Testimonials

For George and the team at Akaroa Dolphins, life on the water is part of every day. Based in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful harbours, their work revolves around the wildlife, conditions, people, and boats that make Akaroa such a special place. Akaroa Harbour is not just a backdrop for George, it is his workplace, his playground, and a place he knows deeply.

As part of the family behind Akaroa Dolphins, George spends much of his time on the water, working as a skipper, helping keep things running, and doing the practical jobs that come with operating a busy marine tourism business. Akaroa Dolphins is a family business with strong local roots. Their days are built around sharing the harbour with visitors, looking after people on the water, and helping them experience the wildlife, coastline and character of Akaroa. For George, that means knowing the harbour, understanding the conditions, and having the right boats close at hand.  Before purchasing their Rockboat inflatables, George says they did not have much small boat adventuring experience. Their previous dinghies were mostly used for getting from the wharf to their commercial boats. They had a purpose, but they were not really boats for exploring further, heading out on quick missions, or making the most of the harbour in the same way.  That changed when Akaroa Dolphins added two red Rockboat Sport inflatables to their fleet, a Rockboat Sport 390 in December 2025 and a Rockboat Sport 330 in March 2026.  The two boats are used in different ways, and that is part of what makes the story so good. The larger 390 gives George more room when he needs it, while the 330 has its own place as a smaller, easy to handle option when something more compact suits the job, the conditions, or the moment.

Since adding the two Rockboats, the way George and the team use their small boats has completely changed. They have become fast, reliable little workhorses around the harbour.  They are used to get out ahead of the main Akaroa Dolphins cruise, helping the team check the swell, scout the conditions, and spot where the dolphins are before the bigger cruise vessel departs. With the harbour entrance around 15 minutes away by Rockboat, George says they are ideal for getting out quickly when time matters.  The boats are also used for practical jobs around the harbour, including work for Environment Canterbury, picking up loose floats and 5 knot buoys that have come adrift. They have also been involved in rescue and support work, including assisting during an incident with a commercial boat, where passengers were transferred from one vessel to another.  During the New Zealand warship oil spill response, one of the Rockboats was used to run sausages out to the clean-up crew, a small but memorable example of how useful a quick, capable inflatable can be when people are working hard on the water.  They are also used as safety boats for staff involved in windsurfing and other on water activities. Compact, fast, and easy to handle, they have become part of the everyday rhythm of the Akaroa Dolphins operation.  But the Rockboats are not only used for business.  That is often the reality for people who live close to the water. The same boat that helps with a job during the week can also be the boat that gets the family out on the harbour, takes you for a quiet run, or gives you a simple way to enjoy the place you live. In a town like Akaroa, where the harbour is such a big part of daily life, a practical inflatable can become much more than equipment. It becomes part of the rhythm of living and working by the sea.

When the team has a day off, the Rockboats are often used for snorkelling, fishing adventures, and exploring around the harbour. During whale season, staff can head out and take a look when whales are passing through. When bottlenose dolphins come into the area, skippers have taken their partners out to experience the moment up close.  And then there are the Dolphin Dogs.  Akaroa Dolphins is known for its dogs, who help the team locate dolphins by listening for the high pitched clicking sounds made through the dolphins’ echolocation system, sounds that dogs can hear more easily than people. George says the dogs love the Rockboats too, and each skipper has their own dog that joins them on the water.  For George, one of the most special Rockboat memories was a family day across the harbour. With his pregnant wife and their two little girls along for the trip, they headed out across the water, saw newborn Hector’s dolphins, stopped for a picnic on a little sandy beach, and took pregnancy photos by the sea.  It was the kind of day that shows what these boats have become for the Akaroa Dolphins team, not just work boats, but boats for family, adventure, and memories.  George’s dad, now retired, also gets plenty of use from them, heading out with a snorkel to gather pāua. Between the business, the staff, the dogs, and the family, the two Rockboats are rarely short of a job.

There is something fitting about both boats being red, too. Against the blues and greens of Akaroa Harbour, they stand out clearly. They look at home on the water, whether they are being used around the business or for personal time with family and friends.  When asked why they chose Rockboat, George says the boats are light, easy to handle, stable, and well suited to Akaroa’s sometimes rough and windy conditions. The V shaped hull helps them move well through the water, while the inflatable tubes make them much kinder around the larger commercial vessels than the fibreglass dinghies they used previously.  “Our old fibreglass dinghies were smashing against the bigger boats,” George says. “The Rockboats are soft against them, so they help protect the big boats too.”  The smaller Rockboat is paired with a 6hp Suzuki outboard and can get up on the plane with two people aboard. One of the boats was previously running a 15hp two stroke Suzuki before the engine was damaged after a rope came undone. George says the Rockboat itself survived the incident well, and the boat is now running with an 18hp two stroke Tohatsu.  “She flies,” George says. When asked to sum up the Rockboat experience, George had three simple words: “Efficient, fast, stable.”

What we appreciate most about George choosing two Rockboat inflatables is that he is not new to boats. He knows the water. He knows what is useful. That means a lot to us.  George’s story is about choosing boats that fit into real life, work life, family life, and harbour life.  For a team that works, explores, rescues, scouts, fishes, snorkels, supports, and makes family memories on the water, “efficient, fast, stable” seems like a pretty fitting description.  From helping around Akaroa Dolphins to enjoying time on the water personally, George’s red Rockboat Sport 390 and Sport 330 are doing exactly what good boats should do: making it easier to get out there, get things done, and enjoy the water.  We love seeing our Rockboats being used in real New Zealand conditions by people who are out on the water every day. A big thank you to George and the Akaroa Dolphins team for sharing their story with us.