On the sheltered edge of Little Manly Cove, where Sydney Harbour reveals a quieter and more approachable side of itself, a new generation of marine leadership is reshaping how Australians first experience boating. At the centre of that shift is Max McKelvey, Managing Partner and General Manager of Manly Boat Hire (MBH) and Sydney Marine, a young operator with deep industry grounding and a clear strategic lens on participation, professionalism and growth.
McKelvey’s story is not one of theory, but of immersion. He entered the marine industry at just 13 years old, spending five consecutive years at Manly Boat Hire developing his foundation on the tools, on the water and within real operational environments. That early exposure to vessel preparation, customer interaction and the realities of day-to-day harbour operations forged a disciplined, detail-oriented approach. Precision, accountability and presentation were not abstract ideals, they were daily standards.
Nearly a decade on, McKelvey now leads MBH with a blend of operational leadership and commercial clarity. His remit extends beyond fleet management. He is responsible for driving day-to-day operations, strengthening safety systems, elevating customer service benchmarks and positioning the business as a premium yet accessible Sydney Harbour operator.
McKelvey operates Manly Boat Hire alongside business partner Harry Price, Managing Partner and Head of Growth. The pair took over the business in February 2025 with a shared ambition to transform what had previously been a casually run hire operation into a professionally structured marine business.
Their roles are deliberately complementary. McKelvey focuses on marine operations, building robust safety systems, improving fleet standards, refining staff training and ensuring consistent customer experiences on the water. Price’s focus lies on brand growth and strategic positioning. He leads the company’s digital presence, website development, social media strategy and public relations, while also managing much of the administration and commercial framework behind the scenes.
Price brings a distinctly entrepreneurial background to the partnership. Having previously built and managed companies across finance, artificial intelligence and other technology sectors, he currently runs an AI company alongside his role with MBH. Since entering the marine space, he has developed a strong passion for the industry and its future opportunities.
The partnership itself emerged organically. McKelvey and Price first met at the marina while McKelvey was working at d’Albora Marinas. What began as a friendship gradually evolved into a business discussion, ultimately leading McKelvey to pitch the idea of acquiring and revitalising Manly Boat Hire together.
Over their first year of ownership, the two have intentionally shared expertise. Price has immersed himself in the operational realities of the marine sector, while McKelvey has broadened his understanding of business growth, strategy and brand positioning. That exchange of knowledge has helped establish a strong foundation for the next stage of expansion.
What differentiates Manly Boat Hire is its deliberate removal of barriers to entry. Specialising in self-drive and no-licence boat hire, MBH enables families, young people and first-time participants to step onto the water without prior boating experience. BBQ boats, fishing vessels and small recreational craft are supported by structured safety briefings, simplified vessel systems and disciplined operational protocols. The message is clear: boating can be safe, enjoyable and unintimidating.
For many Australians, the marine sector can feel closed or complex. MBH’s model demystifies that perception. Customers are asked to bring little more than food, drinks and sunscreen. Safety equipment is provided, briefings are comprehensive and weather protocols are firm, including rescheduling or refunds when conditions are unsuitable. Operating seven days a week from 8am to 5pm, the business maximises accessibility while maintaining strong risk management standards.
Strategically, McKelvey views MBH as more than a hire fleet. It is an entry gateway. Many customers leave with heightened confidence and a renewed interest in boating, ownership or even marine careers. This grassroots participation model plays a quiet but important role in broadening the demographic base of Australian boating, a sector increasingly focused on succession planning and sustainable growth.
Parallel to MBH sits Sydney Marine, the group’s professional services arm and a new business vertical the partners are preparing to introduce to the market. While MBH introduces newcomers to the water, Sydney Marine is designed to operate deeper within the commercial and private boating ecosystem, providing operational support, management solutions and marine services for vessel owners and marine stakeholders.
The concept grew directly out of the operational insights McKelvey and Price gained through running Manly Boat Hire. As they became more embedded within the industry, they identified areas where innovation, modern business systems and a new generation of operators could elevate service standards.
