Bowness Bay Marina has added 23ft Premium Plus XL electric launches for 2026, giving families and groups a quiet self-drive way to explore Lake Windermere.
Bowness Bay Marina has added new 23ft Premium Plus XL self-drive launches to its Lake Windermere fleet for 2026. Powered by a 100% electric inboard motor and licensed for up to 10 people, the boats sit comfortably inside LBG’s under-12m scope while offering enough cockpit space for a family or group day on the lake.
The marina says the boats are easy to operate and offers them on a self-drive basis from a minimum two-hour hire. That makes the experience less about formal chartering and more about giving ordinary visitors control of a small boat for part of their holiday.
Electric propulsion suits a lake day
A quiet electric motor changes the atmosphere aboard a day launch because conversation, wildlife and the sounds around the water are less masked by an engine. On a scenic lake such as Windermere, that can be as important to the experience as outright performance.
The boats are designed for relaxed use rather than speed, with a sociable cockpit, Bluetooth stereo and convertible canopy enclosures. Those details make the platform useful in the variable weather that often shapes a Lake District day.
Self-drive hire lowers the ownership barrier
A visitor does not need to store, trailer or maintain the boat in order to spend several hours exploring the lake. The marina handles the infrastructure while the hirer receives the handover and safety briefing needed before departure.
That makes day hire a useful first step for people wondering whether small-boat ownership would suit their family. Handling a boat, managing time on the water and seeing how people use the cockpit can reveal preferences that are difficult to learn from a showroom visit.
Autumn keeps the season going
Bowness Bay Marina operates its hire season from mid-March into early November and is currently advertising an autumn discount for September and October online bookings. Cooler weather makes suitable clothing more important, but it can also mean a quieter lake and a very different landscape from peak summer.
For LBG Lifestyle, the new electric launches are a strong boating-holiday story because the boat itself remains small, accessible and central to the day. It is a simple example of how electric propulsion and self-drive hire can make a major inland-water destination easier to experience from the water.
Source
Bowness Bay Marina