The Electric Boat Company, Inc

Purchased a Google Offer and was excited to try out the Electric Boat Company as we'd never heard of them before. The first issue was when we called and tried to reserve within the offer dates (stipulated weekday), mentioning the offer, the man on the phone didn't have availability, he suggested a weekend date before the expiration was available and made the comment that we should print the offer or have it on a smartphone when we come in, so we assumed it was ok. When we arrived 15 minutes early for our boat (as their website stipulates). There were 2 people in front of me in line. One had a question about a Groupon he'd purchased that was expiring soon and the lady behind the counter suggested he just return it as they've had too many bad experiences with daily deals and wouldn't be offering them anymore. When it was our turn she had our reservation but didn't have it recorded that we we're using a Google offer, at first she didn't want to honor it as it was a weekend and was going to charge our card the full price (their website stipulates that if you cancel within 24hrs you'll be charged full price- I wish the Google Offers rule would have stated this, and you have to rent for a minimum of 2hrs). After going back and forth and explaining that the person on the phone suggested the weekend booking, irritated-she agreed to charge us half price $98 + redemption of the Offer. Either way we would have been charged full price so we took it. Other issues; The people who rented the boat before us were late so we ended up getting our boat 35 minutes after our reservation time, the boat we got had a ripped seat and was excruciatingly slow at full power. The experience wasn't a complete bummer as we had fun, the lake was a blast, easy to control for beginners, and nice configuration of seating. Also the Company seemed to be on top of safety. Not sure why the owners signed multiple offers with deal sites if they don't like them, don't take it out on your customers. more

My family and I had a great time putting around Lake Union on one of these boats. Our friends invited us on a little boating expedition on Saturday and I'm so glad we went! It's a little like the jungle cruise ride at Disneyland but instead of looking at wild animals on your ride, you can get a birds eye view of your fellow Seattlelites flying kites at Gas Works, boating and the sea planes taking off. The kids loved it and I would definitely to do this again. more

Edited post: They're still in business; they've just moved. You can now find them at 2046 Westlake Avenue North, Suite 102, 206.223.7476. Previous post:I agree with all the positive comments about this place, but unfortunately they've gone out of business. I heard about it second-hand, but their store location is definitely vacant and all the boats are gone. more

Imagine yourself out on the water on a beautiful sunny Seattle day with eight or ten friends, a great picnic and a cold beverage. No, you don't have to own your own yacht to do this! You can just rent a boat from the Electric Boat Company and cruise around Lake Union to your heart's content. This is not a boat for thrill seekers, but for those who want to spend a few idle hours bobbing around in one of the most beautiful urban bodies of water in the world! more

The absolute most fun on Lake Union & the nearby waters! more

I never dreamt that you could go down and rent a rather nice boat for the day! My husband actually found out about this place through JudysBook! : ) We did it for my daughter's birthday and she loved it! You can take food and drinks on-board and cruise up to the Ballard locks (I am told that they used to let people go through but no longer), or you can head the opposite direction to the mouth of Lake Washington. You can check out the houseboats, the seaplanes, and the other sailboats. Its a super fun experience! While the weather is slipping away you may still be able to squeeze in the last bit of the decent fall days! more

Last year my friends and I rented a boat for a couple of hours and had a blast cruising around the Lake Union area, all the way out to the locks in Ballard. We brought a bunch of beverages and food and music and partied like it was 1999. I highly recommend trying this out. If you get a bunch of people together you can do it for something like 10-20 bucks a person. Turn the boat into a floating nightclub. more

If you're looking to have fun on one of the lakes around Seattle, the Electric Boat Company is a great way to go about it. They rent the neatest electric boats, which are different from your standard boat with an outboard motor. They're positioned on Lake Union, and rental rules require you to stay in that body of water; so, no traversing over to Lake Washington or out into the Sound. Think of an electric golf cart, but with seating for 12 people (no kidding, I've done it). The boats are anywhere from 20 to 24 feet long, and are similar to a pontoon. The boats are equipped with bench seating, a center table, and canopies. Everything is removable, so they can be used rain or shine. They're set to run at a maximum of 7 knots, which is the no wake limit in certain parts of Lake Union. They rent by the hour for two hours at a minimum. You can bring on your own coolers and food, or you can stop by any of the restaurants on the water (think Ivar's on the north end of Lake Union). We liked them so much, we bought a season pass. The boats have heaters on them, so we can use them year-round. They're a family-run operation and are great people to deal with. I highly recommend them. more