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The Canberra Business Podcast
A podcast about all things Canberra Business.
The Canberra Business Podcast
From Casual Hire to Co-Owner: Amy’s GoBoat Journey on Lake Burley Griffin
Ready to steer a boat for the first time—at walking pace—past Parliament House and the War Memorial? Greg sits down with GoBoat Canberra co-owner Amy Wetherby to unpack how an electric picnic boat venture won locals’ hearts, turned casual staff into leaders, and kept sustainability at the centre without losing sight of cash flow and safety. This is a grounded, behind-the-scenes look at building a small tourism business that feels personal, responsible, and genuinely fun.
Amy shares how she moved from weekend shifts to running the whole operation, what changed when she signed on as co-owner, and why the real magic is watching guests return to the dock with a new sense of pride. We dig into what makes GoBoat accessible—no licence needed, simple tiller steer, calm speed—and how thoughtful upgrades like sun canopies and an 800-watt motor setting improve comfort without chasing speed.
We also get practical about the hard stuff: winter lulls, spring winds, and the judgment calls that balance safety with guest experience. Amy talks sustainability beyond electric motors—lake cleanups, local grazing boxes, and relationships that keep value in Canberra. If you’re curious about tourism, small business ownership, or how to grow through community feedback and lean innovation, this story offers clear tactics and generous inspiration.
Enjoyed the conversation? Follow the Canberra Business Podcast on your favourite platform, share this episode with a friend who loves local stories, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us.
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast. I'm Greg Harford, your host from the Canberra Business Chamber, and today I'm joined by Amy Wetherby, the co-owner of GoBoat. Amy, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much for having me on today, Greg.
SPEAKER_01:Great to have you here.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, of course. So Go Boat is like an electric hire boat rental. We're just on Lake Billy Griffin down here in Canberra. So our customers will bring their own food, drinks, have a bit of a picnic out on the water. They're eco-friendly and they're electric boats. We really specialise in helping people who have never driven a boat before. Just get out and like have a really good time out on the water. So people can, yeah, bring their own food, drinks, have a nice time. They don't go very fast, so they go about a walking pace. So they're really like a leisure boat to get out and explore Canberra in a different, different manner.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And when we're talking boats, we're talking about boats that you steer with an engine, right? Not rowboats. That is correct.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. We've got a tiller steer on the back of the motor, so they're all electric, and we teach the customer how to use them, how to drive them. Um and it is like a little bit of fun, something a bit unique for Canberra.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. And and how many boats do you have out on the water?
SPEAKER_00:Great question. We do have 13 boats in total. Um, and on a weekend or a summer's day, you definitely see all of them sailing out past like Lake Um past Parliament House, the War Memorial, things like that. You get really good sights out there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Um, do you find customers are concerned about coming to customers who haven't driven a boat before? Are they worried about sort of driving a boat? Is it or is it relatively easy?
SPEAKER_00:It is very easy, but for a lot of people, especially being in Canberra, like we don't have a lot of waterways out there, so it can be a little bit intimidating at first, especially if you've never driven a boat before. Um, so I think I find a really good sense in pride in being able to teach people how to like use the boat. Um, you don't need a license, so that's like a barrier that we get to overcome a little bit there. And I just love seeing people go out on the water and they come back with this like massive sense of pride. Like, hey, I actually did that. I've never been on a boat before, but I got to go out there, I got to drive it, I was the skipper. And I think that's like I don't know, it just makes my day when people come back and they love all that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, cool. Now you're you're relatively new as a as a business owner or a co-business owner. Um, when did you come into the business and and how have you found that that transition?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I started back in, oh, it must have been like 2017 now. Um I just picked it up as like a casual weekend job working at GoBoat. Um, I loved the idea. I used to go down the south coast a lot as a child. So I really loved the idea of getting into a job where I didn't have to be stuck behind a desk. It was a bit of a weekend job, and I slowly sort of progressed my way up. So I started just working weekend shifts here and there, um, working my way up to becoming assistant manager for probably about a year or two. I think I was an assistant manager, and then I became the manager. Um, so in total working, I was there for about five years, and then the opportunity to become a business owner sort of popped up. Um, so Nick, he is my current co-owner of the business. He is looking into like a new chapter of his life and all that, so he was ready to sell, and I guess the opportunity came up where I was like, Yes, this sounds like a really good opportunity. There's not much more I can progress as like a manager, but being a business owner was something I was always fascinated about. But it was a very big like I found it a very big step up, and I was a little bit scared of that step. And I think just having those conversations with him and being co-owner just felt a little bit more comfortable, still a massive jump, but I personally thought that was a little bit easier.
