Our Mission
Mountain Boats is the sustainable solution to the recreational boat market.
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To provide sustainability without compromising performance we deliver on our intention by using wood with a healthy dose of science and modern technology.
We do not claim to be perfect but we are doing everything we can with the latest knowledge on sustainability to try and get it right.
As a relatively young business, we have taken a ground-up approach to sustainability instead of retrofitting sustainability over an existing production process or planting a tree as a token gesture to make up for damage done.
The selection of wood quickly became an apparent choice given how well it makes boats as verified by centuries of use in boat building. On the other hand, aluminium requires its weight in electricity to be refined and fibreglass production makes all kinds of nasty chemicals.
With all our wood sourced from Forestry Stewardship Council certified suppliers, our main ingredient is fundamentally sustainable and aligned with nature. To make sure your boat’s performance is without compromise we still use a handful of plastic as a product that can’t last its lifetime doesn’t sound very sustainable and more like a waste.
We are working on eliminating the nasty plastics with an environmentally conscious alternative as well as eliminating single use consumables used in the production process. We are even conducting experiments on product end of life treatments to ensure that our products are sustainable in every part of their lifecycle.
Introducing Chief Marshal Charlie
In 2007 the Carrier Strike Group of the United States Navy banned all live mascots and Master Chief Petty Officer Charlie was discharged from active duty. Despite a diligent and fastidious career, the nature of Charlie being a goat meant that he was not provided with a pension, health care or any of the other usual benefits earned by veterans.
The association of goats with boats predates modern history as these sure-footed quadrupeds are well adapted to life on the sea. In the days before refrigeration, their production of dairy made them a welcome shipmate as they are preferable to lugging a cow onto your ship.
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Given the situation, Charlie was forced to stay in the workforce. He set up a little goat pen for himself and figuring he knew a thing about boats got to work making very capable vessels. With a knowledge of all things nautical, it didn’t take long for Charlie to exceed in his craft earning his title of Chief Marshal.
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Little is known about how he traded his way between jobs to end up in Fyshwick in the ACT but this is where he decided to set up his Goat Pen and make little boats.