Special to the Patriot-Bridge
Having trouble keeping up with the high volume of requests for tours, private parties and corporate outings has been a good problem to have for Cycleboat Boston owners Ed and Rosie Cardinali, but it’s a problem that they hope to have solved with the addition of the company’s fourth pedal boat just in time for ‘the 4th.’
The fourth boat will be called the ‘Boston Patriot’ and is a 20-seat cycle boat allowing passengers to pedal as much as they want or sit back and relax with friends letting the motor do the work while they enjoy amazing Harbor views at just the right pace and with a cold drink in hand. The Boston Patriot joins ‘Rosie the Riveter,’ ‘Sweet Caroline,’ and the company’s first boat, ‘Cycleboat 1.’
“The Boston Patriot is nearly identical to our first pedal boat we received in 2020,” said Ed Cardinali. “She was in service in Gloucester Harbor and has now moved to the big city. We’ll start operations on Boston Patriot within the week. It’s particularly exciting to add our fourth boat just in time for July 4th.”
The addition to the Cycleboat Boston fleet comes due to the huge demand for Harbor tours at the leisurely pace that these trips offer. Cardinali said whether it’s birthday or bachelorette parties, corporate outings, or simple tourist excursions, they have had a hard time keeping up with the demand.
“This boat will increase our capacity by about 25 percent,” he said. “We’ll be able to offer more tours on the weekends when we tend to get booked up early. It will create more consistency with our fleet also as we’re moving towards boats with restrooms aboard, which the Boston Patriot includes.”
No longer, Cardinali said, will they have to turn away business. He added that anyone who has a question about the return of tourism and recreational tours on Boston Harbor need only look at Cycleboat Boston’s blocked-out reservation board.
“Demand is there,” he said. “We’ve been getting completely booked on weekends and have had to turn people down. We do a lot of birthdays and bachelorette parties, and we weren’t able to handle all of the requests.”
The new Boston Patriot boat also keeps a trend of growth going for the company as it has added a new boat every summer since launching the business in 2019 with one 16-foot cycle boat.
This year, the business has become its own entity as well. In 2019, Cycleboat Boston launched with the Cardinalis and Charles River Recreation. That was a positive partnership for some time, but now Ed and Rosie Cardinali have completely taken over the operations.
“We were partners for three years with Charles River Recreation, and they really did a good job of helping set up the company,” said Cardinali. “They decided to focus on their core recreation business, and as we had been handling the operational end, we were in a position to take it over completely, which we did.”
Cycleboat Boston is a family-owned business by Ed and Rosie Cardinali, who live in Charlestown not far from the company’s base of operations on Pier 6 in the Navy Yard. Cycleboat Boston has several boarding locations for private charters around the Harbor but boards all its public cruises from Pier 6 at the Charlestown Marina in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Cycleboat Boston is a ‘Bring Your Own Beverage’ and food operation, so guests are free to bring alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and food on board. Coolers with ice are provided to guests, and a typical tour lasts about 90 minutes.
For more information on the company, go to www.cycleboatboston.com.