XL Pro XS four-stroke. Reported low engine hours, pending verification at survey.
The Operation
Private sandbar, sunset, and backcountry cruises for up to six guests, with a simple published menu priced per boat.
The Brand
Island Daze Charters name, hand-built website, Instagram, Facebook, and Tripadvisor presence, and a booking-request flow already wired up.
The Dock
Home dock at Geiger Key Marina, 5 Geiger Road, Key West, FL 33040, with pickup service at Hogfish Bar & Grill, Stock Island, and family ties to the marina and its sister restaurant.
Pricing Guidance
Priced On Evidence, Shared Privately
We did the valuation homework a buyer would do anyway: live comparable listings for used Tahoe 1950s, published book values, and small-charter sale benchmarks. We keep that working file off the public web and walk serious callers through it line by line, because posted numbers go stale and quoted ones start a conversation.
The Vessel
Fair market, verified
The boat and motor are priced against current comparable sales for this model, conditional on confirming the model against the title and HIN, the reported low hours, and overall condition. Your survey settles it.
The Business Premium
Priced on proof
A premium is warranted for what a buyer actually receives: the brand, the website and its source, the social profiles, the referral relationships, and the dock arrangement. We price the transferable parts on evidence, not projected dreams.
The Package
Let's talk
What a boat-plus-business package asks depends on what transfers and what the books show. Call Lucas or Bobby using any number on this page for the current asking position and payment structures; both answers come straight from the people who ran it.
Anything numeric that matters to your lender or your surveyor: comparable listings, book values, and the records behind the asking position goes to qualified buyers directly, the version of the story that actually holds up. Not an appraisal; final terms depend on verified documents and the marine survey you commission yourself.
The Vessel
2024 Tahoe 1950 Deck Boat
A 19.5-foot deck boat with the big-cubic-capacity Mercury 150 Pro XS, sized exactly right for six-guest private charters: roomy enough to host, light enough to trail, shallow enough for the backcountry. Factory specifications below; expect to verify everything you care about at your own survey.
- Bimini top with boot and changing curtain
- Wraparound bow lounge and aft L-lounge with storage
- Bow aerated livewell and in-gunnel rod storage
- Kicker Bluetooth stereo and digital depth sounder
- Removable aluminum ski tow pylon and wake-ready storage
- Bow and stern boarding ladders, walk-through transom gate
- NMMA-certified, 100% composite hand-laid hull
Factory-standard features per Tahoe's 2024 spec sheet; the actual inventory list, any added gear, and whether a trailer is included are settled during due diligence.
| Make / Model | Tahoe Boats 1950 deck boat, model year 2024 |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 19 ft 5 in |
| Beam | 8 ft 6 in |
| Draft | 16.5 in up / 32 in down |
| Fuel capacity | 40 gal |
| Dry weight | ~3,135 lb with engine |
| Engine | Mercury 150XL Pro XS four-stroke, 2024, inline-4 3.0L |
| Engine hours | Reported low; verify at survey |
| Rated horsepower | 150 hp installed; hull rated to 175 hp |
| Passengers | Factory-rated 10; certified for 6 guests for hire |
The six-passenger limit is the USCG uninspected passenger vessel ceiling for hire, which the business was built around. Specs compiled from Tahoe Boats and Mercury Marine published data and dealer listings. Sold as-is, where-is.
The Business
A Working Menu And A Turnkey Operation
Island Daze runs a simple, repeatable day-charter product out of one of Key West's most convenient marinas: sandbar days, sunset cruises, and backcountry wildlife cruises, all private, all capped at six guests, all bookable from the website today.
The Trip Menu
| Trip | Duration |
|---|---|
| 2 Hour Sunset Cruise | 2 hours |
| 2 Hour Island Cruise | 2 hours |
| 3 Hour Sandbar Trip | 3 hours |
| 4 Hour Sandbar Charter | 4 hours |
| 6 Hour Sandbar Charter | 6 hours |
Every trip includes water, ice, cooler space, and sunscreen aboard. Pricing is per boat, not per person, and the current rate card is published on each trip page across the site; competitors charge similar or more for shorter sandbar runs.
Turnkey Digital Footprint
- Hand-built Astro static website on Netlify: fast, secure, near-zero maintenance, full source code and deployment pipeline transferring at closing
- Structured-content trip, destination, and pickup pages written for real search queries, plus AI-answer-engine readiness
- Instagram, Facebook, and Tripadvisor listings under the Island Daze name
- Booking-request form live on the contact page, delivered straight to email
- Referral relationships with the marina fish camp, the Hogfish pickup point, and the sister pizzeria
We are deliberately not pasting traffic charts on the public internet: the honest version of those numbers goes to serious buyers with the books, because that is the version that matters to a lender.
What Transfers
Included At Closing
- The 2024 Tahoe 1950 with Mercury 150 Pro XS and charter setup aboard
- The Island Daze Charters name and brand
- The island-daze.com domain, complete website source code, and Netlify deployment
- Instagram, Facebook, and Tripadvisor ownership
- The business phone line and booking-request flow
- Operating know-how: routes, tide and timing notes, vendor and referral relationships, and hands-on transition support from Bobby
Do Your Homework
Verify In Due Diligence
- Title or HIN, lien status, and confirmation the vessel matches the advertised model and year
- Engine hours and condition: a compression test or dealer diagnostic is the standard ask, and Bobby will support it
- An independent marine survey of your choosing; the boat sells as-is, where-is
- Written consent from Geiger Key Marina for dock and mooring assignment, and clear terms for the Hogfish pickup arrangement
- Your USCG OUPV six-passenger credential (or your hired captain's) and commercial passenger-for-hire insurance bound before the first paying guest
- Whether Florida's Seller of Travel registration applies to your operating model; ask the agency or your attorney
- Financial records provided to qualified buyers: review them yourself, and take them to your lender early
Buyer Questions
Asked Directly, Answered Publicly
Is this a by-owner sale of a charter business in Key West?
Yes. You negotiate directly with the owner, not a broker or a listing aggregator. That means faster answers, real records, and no brokerage layer on the price.
How much is a charter boat business worth?
Start with the boat: its verified fair market value sets the floor, confirmed against live comps and book values. Then add only what transfers and can be proven: brand, website, social presence, referral relationships, and the dock arrangement. We keep the comparable-listing file and the asking position in private and walk serious callers through it line by line.
Does it sell across the wider Florida Keys?
It sells anywhere, but realistically the buyer pool for a charter boat business in the Florida Keys concentrates in Monroe County: current crew, captains wanting their own boat, and marina-side operators. The Key West name matters because Key West bookings do not have a slow season the way backcountry towns do.
What happens to the dockage at Geiger Key Marina?
Slip and mooring rights are assigned through the marina, so the deal is conditioned on the marina's written consent. The existing family relationships with the marina and Roostica carry real weight, but consent is yours to confirm, not ours to promise.
Can Bobby help me get started?
Yes. Expect a walkthrough of the boat, the operating rhythm, the routes, and the relationships, plus introduction-based handoffs with the marina and pickup partners during transition.
Talk To The Owner
Serious Buyers Call Bobby
One call covers the boat, the business, the records, and what a fair close looks like. Reach Lucas on the dock line, or owner Bobby Mongelli direct; either way you are talking to the people who ran it. Records open up for qualified buyers, and the survey and sea trial answer the rest.