SPEAKER_01:So, how have you found the experience? You're what a couple of months, three or four months into being the co-owner of the business as we're recording this. Um has it has it gone well for you?
SPEAKER_00:It's definitely been a big challenge. I didn't realize so. First thing I was like, oh, we need to get some new like kids' life jackets, we need this, we need that. Um, but now actually seeing like the bank and everything, and you just sort of gotta think about these and you've got to like stage it in certain things, which I think Nick always had a very good handle on those things, and he would always rein us in with all these really cool ideas. Um, but now being a business owner, I really want to just keep growing it. Um, but it's yeah, it's very much like you've got to just watch these things, you've got to help the business grow, um, but do it in like a sustainable way as well. Being winter, probably not the right time, but very, very soon.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So, what are your goals for the business in the short term and the long term?
SPEAKER_00:Definitely in the long term. Um, I think some of the biz like some of the different ideas that we come across is doing maybe some different events. Um just listening to the Canberra community, I think, and listening to what they want. Like we have been around for oh, Govert's been around for like seven years now. Um, so I think just listening to the Canber community, listening to what they enjoy, um, and how we can better enhance those experiences. I really do love seeing like families going out. Um, we've had a lot of proposals out there. Um, so how can we better enhance those experiences for people? How can we make them better?
SPEAKER_01:So, what is a typical day look like for you as a business owner, and how does that differ from your previous role as manager?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so the hours have definitely gotten a little bit longer now as business owner, but um it's been really fun. So I am currently the only one working down there full time. So my current day will be like going down on site, helping all my guests and customers out on the water, um, double checking all of our maintenance and making sure we're up to scratch on all of those and all of our safety and compliance there. Um, but then it's going home, going over the emails, going over the zero accounts, like just making sure all of our accounts are up to date, all the invoices have been like put into the system, all the receipts reconciled, and just making sure, yeah, we're on top of it. So the days have definitely got on a little bit longer lately, but that's okay. I'm definitely enjoying the new challenges.
SPEAKER_01:So, who are your customers? Are they mainly Canberrans or are they tourists coming into the city?
SPEAKER_00:Um, I think we do get a good mix of both. Um, our core business will definitely be our locals, and I love seeing people go out there um getting to celebrate birthdays and um show their family and stuff that are visiting Canberra, so they get to show people around. Um I think our customer base is quite a wide one, actually. So I think it's very it's very diverse.
SPEAKER_01:And anyone can drive one of these boats.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, definitely. Anyone can have a go at driving them, they're super easy for them to use, and people do definitely enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I guess that helps you helps you broaden your market, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we would have a very wide market.
SPEAKER_01:How how do you go about promoting the business?
SPEAKER_00:Um, we try a few different things. I think it's one of those sort of events where it's very Instagrammable. So people love going out there. Word of mouth is word of mouth is massive for us. Um, and definitely with our locals, we see people going out on weekends, and then if they're working in an office, they might go back um to the office and just be like, hey, this is what I did on the weekend. So word of mouth is massive for us. Um, Instagram, Facebook, all of those sort of things is is super, yeah, yeah, cool. Vital.
