DirtyBoat is the best reviewed of the Islamorada offshore charters, a fast 42 foot Liberty Express run by Captain Kit Carson out of Robbie’s Marina. What sets it apart from the deep private fleet up the road is access: DirtyBoat sells a split, or shared, seat as well as the whole boat, so a solo angler or a pair can fish the bluewater here without covering a full private charter. Back that with one of the deepest five-star records in the Upper Keys and a real swordfish pedigree and you have the top boat in the port, held back only by a fuel surcharge stacked on the quoted rate.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.6 DirtyBoat is the top ranked boat in Islamorada and the one we would book first for a general offshore day. The case is built on three things that all check out: a captain and crew that more than 360 five-star reviews describe in the same terms, a boat kept and rigged to fish hard, and the split charter option that makes a private style offshore trip affordable. Captain Kit Carson fishes the local tournament circuit, the Gold Cup and the Cheeca Presidential among them, and the boat has a 463 pound swordfish on the record that Keys Weekly called one of the largest ever landed out of Islamorada. What keeps it out of the very top of the scale is honest enough: the fuel surcharge is added on top of every quoted rate, and this is a single boat, so the best dates and the split seats sell out and the overflow moves to sister boats with different crews. Book it for a first offshore trip, a mixed group, or a serious swordfish run; if you want the biggest, most comfortable hull in the port, the Catch 22 is a larger boat.
The boat
DirtyBoat is a 42 foot Liberty Express with 900 horsepower under the deck, full air conditioning, and an enclosed head, which is more comfort than the open center consoles that make up part of the Islamorada fleet and enough boat to run offshore and deep drop in the same week. The cockpit is rigged with tournament grade tackle, and the boat is fast, which matters here because the productive ground, the reef edge, the ledges, and the Islamorada Hump, sits a short run offshore. It is not the largest sportfisher in the port and does not pretend to be; it is a well kept, hard fishing 42 footer, and the reviews back that up rather than the brochure.
The fishing and what you target
Captain Carson runs the full Islamorada offshore menu. Sailfish and mahi mahi are the winter and spring draw on the troll and the kite, blackfin tuna and wahoo come through as the water warms, and the boat fishes the reef for snapper and grouper when the offshore bite is slow. The specialty is daytime swordfishing, the deep drop technique pioneered in this port, dropping baits to the bottom in 1,500 to 1,800 feet off the island. That is where the 463 pound fish came from. Seasons and limits on sailfish, mahi, and the Atlantic grouper closure move year to year, so confirm the current rules with Florida FWC before a date specific trip.
Trips and prices
DirtyBoat is the rare Islamorada private boat sold by the seat as well as by the boat. A split seat starts at $475 per person plus a $50 per seat fuel surcharge, the cheapest way onto a private style offshore boat in the port. A private charter for your own group of up to 6 starts at $1,200 for the boat plus a $200 fuel surcharge, and a daytime swordfish expedition starts at $2,700 plus $500. The rates are posted clearly on the operator’s site, which we credit, but the fuel surcharge is added on top rather than built in, so the real number is higher than the headline. Our cost guide sets the split seat against a whole boat charter, and the party boat versus private charter guide explains where a shared seat like this sits between the two.
The crew
This is the strongest part of the page. Across more than 360 reviews the pattern is consistent: Captain Kit and mate Mike are praised for working hard to put people on fish, for teaching first timers without making them feel out of place, and for being easy to spend a day with. That volume of recent, repeating sentiment is what a track record looks like, and it is rare to find it this clean on a single boat. The one caveat is the flip side of a one boat operation: when DirtyBoat is booked, the overflow goes to sister boats in an affiliate fleet, the Miss Penny and Just Cuz among them, which are capable boats but a different captain and crew than the one the reviews are about.
Booking and what to know
Book direct through the operator’s site or by phone; the split charters in particular fill, so book ahead for a winter sailfish window or a summer swordfish date. DirtyBoat leaves from Robbie’s Marina at mile marker 77.5, the same complex as the tarpon feeding and the Hungry Tarpon restaurant, so build in time for the parking and the crowd in season. Bring a soft cooler with ice, sun protection, and motion sickness medication if you are unsure of your stomach. Confirm the fuel surcharge in your total, and confirm whether you are on DirtyBoat itself or a sister boat if you book a busy date.
How we scored it
DirtyBoat scores 8.6, the top of the Islamorada field, on a captain and crew and a track record that more than 360 reviews carry, a comfortable and well rigged 42 foot boat, and the access that the split seat adds. It loses ground only on value and transparency, where the fuel surcharge sits on top of the rate, and on the limits of a single boat. See how we scored this boat, and compare it with the rest of the Islamorada ranking.