Private Boat Hire in Mooloolaba, With Live Music, Cocktails and Crew

Exclusive use of Spray of the Coral Coast, a heritage-listed ketch, for two to four hours. Your celebration, our crew, live music on deck, and canapés featuring fresh Australian native ingredients.


Your favourite people on the timber decks of a heritage-listed sailing ketch. One of our signature native Davidson plum chilli margaritas in hand. A local musician playing as the sky over Mooloolaba turns pink, orange and gold. That’s Mooloolaba boat hire the Saltwater way.

A private charter gives you exclusive boat hire in Mooloolaba aboard Spray of the Coral Coast, two to four hours on the calm, sheltered waterways of the Mooloolah River. Simon, Jenna and the crew host it. They plate the canapés, cue the musician and bring the cake up from the galley at the minute you tell them to, so the only job left is turning up.


✓  Exclusive boat hire for 2 to 4 hours, fully skippered and crewed, for up to 32 guests

✓ Live music from the same local and touring artists who play our Sunset Sessions

✓ Canapés and grazing platters freshly prepared with locally sourced wild-caught fish and Australian native flavours

✓ Fully licensed bar, cocktails infused with native botanicals and locally distilled spirits, and a drinks tab you set yourself

✓ Calm, sheltered waterways, so grandparents and toddlers cruise as comfortably as everyone else

✓ Departing The Wharf Mooloolaba, 123 Parkyn Parade


Plan your private charter │ Enquire online or call 0447 085 521


Celebrations we love hosting

Intimate weddings and elopements, with the rigging and timber as your backdrop and the ceremony timed to golden hour. Proposals, where the crew looks after the ring, the music and the photographer so you only have to remember the words. Milestone birthdays, hens, bucks and hucks. Corporate charters for teams who would rather toast the year on the river than in another function room. And plenty of afternoons with no occasion beyond good friends, good food and a Mooloolaba sunset.



Most function venues on the water give Sunshine Coast groups a view and a room. A private charter on Spray of the Coral Coast gives you the timber decks and standing rigging of a heritage-listed ketch, and a ceremony held under her masts.


The music, the food and the cocktails

Live music that makes the night

The musicians who play our Sunset Cruises play private charters too. They’re the same local and touring artists featured in our Sunset Sessions series, playing original songs and their own takes on covers you’ll know. Tell us the mood and we’ll match the artist. Prefer your own playlist? The onboard PA is yours.

Fresh Australian native flavours

Your canapés and grazing platters are freshly prepared on the day, featuring locally sourced wild-caught fish and fresh Australian native ingredients on a seasonal menu that changes with what’s at its best. Or choose the Bushtucker menu that grew out of our Bushtucker Cruise, a unique dining experience showcasing Australian native flavours. Tell us about dietary requirements when you book. Bring the cake and we’ll plate it and carry it up.

Cocktails with a twist

The bar is fully licensed and the cocktail list is built on Australian botanicals. Davidson plum, finger lime, lemon myrtle and pepperberry, mixed with locally distilled spirits. Set the drinks tab where you want it, add champagne for the speeches, and the crew pours the rest. Local beers, wines and non-alcoholic options are all on board.

How your private charter in Mooloolaba comes together


Three steps. You tell us the date and the occasion, we send one itemised quote inside a day, and you step aboard as a guest at your own party.

01

Tell us your story

Enquire online or call with your date, group size and what you’re celebrating. We’ll confirm availability and talk through duration, two, three or four hours.

02

We shape the day around you

You choose the pieces that matter. Menu, cocktails, musician, decorations, cake, photography timing, the exact minute the big moment happens. We bring them together and send one itemised quote.


03

Step aboard and be a guest

Arrive at The Wharf Mooloolaba, 123 Parkyn Parade, and look for the timber masts beside the blue tower. Our skipper looks after the water and our crew looks after everyone on it, including you.


Aboard Spray of the Coral Coast

Spray of the Coral Coast is a heritage-listed timber sailing ketch, built to the plans of the Spray that Joshua Slocum sailed alone around the world. The Australian National Maritime Museum recognised her in 2021. She takes up to 32 guests. Above deck it’s timber, rigging and open air, and below deck there are modern amenities, so a four-hour charter stays comfortable for everyone aboard. For a boat charter, Mooloolaba has plenty of options. This one has been on the water for more than a century.

What a private charter costs

Exclusive boat hire aboard Spray of the Coral Coast starts from $1200 for two hours between February and September, and from $1400 for two hours from October to January, for up to 32 guests. Catering, drinks and live music are shaped to the celebration and quoted alongside, so the cost of each piece is visible up front. Every private boat charter on the Sunshine Coast is priced a little differently, which is why we keep ours to one itemised quote with nothing hidden. Tell us your date, group size and occasion and it’s usually back within a day.


Frequently Asked Questions

  • How many people can the boat take?

    Up to 32 guests as standard, with room for everything from an intimate dinner to a lively birthday. Need a few more? We can take up to 35 for larger groups, so let us know your numbers and we'll talk you through the best set-up, whether that's seated for a ceremony or a relaxed, mingling cocktail-style cruise.


  • Can we bring our own food and drinks?

    You’re welcome to bring your own food, and our crew will plate and serve it for you for a $5 per person plating fee. Drinks are the one thing we ask you to leave to us. The bar is fully licensed, so BYO drinks aren’t permitted, but set your tab and the crew will pour native botanical cocktails, local beers, wines and non-alcoholic options all evening. Cake is always welcome.


  • Do you offer boat hire without a skipper?

    No, every private charter is fully skippered and crewed. Spray of the Coral Coast is a heritage vessel with a crew who know her, so you get to enjoy your celebration instead of watching the helm. If you’re after self-drive hire, we’re happy to point you in the right direction when you call.


  • Is a private charter suitable for a wedding ceremony?

    Yes. We host ceremonies, elopements and post-wedding cruises on board, and we coordinate celebrant timing, live music, catering and photography moments on the water. The timber decks and rigging do the work a styled backdrop usually has to.


  • What if it rains on our charter date?

    The sheltered waters of the Mooloolah River handle most weather comfortably, and light rain rarely troubles a charter. If conditions would make your celebration unsafe or unpleasant, we’ll be in touch early to reschedule or resolve your booking in line with our booking terms.


Let's create an unforgettable celebration
on the water.

"Wonderful food, friendly service, beautiful old boat and interesting information.

We will certainly come again."

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