SPEAKER_01:Um now you began, so you've got some part-time employees at the moment. Um, you began yourself in the business as a part-time employee, uh, transitioning through to manager and then then uh to co-owner of the business. How does how do your experiences as a worker in the business, how is that translated into the way you manage your team?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so we've got um a small base of casual employees that work over the weekends. Um, I think for myself, I I'll be completely honest, I didn't have any boating experience. Like, yes, I went down the coast with my parents and stuff on the weekends, um, and my pop loved fishing, but I had never really driven a boat before. I hadn't, I didn't know how to tie up the lines, I didn't know all the terminology. Um, so I was given a really good opportunity, and I had a really good manager at the time who took the time to actually show me how to dock a boat, um, taught me all of these things. So I really do take that approach into when I'm teaching my casuals, um, and I don't look for the boating experience. Like, bottom line is wearing Canberra, so if we can just get people who are willing to work, they want to be out there, they're happy being outdoors, I'm willing to put in the time and the energy to help them and train them. Um, and people really do find that sense of pride in their work down there, and I see that all the time. Like with our casuals, no two employees are the same. Um, and I really try not to see them as employees, like we're all part of a team. I would never ask them to do something that I wouldn't do myself. So we're all in it as a team, we're all down there scrubbing boats. Um, but customer service is definitely our number one priority down there.
SPEAKER_01:Uh and how easy do you find it to find employees? Is there a good pool of talent out there or is that a challenge for you?
SPEAKER_00:It definitely depends. Um, so I found this season I actually put a post up on Facebook Notice Board and I was overwhelmed with the amount of people that responded back to it. So within, yeah, my post being up for an hour, I already had 20 people trying to like apply for this role that I was in past years I've actually struggled to find people for. Um, but this year, a lot of people in like year 11, year 12 were applying for these roles and they just wanted weekend work. They said that hospitality is something that they're looking to get into, but they're struggling to find people who will hire them with no experience, where I've never been one to hire for experience. Like I work in a boating industry in Canberra, like I don't know where you're going to be.
SPEAKER_01:It's not a big pool of talent, right?
SPEAKER_00:Exactly. Like, I don't know where you're meant to find people with experience. So I'm more than happy. Like, for me, it's not about a resume, it's about a personality. And if I get along with like the person, they're willing to put in the effort and they want to learn. That's all that matters to me. Um, and I think, yeah, I've found an amazing pool of staff for this season. So I'm really excited to have them all trained up and for the public to meet them and come down and experience our great customer service down there.
SPEAKER_01:Fantastic. Well, we'll have to get down and have a have a look. So, where are you where are you actually physically located?
SPEAKER_00:We're physically located down in Kingston foreshore. Um, so most of our customers do make a booking online before um coming and visiting us, um, but we're super easy to find just down on the foreshore in Kingston.
SPEAKER_01:Um now innovation is really important in businesses to kind of keep things fresh and new. Um, how do you go about driving innovation in the business?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so we're always constantly looking at how we can like better improve our services. Um, so one major thing that we updated on our boats was when we first started, we didn't have like a sun canopy, and it was listening to our customers and the feedback that we sort of receive, like our customers have been really great. Like, I there's never been a day that I've come into work and I haven't had a great interaction with the customers, like they're always out there to celebrate and do good things. So they're typically very open to talking about how we can better improve our services. So by adding a sun canopy onto them, when we first started the boats, um, they were programmed at 500 watts. We've slowly increased that up to 800 watts, so that just helps us get through the wind a little bit faster. Um, I'm not saying that they're speed boats by any kind of means, but um, yeah, just updating those like slowly and just by hearing different people's feedback is definitely helping us with the innovation and how we can better like better provide for what people's needs are.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So so for the non-technically minded who might be listening to this, and those perhaps who don't understand boating, what's what is the difference between a 500-watt and an 800-watt power rating? How how fast do the boats go?
