"GoBoat Lets You Captain Your Own Eco-Friendly Picnic Boats on the Brisbane River"

Following successful launches in Canberra, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, GoBoat’s electric picnic boats will set sail along the Brisbane River from this Thursday, April 22. The brand's local presence will begin with a pop-up location at Dockside Marina in Kangaroo Point, before an official launch at Breakfast Creek in the coming months.

“We have seen incredible uptake across GoBoat’s three Australian locations and we’re launching this pop-up because of overwhelming demand from the community in Brisbane since they found out we were going to launch at Breakfast Creek,” GoBoat Australia managing director Nick Tyrrell said in a press release.

“The GoBoat team has been working tirelessly for the last 12 months to create an experience that highlights the best Brisbane has to offer – incredible weather, a sprawling city full of activity, the Story Bridge and more … We are looking forward to enabling locals to enjoy their special moments, celebrations, relaxed afternoons and new experiences from the privacy of their own boat, amongst Brisbane’s most iconic locations.”

The Danish-designed eight-seater, pet-friendly boats – made from recycled plastics and fibreglass – are run by a quiet electric engine and emit no pollution. The clincher, though? You don’t need a boat license to pilot them.

Aspiring sailors can book sessions from one to six hours in length, starting at $109 for one hour, with the price per hour decreasing the longer the booking. There is a $50 fee for every 15 minutes the boat is late back to the dock, and customers are liable for any damage to the boat. There’s a $200 security bond per boat and every person who boards one signs a waiver.

The picnic part is up you. “I’ve seen all different types of set-ups – some with tablecloths, plates, the works. Others will do a few beers and a couple of pizzas,” GoBoat’s Oliver Swan told Broadsheet Melbourne in 2019.

Each boat features a communal recycled timber picnic table – for easy cheese platters or picnic set ups – and a sunshade for protection. Just leave the portable Weber at home; no cookers or flames are allowed. Customers can bring their own alcohol, but there are limits. “We operate during daylight hours only and obviously there’s no toilet on board, so people generally don’t drink heavily,” says Swan.

GoBoat encourages social drinking rather than reckless boozing. A “captain” can’t have a blood alcohol content that exceeds 0.05 per cent. “That’s the law. We don’t have any separate rule there. It’s the exact same blanket rule for anyone that is on a boat,” says Swan.

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