Together, the two businesses create a participation pipeline: from curiosity, to experience, to professional engagement.
McKelvey’s vision is structured and long-term. He is actively expanding offerings under the MBH umbrella, exploring complementary services that strengthen vessel care, harbour-based support and scalable systems without compromising quality. His stated ambition, to exceed industry standards at every service touchpoint, reflects a mindset that accessibility and professionalism are not mutually exclusive.
In a harbour renowned globally for its beauty, Manly Boat Hire occupies one of its most peaceful and welcoming coves. Under the leadership of McKelvey and Price, it is becoming something more significant: a case study in how grassroots operators can elevate standards while expanding participation across Australia’s marine economy.
Marine Business News sat with Max. This is what he had to say.
You started in the marine industry at just 13 years old. What first drew you to boating, and how did those early years shape your leadership approach today?
The harbour was just where I belonged from a young age. I was a Manly local at thirteen with a small boat at the ramp, weekends that smelled like saltwater and outboard fumes, Little Manly Beach was my world. It was less a decision and more just where I kept ending up. I started working the hire fleet at Little Manly that same year launching boats, briefing customers, anchoring the fleet at the end of the day. It was a real responsibility at an age when most kids weren’t thinking about that kind of thing, and it built a foundation I’ve never really moved away from. What shaped my leadership most was actually simpler than the work itself. My grandfather lived directly across the road from the beach, and his philosophy was straightforward: you showed up, you did the job, and you didn’t let the discomfort of the moment talk you out of finishing. That stuck with me. It still does. When I’m leading a team today, the standard I hold comes from those early years of doing the job properly when no one was watching. That’s the foundation everything else was built on.
Nearly a decade into your career, what have been the most formative lessons you’ve learned about running a marine operation?
The biggest lesson was understanding the difference between doing a job and actually operating. Early on I had a mentor who put it plainly, own your territory, run it like it’s yours, and hold that standard every single day. That shift in mindset changed how I approached everything. The second was knowing the edges of what you know. Moving into a senior dockmaster role at eighteen was the moment I understood that everything I’d done so far had made me capable, but not complete. Recognising that kept me learning rather than assuming. And in this industry, the moment you stop learning is usually the moment things start going wrong. The third is about the real cost of building something. Taking ownership of the business meant working three times the hours and banking everything on the belief that if the work went in now, the position would be worth being in. The financial pressure and personal toll are real, you have to be honest about that going in. And underneath all of it, every licence, every vessel, every role, every season built on the back of the one before it. Nothing wasted. Nothing skipped. There are no shortcuts in this industry that hold up over time.
Manly Boat Hire focuses heavily on no-licence and self-drive experiences. Why do you believe reducing barriers to entry is so critical for the future of boating in Australia?
Boating in Australia has an accessibility problem. The cost of ownership, the licensing requirements, the intimidation of just not knowing where to start, it keeps a lot of people on the shore who would otherwise love being on the water. Self-drive, no-licence experiences remove that friction entirely. Someone who has never set foot on a boat can be out on Sydney Harbour within the hour, with the confidence to do it themselves. That first experience is everything and it’s what converts a bystander into a boater. The model we’ve built is about making boating accessible to people who’ve always wanted it but never quite had the entry point. That’s not just good for business, it’s good for the industry.
The more people we get on the water, the broader and stronger the boating culture in this country becomes. Every new person who discovers what the harbour feels like is a potential lifetime participant in this industry. The barriers have never needed to be as high as they are. We’re just proving that.
How do you balance accessibility with strict operational safety standards, particularly when dealing with first-time boaters?
Safety and accessibility aren’t in conflict, they just require better systems. Every person gets a thorough on-water briefing before they leave the dock. It’s not a formality, it’s the foundation of the operation. On top of that, we keep a support vessel on the water at all times, which gives first-time boaters genuine backup and the confidence to enjoy themselves. The standard doesn’t drop because someone is a beginner, the approach just adapts. After nearly a decade of putting people on the water across every experience level, the problems almost always come from poor processes, not inexperienced customers. Get the process right and accessibility takes care of itself.