SPEAKER_00:Um, they only go about a walking pace, so I'd only say about four kilometres, really. Um it's just that little bit, just to help a little bit more with the wind, um, so that we don't have to restrict the boats as much, or yeah, just just so they just go that little bit faster.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, excellent. Not that Canberra's that windy, I have to say. As coming from Wellington originally myself, where you know the w gale blows through the city uh endlessly. Um, you know, Canberra's actually quite quite calm most of the time, isn't it? Or is the wind an issue for you out on the lake?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the wind is definitely a major issue for us, um, especially being springtime at the moment. Um we definitely feel those northwesterlies coming straight through on the lake. Um but by the time summer comes around, hopefully it's a little bit nicer out there. I do find the mornings and the afternoons so much nicer though.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we'll keep our fingers crossed for uh the wind dropping and better weather over the window. For a good season, yes. Um now you talked about sustainability a little bit earlier. Um how how do you focus on sustainability in the business?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, sustainability is a massive part of our business. So being eco-friendly, definitely. Um the boats are fully electric, so no petrols, no fumes there. We always try and go out and look after our lake. So our lake is the key of our business, really. Like that's what we operate on. So going out there, just making sure um that we can do rubbish collections as possible. Um, yeah, really just trying to do the best we can for the environment is like our biggest sustainable like factor. Um, but also reusing things, um, trying to shop locally as well. Like we've got really good local partners down here. So Bean and Tave will do our grazing boxes for us. Um, and yeah, just trying to buy local products.
SPEAKER_01:So um, so three, four months into being the co-owner of the business, what's what's been the biggest challenge you've encountered along the way?
SPEAKER_00:So far, biggest challenge is I have started in the middle of winter. So Canberra, winter, as we all know, isn't the most pleasant out there. It can get very cold, those temperatures, and especially this winter. Um, so I think the biggest challenge that I've definitely encountered so far on the way has been the weather challenges with yeah, cold weather, and currently I'm actually battling with the wind. So right now it's quite windy out there. This weekend, particularly on Saturday, isn't looking the best for boating. Um, so it's really just trying to get like a really good safe balance between the safety and enjoyment of our customers and being able to like operate.
SPEAKER_01:So if you were talking to someone else who wanted to come on and own a business or start a business up, what what advice would you be offering them?
SPEAKER_00:I think definitely to just enjoy what you do. I wouldn't be able to do this if I didn't enjoy it. Um working down there for the last five, six years, there's definitely goods and there's bad. Like there's a good and bad in everything. And if you don't enjoy what you love, there's never going to be that passion behind you. And the passion is what drives me. Like, I don't mind if I'm down there working a 12-hour day, a 14-hour day. Like, that does not bother me in the slightest. As long as I'm doing it for the right reasons and I'm making people's day, I'm making sure they're having a good time out there. That's really what drives me the most, is like seeing our guests go out there and have like such a good time. And yeah, if you didn't enjoy it, I know I couldn't, I couldn't be doing it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Some good advice there, I I think. Um, if you I guess just to wrap this up, if you could take a celebrity out on one of your boats, who would who would you most want to be out with?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, a celebrity. That would be, you know what, we have had Hamish Blake go out on the boats, and that was like a massive highlight for me. We were in a tourism campaign, and having him go out, actually, that was that was really cool.
SPEAKER_01:Um so you've already you've already been there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we've we've had Hamish Blake out there. That that was, yes. I very much enjoyed that one.
SPEAKER_01:Excellent, excellent. Um, Amy, it's been great having a chat. Thank you so much for coming on on the podcast. Um, I look forward to getting down to Kingston for sure and checking out the boats at some point in the near future. Um, but really appreciate your time. Thanks for coming on.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Um, don't forget you can follow us on your favourite podcast platform, so don't forget to do that to catch up on future episodes of the Canberra Business Podcast. I'm Greg Harford from the Canberra Business Chamber, and I've been joined today by Amy Wetherby, the co-owner of Go Boat. Thanks very much.