Need your PCOC? Take the online course through HBW's MyBoatCard referral link and use HARRIS15 for 15% off. Most rental questions start in the same place: what boats are currently available, what does it cost, and what licence does the driver need? Here's all of it in one...
Quick answer: Harris Boat Works rents pontoons and fishing boats on Rice Lake. The current online lineup includes 20 Transporter, 23 Cruise, 24 Transporter, the Halo pontoon, and 16 ProSport boats. Everything books online with live availability, life jackets and safety gear included. You need photo ID and proof of operator competency. Book at harrisboatworks.ca/rentals.
Need your PCOC? Take the online course through HBW's MyBoatCard referral link and use HARRIS15 for 15% off.
Most rental questions start in the same place: what boats are currently available, what does it cost, and what licence does the driver need?
Here's all of it in one place. No surprises at the dock, because surprises at the dock waste your water time and ours.
One thing up front: we're in Gores Landing, on the south shore of Rice Lake, roughly 1 hour 45 minutes from central Toronto in light traffic and about 30 to 35 minutes south of Peterborough. Traffic varies, so check the route before choosing a rental start time. You rent here, you boat here. Our boats stay on Rice Lake.
The Current Rental Lineup
The live booking system is the source of truth for the boats and dates available. As of this review, it lists these options:
| Boat |
Size |
Best for |
| 23 Cruise and Halo pontoons |
About 23 ft |
Cruising, swimming, and larger groups; check each boat's posted capacity |
| 20 and 24 Transporter pontoons |
20 and 24 ft |
Fishing and cruising, with open deck space |
| 16 ProSport fishing boats |
16 ft |
Small fishing groups; check the live listing for capacity and equipment |
Some current pontoon listings specify stereo or Bluetooth equipment; check the selected boat's live listing. Every boat goes out with legally required safety gear and life jackets fitted to your party at check-in, including kid sizes. You don't bring or rent any of that separately.
Capacity is per boat and it's a hard limit. If your group is bigger, book two boats and verify that each boat has a qualified driver.
What a Rental Day Looks Like
Booking. Everything runs through the online system at harrisboatworks.ca/rentals. Live availability and rates are shown there; pay the booking deposit or full balance as prompted. Required documents are due online one day before the rental date.
Rental hours. Rentals run on our regular business hours, which are listed on our Google Business Profile. Multi-day rentals are the exception: keep the boat at our dock or at your cottage dock and use it whenever you like, with lights required after dark.
Check-in. Show photo ID and a boat operator's card (permanent or temporary) for whoever's driving. We process a $1,000 damage deposit hold on a credit card; it's an authorization, not a charge. Staff fit life jackets for everyone, then the driver gets a boat orientation and a lake map.
AI-generated editorial scene illustrating a rental check-in. It is not a photo of our dock, our staff or our customers.
Return. Back at the dock, unloaded, by your contracted return time. Staff refuel and inspect the boat, settle the fuel used, and finalize the damage-deposit hold. Late charges follow the current signed rental terms.
What It Costs Beyond the Rental Rate
Rental rates are live in the booking system (they vary by boat and day), so we won't print numbers here that go stale. The costs people don't plan for:
- Fuel: you pay for what you burn at return. The amount varies with the boat, distance, load, wind, and throttle use.
- Damage deposit: $1,000 hold, released after the boat checks out clean.
- Bait: check current on-site availability before your rental; bring your own tackle.
- Cleaning: normal use is expected. Spilled worm dirt and muddy anchors are the two classics that turn into cleaning fees. Rinse the anchor before it comes aboard and you're fine.
The current signed rental agreement governs responsibility for damage, including amounts above the authorization. Review those terms before rental day. If damage occurs or you strike something during the trip, stop operating the boat and contact HBW immediately, then follow staff instructions.
Licences: The Two Cards That Matter
To drive the boat, every person who may take the helm must show a valid temporary or permanent Pleasure Craft Operator Card plus photo ID at check-in. A completed Rental Boat Safety Checklist can satisfy the federal proof-of-competency minimum for some rentals, but HBW has a stricter policy and does not substitute the checklist for the card. Passengers do not need a PCOC. If a driver still needs one, complete the accredited course before rental day at myboatcard.com/card/harrisboat. Full details are in our Ontario rental licence guide.
