Sailing Montauk’s Catamaran Mon Tiki

Our party of 12 had tons of fun with Montiki.
Captain accommodated for us a sailing and swimming afternoon, so we sailed, swam, sang, meditated, and bonded. It’s definitely the right way to create unforgettable memories ^.^

Spent a relaxing 2+ hours on the Mon Tiki with Captain David and his wife sailing the Block Island sound. The top priority upon boarding the boat was safety. Capt. David gave a through overview of the rules for our safety. After that we were under way cruising the sound. Saw abundant schools of fish, Gardiner’s Island, Block Island, Plumb Island, Rhode Island.
Bring along a light snack and a drink. Adult beverages are OK. All and all a delightfully relaxing afternoon. Look forward to the sunset cruise next time I’m in MTK.

I had a great experience on the MonTiki! I was on it for an afternoon cruise with my two cousins the last weekend in August. What a great way to end the summer! One of my cousins is not a swimmer and was very afraid of sailing. Captain David put her very much at ease. He pointed out a school of fish and other landmarks. The weather was beautiful and the other guests on the boat were a lot of fun. The only thing is I would caution you to hold on to your cell phone! I almost lost mine in the sound.

The experiences my son and I had aboard the MonTiki were outstanding. Awesome memories for life. The details:
I’ve lived a fortunate life so far, have traveled some, as far as Australia, sailed competitively and leisurely,
and in my career have encountered all kinds of customer service/​client situations.
So I feel I know a great thing when I see a great thing. Not only is the MonTiki exquisitely clean and loved by The Daves, it was built by them. It’s made for fun; a social sailing experience. You sit on beanbags. Not chaise loungers. You might get some sea spray on you. Maybe bounce around on waves…
We took advantage of two outings: the sunset cruise which was delightful, and the mid day sail and swim, which was super-​fun. We made so many memories and have some stunning photos.
What it is: a sailboat; a catamaran run by two local, responsible, knowledgeable and interesting, hardworking people. It’s about the beauty of nature, the dialogue you might have, or choose not to have while experiencing being on board. The vibe of the sail. We could not have been happier. Both Daves were interactive, interested in their guests, very sincerely kind — but not patronizing –to my son, and respectful of the other parties who were more unto themselves. It really was «all good».
In order to pull off this mixed bag of variables, it’s obvious (or should be…) that there are and need to be many rules to follow. Not options-​rules. These are for everyone’s safety and enjoyment, and at the lowest level, for some people who may have zero awareness of how to conduct themselves or manage their expectations or children. You’ve all seen them in restaurants, snapping fingers, creating a mess, badly tipping…
What it is: a beautiful experience. A clean, pretty boat, a peaceful sunset, a hugely fun daytime swimming/​exploring excursion.
What it is not: a gone-​wild booze cruise; also not a private sojourn of white glove indulgences for the gentry who would rather have kow-​towing yacht staff and just can’t swing that. Chalk that up to the recent influx of a sort of «Tour-​on» Montauk is suffering this summer.
My son, who has some special needs, showed an interest in the workings of the boat and both Daves picked right up on it. They treated my son with respect and let him get involved in some sailing procedures– an enduring confidence boost like you can’t imagine.
In addition, we learned a bunch about Montauk shores, catamaran block and tackle, and we swam and laughed and made friends. Priceless.
We can’t say enough about this and can’t wait to go back.

Montauk is a beautiful and cherished place and my friends and i have spent close to a decade appreciating the beauty of the sunsets in the east end-​in fact it is our favorite thing to do. As LDW approached we booked the sunset cruise to close out the summer. We were told upon booking that the sunset cruise didn’t hold more than 15 people and there were 14 of us. To our surprise when we arrived at the boat (which is very hard to find — absolutely no signs or direction beforehand) there were already 4 additional people plus the captain and deckhand on board. The captain was sitting in a prominent location on the boat which was squished, did not acknowledge our presence or say hello and sat there for another 10 minutes– again without even looking at us. We all shuffled aboard and made do with the small amount of space that was available. As the cruise departed our entire group felt increasingly uncomfortable and unwanted– the captain is rude, awkward and NOT a people person at all. This behavior and attitude continued from Captain David until the end of the trip and was completely unfortunate as we spent over $ 800. There is a way to say things to people– and we are reasonable people who respond to rational and polite feedback. There were a ton of rules aboard– which is great and we felt safe aboard but his quips about everything else were unappreciated and won’t go tolerated. I was fooled by their instagram and social media channels as everyone looks like they were having the time of their lives and the sunsets and water look incredible (which has nothing to do with mon tiki– thats mother nature). They posted our picture from the boat and then subsequently deleted it-​mature right?
I highly recommend you look elsewhere and book Heron Charters. There was a complete lack of acknowledgement, kindness and we were left with a very bad taste in our mouths. I will leave you with the fact that this was my second time aboard mon tiki– the first time was last summer and my friend and i were the only ones aboard. We felt the same discomfort but chalked this up to the crew having to take out only 2 people. I can now confirm that this is the way it is in general and will never return. Sidenote the deckhand who is also named David was AWESOME and went out of his way to repair all of Captain David’s blunders.