Many operators focus purely on fleet utilisation. You speak about participation growth and ecosystem impact. How intentional is that broader industry role?
Very intentional and it comes from recognising early that a rising tide lifts all boats. If the only metric that matters is how many hours your fleet is out, you’ll optimise for that and nothing else. But the health of this industry depends on people actually wanting to be on the water in the first place. Growing participation, getting new people through the door, giving them a great first experience, removing the barriers that kept them away that creates demand that benefits every operator, not just us. Sydney Marine is being built as a model that makes boating accessible to people who’ve always wanted it but never quite had the entry point. That’s a deliberate position. The broader the culture, the stronger the industry, and the more sustainable everything built within it becomes. Fleet utilisation is an outcome. Participation is the foundation. We’re focused on the foundation.
Can you tell us more about Sydney Marine, where it operates, how long it has been established, and the specific services it provides to vessel owners and marine stakeholders?
Sydney Marine is operating under the tagline “Everything Boating” and is the parent entity built to sit above and around Manly Boat Hire, housing a broader suite of marine services designed to support vessel owners, private clients, and marine stakeholders across Sydney Harbour. It’s a model built to make boating accessible to people who’ve always wanted it but never quite had the entry point, whether that’s private owners who need support, or people without licences who just want to get on the water. The business operates across six core service areas. Vessel detailing is supported by a dedicated client portal for job tracking and invoice management, with seven-day on-water availability for members. Berthing solutions covers custom rope splicing using high-quality three-strand rope, with on-water access via workboat to any marina, private berth, or waterfront property across Sydney catering to both marinas and private berths and wharves. Pricing scales with vessel size from 18-foot runabouts through to 80-foot vessels. Catering specialises in Japanese cuisine, delivered fresh with a chef experience collected from marina offices to keep operations clean and off the water’s edge. Driver training is tailored to the individual, covering everything from basic berthing through to offshore operations and trailer handling. On-water experiences include professional skippering and stewarding, with end-to-end service and harbour-wide crew assistance, including tender transfers for vessels that don’t carry one. And marine consulting offers end-to-end procurement and advisory support, handling multiple quotes across trusted industry brands to get clients the best rates, best trades, and best outcomes. The business is young in its current form but built on close to a decade of hands-on industry experience across hire operations, commercial marinas, and vessel management. The vision is straightforward one trusted name that covers every touchpoint a boat owner or first-time participant might need on Sydney Harbour.
How do Manly Boat Hire and Sydney Marine strategically complement each other within the broader marine value chain?
They serve different ends of the same harbour culture and that’s entirely by design. Manly Boat Hire is the front door. It’s where someone who has never been on a boat steps onto the water for the first time, handles a vessel themselves, and discovers what the harbour actually feels like from out on it. That experience is accessible, low-barrier, and built around participation. It creates boaters. Sydney Marine is what comes next. Once someone has that connection to the water whether they’re a first-time hire customer who’s now bought their own boat, a private owner who needs reliable support, or a marine stakeholder looking for a trusted operator Sydney Marine is the infrastructure that serves them. Detailing, berthing solutions, catering, skippering, consulting it covers every touchpoint across the ownership and experience journey. The strategic logic is clean. Manly Boat Hire generates participation and brand trust at the entry level. Sydney Marine monetises the deeper relationship that follows. One builds the market, the other services it. What makes it genuinely complementary rather than just adjacent is the shared foundation, the same operational standards, the same harbour knowledge, the same team in many cases. A customer who trusts us with their first self-driving experience on a BBQ boat already has a relationship with us by the time they need a skipper for a private charter or a custom rope solution for their berth. That continuity of trust is hard to manufacture and easy to lose, so everything we build across both entities is designed to protect it.
What trends are you currently observing among first-time boaters? Are you seeing demographic shifts or changing customer expectations?
