Grand Marina, Alameda
Our original location on the Oakland Estuary, with the largest fleet and the widest choice of boats.
About Bae Boats
A family-owned electric boat rental company on the San Francisco Bay, running self-captained Duffy boats from Grand Marina in Alameda and Clipper Yacht Harbor in Sausalito.
Our story
It started with one boat named Santorini
Bae Boats began during the pandemic. With three children at home and nowhere to go, the founders started looking for ways to be outside that did not involve crowds, queues or a long drive. What they found was an electric Duffy boat: a slow, quiet, open-air way to be on the Bay that everyone in the family could enjoy together, from the youngest to the oldest.
The first boat was named Santorini, after the Greek island where the founders became engaged twenty years earlier. The second was named Cinque Terre. That habit — naming boats after places that matter to the family — has stayed with the business ever since.
Bae Boats opened at Grand Marina in Alameda in 2021. Alameda was the obvious first home: the Oakland Estuary is protected, no-wake and unusually calm, which makes it the ideal place for people who have never driven a boat to try it. In 2024 we added Clipper Yacht Harbor in Sausalito so that guests on the north side of the Bay could reach Richardson Bay without crossing the bridge.
We are still family owned and family operated. The boats are chosen, cleaned and briefed by us, and the person who hands you your map at the dock is usually the person whose name is on the business.
100% electric
Zero emissions, zero engine noise
Every boat in the fleet is a Duffy electric cruiser. There is no fuel, no exhaust and no motor noise, so you hear the water and the birds instead. It also means no fumes for children, dogs or anyone sensitive to exhaust.
Self-captained
No skipper, no strangers, no schedule
You drive the boat yourself, which means the whole vessel is yours for the rental. No boating licence and no California Boater Card are required — the driver must be 21 or older with a valid driver's licence, and we brief you before you leave the dock.
Two marinas
Alameda and Sausalito
Grand Marina on the Oakland Estuary and Clipper Yacht Harbor on Richardson Bay. Two genuinely different stretches of water, forty minutes apart, so you can choose the day you want.
How we operate
Small business, deliberately
We keep the fleet small enough to know every boat by name and to keep the maintenance standard high. Every rental starts with a briefing from a member of the family or a long-standing member of the dock team, and every guest signs a liability and damage waiver before departure.
We work with the people around us. Mosley's Café at Grand Marina packs charcuterie boxes that we deliver to your boat. FISH in Sausalito builds picnics for a day on Richardson Bay. Cavallo Point and Casa Madrona lend bicycles to guests staying with them. Lifted Balloons brings birthday deliveries to the dock.
And we are honest about what we are: a calm, quiet, six-mile-per-hour way to spend an afternoon on the Bay, not a thrill ride. If that sounds right, you will love it.
As seen in
Press and recognition
Where we sail
Two marinas on the San Francisco Bay
Clipper Yacht Harbor, Sausalito
Our newest location on Richardson Bay, with floating homes, Belvedere Island and Golden Gate Bridge views.
Check availability and book
Live availability across every Bae Boats boat and both marinas.
Cancellation & weather policy. Cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours before departure and your payment moves to a new date or converts to gift-card credit. Cancellations inside 24 hours and no-shows are charged in full. If Bae Boats cancels because of weather or an unforeseen issue, you choose a full refund or a credit.