Wild Hawaii Ocean Adventures was built from the ground up around a single idea: put guests on real ex-military hardware and send them offshore searching for whales, big marine life, and sharks, not a standard-issue slow snorkel boat ride. By night, the charter runs manta viewing, the number one tour on the Kona coast.Seventeen years ago this was the first charter off  the Kona coast to push that the whole experience farther offshore. From the moment guests arrive at the harbor and watch a genuine military truck tow up and launch the ex-military RHIB they’re about to board, they know they are set for a real adventure. That brand is still intact, the permit that anchors it is still in hand, and the hardware that makes the experience real has just been substantially renewed.

This is an asset-driven opportunity: a recently repowered ex-military RHIB, its matching military support truck, an established adventure-tour brand and web presence, and a hard-to-obtain Honokohau commercial ramp permit, all in one package for an owner-operator ready to run the experience and build on it. The current owner is looking to retire and let the new owner take this adventure to new heights.

Vessel

This is no repurposed pleasure boat: the RHIB (rigid-hull inflatable boat) began life in genuine military service on a Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass hull, riding on a DIB-brand tube still in good shape at roughly 10 years old. The drivetrain is far from tired 1999 surplus iron: both CAT C7.1 diesels, 500 HP apiece, were replaced in 2020 (starboard) and 2021 (port), running through the original military jet drives and ZF transmissions. Twin diesel jet propulsion delivers the speed, punch, and shallow-draft maneuverability that make RHIBs the boat special operations forces choose, and the same qualities that make guests feel like they’re actually riding a piece of military hardware into the whale grounds rather than a tourist boat with a paint job. USCG-certified for 12 passengers plus 2 crew.

The Full Military Experience — Support Truck Included

The theater starts before the boat ever touches water. The package includes the operation’s own 1999 M35A3 “bobbed” (shortened) military deuce-and-a-half, the same truck used for 17 years to tow the RHIB to the ramp and launch it in front of arriving guests, powered by a CAT 3116 diesel with 3,400 hours on an automatic transmission. Watching an honest-to-goodness military truck back a military RHIB into the water is the first hook of the trip, an authentic, boots-on-the-dock moment that off-the-shelf tour operators simply cannot replicate. That’s the whole brand in one turnkey, branded launch-and-tow package.

Permit & Location

The business holds a commercial ramp permit for Honokohau Harbor, the primary commercial small-boat harbor on the Kona coast and gateway to some of the best whale, dolphin, and manta ray grounds in the state. A working Honokohau permit paired with an operating business is difficult to come by on the current market.

Tours Offered

• Offshore Blue Water Adventure (4 hrs)
• Coastal Marine Life & Snorkeling — dolphin and manta ray encounters (3 hrs)
• Captain Cook Snorkel Tour (2.5 hrs)
• Whale Watching, seasonal (2 hrs)
• Manta Ray Night Snorkel (2.5 hrs)
• Private charters, half and full day

Business Highlights

• Honokohau commercial ramp permit, held 17 years
• Recently repowered vessel with a support truck included, reducing near-term capital costs for a new owner
• Six-tour lineup already built, priced, and live online
• Japanese-language guest support in place
• Established web presence and social channels (Facebook, Instagram) to build on