To fish, Ontario/Canadian residents aged 18 to 64 need an Outdoors Card plus an Ontario fishing licence, sport or conservation. For Ontario/Canadian residents under 18 or 65 plus, government ID is treated as the licence. Most non-Canadian residents aged 65 and over still need a licence. Accompanied foreign minors have a separate exemption and share the licensed adult's catch limits. Check the current non-Canadian-resident rules. We don't sell fishing licences; get them at ontario.ca before you arrive. Canadian residents fish free on Mother's Day weekend, Father's Day weekend, and Family Fishing Week in July.
Common mistakes
- Booking the boat but not the licence. Complete the required driver-competency process before rental day rather than counting on a last-minute fix at check-in.
- Bringing a cooler of beer. Alcohol on our rental boats is prohibited, full stop. Impaired boating is the same Criminal Code offence as impaired driving, and the OPP patrol Rice Lake seriously.
- Ignoring the buoyed channels. The old Harwood-to-Hiawatha rail causeway left rock just under the surface mid-lake. It's unmarked outside the buoyed passes. Use the map we hand you; it exists because of exactly this.
- Planning a shore party. Your group size is the boat's capacity. Extra people can't hang out on our property while you boat.
- Cutting the return time close. Leave enough time to be back by the stated return time; any late-return terms are set by the current signed rental agreement.
What HBW checks before you leave the dock
Every rental includes legally required safety gear, fitted life jackets, and a driver orientation covering the boat, the lake map, and the Rice Lake railway hazard. At return, staff refuel and inspect the boat before the account and damage-deposit hold are finalized. Harris Boat Works has served boaters on this lake since 1947.
Weather, Cancellations, and the Practical Stuff
Weather: if conditions are genuinely bad (high wind, heavy rain), we cancel or reschedule with a full refund. We'd rather rebook you than send you out white-knuckled.
Cancellations: free with 7 days' notice, deposit refunded. Inside 24 hours or day-of, the full rental amount applies. Review the current agreement for any date that falls between those windows.
Dogs: smaller dogs and service dogs are welcome aboard, leashed on land, and their behaviour is on you. No dog life jackets here, so bring one if your dog needs it.
Washrooms: four on site; grab the key at the office.
Planning the Drive from the GTA
Harris Boat Works is in Gores Landing on the south shore of Rice Lake, roughly 1 hour 45 minutes from central Toronto in light traffic. Allow more time during GTA and summer-weekend traffic. Plan your route and arrival time before booking, then use the current rental listing to choose the boat, date, and capacity that fit your group.
A Sample GTA Day-Trip Itinerary
7:45 AM. Leave central Toronto. Stop for coffee on the 401 east.
9:30 AM. Arrive at HBW (5369 Harris Boat Works Rd, Gores Landing). Park, bathroom, snacks at the office.
9:45 AM. Boat briefing + safety walkthrough.
10:00 AM. On the water. Run east toward Hiawatha or west toward Bewdley.
11:30 AM. First swim stop or fishing session.
12:30 PM. Cruise to Bewdley shoreline. Lunch on board or anchor in a bay.
1:30 PM. More fishing, swimming, or cruising.
2:30 PM. Head back toward the marina.
3:00 PM. Dock back at HBW.
3:30 PM. Lunch on shore, then start the drive home. Allow the same travel-time buffer you used in the morning; traffic determines when you get back to Toronto.
Use the live rental rate and add the fuel you actually use. Include your travel, food, fishing-licence, and bait costs rather than relying on a generic family-day estimate.
Things to Know About Rice Lake (the Hazards)
Rice Lake is not flat-empty water. Two specific things to know:
1. The sunken railway. A 19th-century railway line is submerged across the middle of the lake (between Hiawatha and Harwood), in places just inches below the surface depending on water levels. It's claimed many propellers over the decades. The pre-departure briefing covers this, we'll show you exactly where on the chartplotter and how to navigate around it. Newer boaters: stay on the south shore until you've crossed it once with us briefing.
2. Weed beds. Mid-summer, weed beds get thick in the bays. Avoid running through them at speed, they'll wrap your prop. Easy to navigate around once you see them; the briefing covers this.
3. Wind from the west. Rice Lake's east-west orientation means a stiff west wind builds chop quickly across the open water. Check the morning forecast; if it's blowing 15+ knots from the west, plan a sheltered cove day rather than open-lake cruising.
Outside the mapped hazards, continue to follow Ontario speed, wake, shoreline-distance, and safe-operation rules.
Ready to Get on the Water?
Pick your boat and date, and the booking system shows you live availability and rates. Complete the required documents before arrival so check-in can proceed at the office and dock.
Book online: harrisboatworks.ca/rentals
Address: 5369 Harris Boat Works Rd, Gores Landing, ON
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