There are all kinds of recreational boat rentals at Navy Yard and The Wharf, and a new one with a retro feel has launched on The Wharf’s Southwest Waterfront.
Sea Suite Cruises has added 1950s-era, retrofitted fiberglass powerboats, DC Retro Boats, to its fleet at The Wharf. The small boats carry four passengers, and can be rented for 90-minute outings in the Washington Channel.
The pair of boats officially launched at The Wharf June 23.
The boats have a ’50s auto flair, with fins, retro colors and chrome detailing. Sea Suite Cruises fitted both boats with electric motors to make them 2023-compliant and energy efficient.
The boats are named Gladys and Violet, and rent for $175 Monday through Thursday and $225 Friday through Sunday.
Renters can bring their own food and drink, though the rules prohibit whomever captains the boat from drinking alcoholic beverages.
Sea Suite Cruises owners Jack Walten and Jack Maher, Arlington natives and friends since childhood, have built an eclectic fleet of recreational rental boats. The pair started with one boat in 2018, departing from Georgetown Harbor. Both quit their full-time jobs in 2021 to dedicate all of their energies to the boating business.
The company’s boats also include catamaran pedal boats and Tiki boat bars with thatched roofs.
In addition to Navy Yard, The Wharf, Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria, the company’s various boats are also available at Richmond’s Rocketts Landing, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Ego Alley in Annapolis.
