Planning a family reunion means balancing the headcount, coolers, drivers, and a group chat that's been active for months. The good news: a multi-boat day on Rice Lake is one of the easiest big-group activities to actually pull off, because the lake does the entertaining and...
Quick answer: For groups bigger than one boat's capacity, check current availability for two or more boats and plan to run them together. Each boat needs its own licensed driver, capacity limits are hard, and everyone gets fitted life jackets at check-in. Multi-day rentals can stay at your cottage dock. Book online at harrisboatworks.ca/rentals.
Planning a family reunion means balancing the headcount, coolers, drivers, and a group chat that's been active for months.
The good news: a multi-boat day on Rice Lake is one of the easiest big-group activities to actually pull off, because the lake does the entertaining and the dock setup is simple.
Here's how the groups that have a great day set it up, and the three rules that catch organizers off guard. If it's your crew's first time on the water here, our first-time rental guide covers the basics before you scale up to a fleet.
Who this is for
Family reunions, cottage weekends with two or three families, fishing trips with the work crew, birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette days (sober ones, see the alcohol rule), and any group that won't fit on one boat. If you're six people or fewer, one pontoon does it: start with the fleet guide.
The Three Rules That Surprise Group Organizers
1. Capacity is per boat, and it's a hard limit. Every boat has a rated capacity and we hold to it. Twelve people can't "mostly fit" on a boat whose posted capacity is lower. Check each live listing and book enough capacity for the full group.
2. Everyone on site is on a boat. We can't host a shore party: no extra people hanging out on the property beyond your boats' capacity while others cruise. If grandma's coming, grandma gets a (great) seat on the pontoon. Plan boat seats for every single person attending.
3. Every boat needs its own licensed driver. One boating licence doesn't cover a convoy. Every person who may drive must show a valid temporary or permanent PCOC plus photo ID at check-in. Passengers don't need one. If a driver still needs the card, complete the accredited online course before rental day at myboatcard.com/card/harrisboat. Details are in our licence guide.
Picking Your Fleet
Mix boats by what each sub-group wants to do:
| Group |
Boats to book |
Why |
| Group above one boat's posted capacity |
Enough currently available boats for the full headcount |
Everyone swims, cruises, and anchors together for lunch |
| Fishing weekend |
Currently available ProSport or fishing-pontoon options |
Match each sub-group to a live listing and posted capacity |
| Two-family cottage crew |
One cruise pontoon + one fishing boat |
Anglers leave at 8 am, families launch at 10 |
| Reunion with elders and toddlers |
Cruise pontoons |
Stable, shaded, easy boarding, room for the stroller crowd |
The live booking system lists the equipment for each pontoon. Every boat carries fitted life jackets for your whole roster, kid sizes included. Check current multi-boat availability in the booking system.
Running a Multi-Boat Day Without Herding Cats
- Stagger the check-in. Send one organized person per boat to the office with that boat's driver. Everyone else stays at the vehicles until life-jacket fitting. Twenty-two people in the office at 8 am helps nobody.
- Pick a lunch anchorage before you launch. "Meet at the west end around noon" beats fourteen phone calls from the middle of the lake. Your dock orientation includes a lake map; mark it together.
- Convoy through the marked passes. The old rail causeway between Harwood and Hiawatha hides rock just under the surface, and the buoyed passes are the only way through. Lead boat goes first, everyone follows the same line.
- Trade passengers at anchor, not underway. Kids always want to switch boats. The lunch anchorage is the time.
- Agree on a hard return time. Boats need to be back, unloaded, and cleared by the return time on the agreement. Late charges follow the current signed rental terms and apply per boat.
Food, Shore Time, and the Alcohol Rule
BBQs are welcome on site, in designated areas only, never on or near the boats. A shore lunch between morning and afternoon cruising works great; just remember rule two: shore time is for your boats' people, not extra guests.
Alcohol is prohibited on all rental boats, full stop. Ontario treats a boat like a car, the OPP patrol Rice Lake seriously, and the penalties are severe. For the group planning a celebration: boat dry all day, then raise a glass on dry land once the boats are back. The groups that ignore this rule don't rent twice.
Washrooms: four on site, key at the office.
Cottage Weekends: The Multi-Day Move
For reunions based at a rented cottage, multi-day rentals change the game: keep the boats at your cottage dock for the whole stay and use them whenever you like, outside normal rental hours included (lights required after dark). You're responsible for the boats while they're in your care, and everything else about the day works the same. One booking, a whole weekend of shuttle runs, sunset cruises, and 7 am fishing before the kids wake up.
What HBW checks before your group leaves the dock
Group send-offs follow the current rental process for each boat: life jackets are fitted to every person on the roster, the required safety equipment stays with each boat, and every driver gets the boat orientation, lake map, and causeway briefing. Harris Boat Works has served boaters on Rice Lake since 1947.
Ready to Book the Fleet?
Get your headcount, pick your boats, and get each driver licensed this week. The group chat will doubt you; the photos will vindicate you.
Book online: harrisboatworks.ca/rentals
Address: 5369 Harris Boat Works Rd, Gores Landing, ON
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