Quick answer Renting a boat is a smart first step for cottagers, new boaters, and buyers who are not sure what size or style fits their life. In 2025, Harris Boat Works completed 346 rentals across a 9-boat fleet, that is real demand, not a theory. If you are ready to own,...
Quick answer
Renting a boat is a smart first step for cottagers, new boaters, and buyers who are not sure what size or style fits their life. In 2025, Harris Boat Works completed 346 rentals across a 9-boat fleet, that is real demand, not a theory. If you are ready to own, start building a quote at mercuryrepower.ca.
The full post
Boat rentals have been part of what we do at Harris Boat Works for a long time. Long before the phrase "sharing economy" showed up in a business magazine, we were putting families and anglers into clean, maintained boats for a day on Rice Lake. It was practical then, and it is still practical now.
What has changed is the scale of interest. The rental and shared-access market has grown significantly across North America, and we feel that directly. In 2025, our 9-boat fleet completed 346 rentals. That is up from years past, and it matches a broader trend: more people want to get on the water without committing to ownership upfront.
This post breaks down who those customers actually are, why they rent, and when renting makes more sense than buying. No hype about the "boating revolution." Just what we see on the dock.
Who actually rents from us
Our rental fleet is 9 boats:
- 2x Legend 23 Cruise
- 2x Legend 24 Transporter
- 1x Legend 24 Transporter (backup unit)
- 2x Legend 20 Transporter
- 2x Legend 16 ProSport
Every boat is powered by Mercury outboards and maintained by our own shop. These are not mystery boats with unknown service histories. They are boats our technicians know and have worked on.
The customers who use them fall into a few clear groups.
Cottagers without a boat are the most common. They have waterfront access but no boat of their own. Renting for the weekend lets them use what they have without paying for storage, insurance, and maintenance year-round.
Families visiting the area who want a day on Rice Lake, fishing, cruising, swimming, and are not looking to own anything. They just want an afternoon.
Anglers targeting Rice Lake who do not want to trailer their own rig. Rice Lake is a legitimate walleye, muskie, and bass fishery. Some people fish it seriously but live far enough away that trailering is more hassle than it is worth.
Prospective buyers who want to test a hull type or motor size before they commit. We get a lot of this. Someone thinking about a 20-foot fishing boat rents a 20 Transporter for a Saturday, sees how it handles, and comes back two weeks later to talk about buying.
Why the rental-to-ownership path matters
We are not a rental-only business. Rentals are part of what we do, but our core work is repowers, service, and boat sales. So why run a rental fleet at all?
Because it works as a bridge.
You can build a live CAD quote for your repower online at Mercury Repower Centre.
The boating industry has known for years that people who try boating through rentals or clubs are significantly more likely to become boat owners than people who never get on the water at all. The trial lowers the barrier. Someone who has never piloted a boat is much more likely to buy one after a few good experiences than someone who has only read about it.
We see that in our own customer base. People rent a Legend ProSport for a long weekend, decide they want their own, and come back to talk about a quote. That progression is not theoretical for us; it is part of how a real portion of our boat sales come together.
“I'm in Toronto five days a week. Owning a boat for ten Saturdays a year never made financial sense. Renting from HBW lets me bring the kids up, fish all day, hand the keys back. No winterization headache.
–Alex W.–Toronto
When renting makes more sense than buying
Renting beats owning when:
- You boat less than 10 days per season
- You do not have storage at home or affordable storage near the water
- You are not sure what size or style of boat fits your life
- You have access to waterfront but no place to keep a boat
- You want to try multiple hull types before committing
- Your time on the water is concentrated into one or two weeks per year
Owning beats renting when:
- You boat 15+ days per season
- You have a clear use case (fishing, family cruising, water sports)
- You have storage figured out
- The numbers work for your budget
- You want the freedom of a boat that is ready when you are
The threshold is roughly 10 to 15 days on the water per year. Below that, rentals win on the math. Above that, the equation tips toward ownership.
What we maintain across the fleet
Every boat in the rental fleet runs Mercury outboards. They are serviced annually, winterized properly, and pulled from service for any issue that affects safety or reliability. A boat that is not ready to go does not go out.
That maintenance discipline matters for two reasons. The obvious one: customers should not be the ones discovering that an impeller is shot. The less obvious one: a well-maintained rental fleet is the best demonstration of what proper service looks like. Customers who rent from us and then buy from us already know what our shop turns out.
Ready to own?
If you have rented enough that the math now points to ownership, build a quote at mercuryrepower.ca. Real Mercury pricing in Canadian dollars, full configuration, rigging and install included.
If you want to talk through which boat fits your use case before you build, call us at 905-342-2153 or visit HBW at 5369 Harris Boat Works Rd, Gores Landing.
We have been renting and selling boats on Rice Lake since 1947. We will give you the honest answer for your situation, including whether ownership makes sense yet.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-11.
Ready to price it out? Build a live CAD quote for your repower online at the Mercury Repower Centre.
Related guides
- Rice Lake Ontario Fishing Guide 2026: An honest 2026 guide to fishing Rice Lake, Ontario: species, seasons, FMZ 17 regulations, top spots and the.
- Rice Lake Boating Guide 2026: Launches, Hazards, Fish, and a Local's Notes: A local's guide to Rice Lake, launches, the sunken railway hazard, fishing seasons (FMZ 17), launches.
- Trent-Severn Waterway 2026: Free Lockage, Hours, and a Local's Trip Plan: 2026 Trent-Severn boating guide, free lockage dates, hours, locking-through tips, and a trip plan from a.
- Mercury Outboard Dealer Toronto: Why Drive to Harris Boat Works (2026): A frank comparison of Toronto-area Mercury dealers vs Harris Boat Works on Rice Lake. The drive-time math.