From what we see on the water every weekend, the customer coming through the gate now looks pretty different to what it was even five years ago. Younger groups, a lot more women leading the booking, friends and families who just want a good day out and aren’t thinking about boat ownership at all. They want the harbour to experience the BBQ, the swim spot, the afternoon in the sun and boating is the vehicle for that, not the point of it. That’s a real shift. Expectations are higher too, and I think that’s partly social media. People have seen what a good day on the water looks like before they’ve ever been on one, so they arrive with a picture in their head. The briefing, the presentation of the vessel, the overall experience it all needs to match what they came for. The days of handing someone a life jacket and pointing them at the water are gone. What I’ve noticed most though is how much the food and social side drives the decision. The BBQ boat works because it gives people a reason to be out there. It’s not just going for a boat ride, it’s a whole afternoon. That combination of harbour access and something to actually do and eat and enjoy together is what converts someone from a one-time hire into someone who comes back, tells their friends, and eventually wants more. The opportunity for operators is pretty straightforward to treat that first experience as the start of something, not just a transaction. The customers are there. It’s on us to keep them.
You’ve spoken about expanding underlying businesses within the Manly Boat Hire umbrella. What opportunities do you see emerging over the next three to five years?
The harbour is underserviced relative to its potential. That’s been true for a while and I don’t think it’s changing anytime soon. The immediate opportunity we’re already moving on is the service side. Vessel detailing, berthing solutions, skippering, concierge private boat ownership in Sydney is growing and the support infrastructure hasn’t kept pace. People are buying boats and then struggling to find reliable, professional operators who actually show up and do the job properly. That gap is real and it’s where Sydney Marine is positioned. The ice cream boat is an interesting one. It started as a fairly simple concept to bring the product to the customer on the water but the appetite for it has been bigger than expected. There’s a genuine expansion story there, whether that’s additional vessels, new routes, or taking the model into other harbour cities. That’s a conversation we’re actively having. Experiences more broadly are an area I’m watching closely. Corporate charters, school programs, community partnerships we’ve already done meaningful work in that space and the demand is there. Operators who can deliver a professional, well-run on-water experience for groups are genuinely hard to find. We’re building toward being the obvious answer to that question in Sydney. Longer term, the concierge and vessel management side have real scale potential. As the demographic of boat owners shifts to younger buyers, busier lives, less time to manage the maintenance and logistics themselves, the demand for a trusted operator who handles everything is only going to grow. The thread through all of it is the same one name, one standard, every touchpoint on the harbour. That’s the three to five-year vision.
Looking ahead, what does success look like for you personally, and for Manly Boat Hire and Sydney Marine, within the next decade?
The next decade is where everything gets built and we’re just getting started. Sydney Marine becomes the dominant marine services brand on Sydney Harbour. Every vessel owner, every private client, every first-time boater who wants a professional on their side they come to us. Detailing, berthing, catering, skippering, concierge, consulting the full suite, delivered to a standard the industry hasn’t seen done properly under one name. That’s the mission and we’re executing on it deliberately and aggressively. Manly Boat Hire becomes the defining self-drive experience not just in Sydney but the model that other harbour cities look at and want to replicate. More vessels, a tighter operation, deeper community roots, and a brand that every person who’s ever wanted to get on the water in this city knows by name. The participation numbers we’re chasing over the next ten years are significant and they’re achievable because the demand is already there waiting to be unlocked. The ice cream boat becomes a fleet. The concierge arm becomes a serious vessel management business. The school and corporate experience programs become a revenue pillar in their own right. Every venture we’ve planted gets watered and grown, nothing stays small if the foundation is solid. Personally, success in ten years looks like having built something that genuinely changed how Sydney interacts with its harbour. More people on the water. Higher industry standards. A team of people who’ve grown through this business and taken real careers out the other side of it. The infrastructure is being laid right now. The next decade is just the build. And we intend to build something significant.
For more information about Manly Boat Hire, visit their website HERE
For more information about Sydney Marine, visit their website HERE