Great experience! The boat was comfortable and safe for kids. Captain David — who built the boat himself– was informative and eager to share his joy of sailing with us. Highly recommend!

Great experience! the boat is beautiful and very safe! 2 friends and I did the group sunset cruise and not only did we have great weather but the trip was overall amazing. Gained some knowledge on fish, the ocean, sailing and of course montauk! you can being your own food and drinks plus there is plenty of comfy seating all around the boat! Beanbag chairs on a boat? AWESOME! hope to return to montauk soon and when i do this will definitely be on my list again!

This was by far one of the most impressive, beautiful sailing trips we’ve ever done. We enjoyed the Friday sunset cruise with about 12 other people, along with Captain Dave and his assistant Lucas. From the start they were friendly and made everyone feel welcomed — they even pulled out a guitar for a min-​jam session while at the dock.
We enjoyed a spectacular 2-​hour cruise around the lake, and finally taking off into Long Island Sound to enjoy what was by far the most breath-​taking awe-​inspiring sunset anyone has seen. People who vacationed in Montauk for decades were speechless!
Following the sunsest, we continued our sail with some more jams (he has a whole box of instruments you can pick up and play); what more could you want than a sunset cruise with good music and company?!
They were so friendly, personable, well-​versed on the art and craft of sailing — I can’t rate and recommend them highly enough! Go on this boat!

omg!!! if its your first time to visit montauk, i highly suggest that you ride the catamaran mon tiki! it was a very fun experience! the boat is spacious, we are 8 in the group and there were 2 other families with us, so imagine that! the wind was great, the staff were very friendly, the sailboat was just awesome! i adored it, the most special of all was the experience. it was wonderful sailing in montauk, what a beautiful memory we all had =)

What more can I say about Captain David and the Mon-​Tiki experience. Not only was the sail an absolute treat, but David also assisted me in one of the most special moments in my life-​my proposal to my fiancé. I cannot thank him enough for going over and beyond for me-​from coordinating with him weeks ahead of time to set the plan in place and orchestrating the plan to perfection that day. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, the sail in its only right (minus the proposal) was fantastic. The catamaran was built by David himself and takes tremendous pride in showing its patrons a memorable time, courtesy of the majestic landscape Montauk has to offer. The price is very reasonable, $ 60 each, which is like a fishbowl at the SloppyTuna and a ride a Soul Cycle. You bring your own booze and if David is feeling jazzy, he plays guitar for you free or charge!
This is an ideal thing to do when visiting Montauk for families or a romantic evening (even more so when you have a ring ;). I mean come on, it’s nice to have something else to do besides seeing the lighthouse and going to the beach, right?! You will definitely not be disappointed. Thanks again David! :)

Great ride wish we could have gotten to spend more time outside the harbor but we understood the captains concerns and we appreciated that he stayed out longer than the 2 hours and went with only 3 passengers.

Went on the sunset cruise. To be honest I was not expecting much because their prices were the lowest in the area and thought the service would be the same but boy was I wrong. The couple that owned the boat and took us out on the water were so friendly and down to earth. The boat is beautiful and spacious. Getting out of the marina needed a motor but as soon as we were out in the ocean they opened the sails and it was a beautiful and calming ride. The captain pointed out some interesting things during the trip. The sunset was beautiful and we returned only when it was barely visible. Since the cruise was in the middle of dinner we brought our own take out and drinks which were welcomed on board. One thing that I noticed was thoughtful was that the captain brought out some blankets for some couples that seemed cold. Would recommend this company to anyone. You will have a great time!

We had a lot of fun sailing around block Island sound with Lucas and Captain David. The boat had a ton of deck space for us to lay around and it was really interesting learning about the Polynesian style catamaran!

Had a great sail yesterday! Beautiful boat! Obviously taken care of with pride. Thanks to Captain David and first mate Lucas we’ll be back next year!

A friend treated me to a sail with Captain David, and that afternoon sail was the highlight of my vacation in Montauk. I highly recommend Sailing Montauk! Can’t wait to book another sail this summer.