How it all Began

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, mom and dad met and decided.... ok, maybe that's a little too far back. Let's fast forward to Labour-day weekend 2019. Mike was on Facebook and happened to see a posting about a Tiki Boat in Lake George. Having spent many summers with his Ukrainian friends hanging out in upstate New York, Mike jumped into his car and  six hours later he was on the docks speaking to the manager about the boat he just saw few hours earlier. A series of rapid fire W-5 questions had the manager staring at Mike like a deer in headlights. All he could say is, I don't know, but I know the guy in Connecticut (who helped us) is selling his boat. A quick phone call and another 3 hour drive, a sleepless night in a Connecticut Marina had Mike experiencing his first Tiki Boat Ride the following morning. Business was discussed, an offer made and Mike drove back to Canada dreaming of being the captain of his own ship. Oh, and for the record, Mike never drove a boat before in his life.

Before the week was over, A website was designed, business cards ordered and a plan set forth to bring The Tiki Boat experience to Ottawa. Mike had just met Gaby and she was excited to join him in this new adventure. Then two things happened;

1. A call from Transport Canada late in October informing us that those American Tiki Boats were not allowed in Canadian waters due to safety issues in construction. Basically they were labeled a floating dock with an engine. 
2. Rumours of covid were starting to hit the airwaves.

The wind taken out of their sails had everything coming to grinding halt. Gaby continued with her Insurance Brokerage business while Mike scrambled to figure out what could be done. By the middle of 2020 with Covid in full swing, Mike & Gaby began pleading with Transport Canada to allow them to bring in those American boats. Mike even suggested that he was willing to build a new base for the Tiki Boats to which the TC representative said "Why don't you guys just build your own boats?" Long story short, over the next year we built our our boat plans, business plan, secured meeting with various individuals, engineers, naval architects etc... and began building a better mousetrap. 

Palapa Tours splashed into the waters Labour Day weekend 2021 with overwhelming success. Most of the summer was lost to lockdown restrictions, but realizing their  dream and seeing the fruits of their hard work was priceless. For 8 weeks they cruised up and down the Ottawa river with onlookers in disbelief of the coolest boats around. 2022 gave them their first full season of operation and a clear vision of the future.