May 16, 2008 We’re always up for writing about new ways for people to get together and have a good time and we’ve hence covered some great moveable entertaining concepts such as the Pedalpub, the Fuya-Jo party van, Red Bull’s nightclub on wheels and the floating beach party. Now there’s another ingenious conveyance to add to the category – part restaurant table, part BBQ, part lounge and part water activity platform, this electric-powered, water-going party platform for ten is primarily aimed at the rental market where its versatility makes it suitable for myriad applications. Indeed, it’s an entrepreneurs’ dream.
Firstly, it’s a no brainer to make money in any water-side location as it offers seating for ten plus a central BBQ that turns into a picnic table, silent electric propulsion so it can gently cruise even the most delicate of marine environments without spoiling the ambience, a powerful sound system so you can party long and hard if you want, and it has enough on-board storage to support many other activities. Then, if you have a few of them, they all fit together to make an exclusive VIP lounge on the beach.
From the entrepreneurs viewpoint, it's a hirer’s dream – ten people can cut a sizeable hire fee into manageable fiscal contributions, and there’s enough external, slow-moving advertising space to make a promotional platform which is guaranteed to capture the attention of anyone within view.
The bbq-donut® is the brainchild of German inventor and entrepreneur Sebastian Schmitt, and we think it has applications globally for everything from singles get-togethers, company getting-to-know-you events, a customer magnet at carnivals and festivals, waterside and beachside promotions and as a floating catering service.
Motive power to the bbq-donut® is supplied via a Torqeedo Travel 400 Electro-outboard motor giving it a top speed of around 4km/h – more than enough for gentle noiseless, pollution-free cruising with ten souls aboard.
Take several bbq-donuts® and they can be assembled into an array of configurations of different sizes and shapes, making it suitable for use as a VIP lounge on the beach. Offering the right mix of private boothes and opennessl this additional aspect to the bbq-donut® is perfect for promotion purposes.
The main floating body of the 3.6 meter diameter donut is constructed of Polyethylene (PE) with a very strong UV protection as well as an antistatic additive, and all-up, ready to go, it weighs in at around 500 kg, and is capable of carrying a payload of around 1000 kg. There’s an optional trailer for the rig, so it can be towed to different locations.
On the water in BBQ configuration, the bbq-donut® uses a low-smoke, charcoal-burning barbecue from Outdoorchef as its centrepiece and there are integrated cavities in the table for safely holding drinks, plates and cutlery.
Underneath the seats are eight 48 litre storage boxes, one or more of which can be used as wet chillers to keep the beverages cold.
The translucent sunshade uses a stainless steel frame and aluminum clamps and is available in a variety of colours – indeed, it can be supplied from the factory printed to a customer’s individual design.
The sunshade can be adjusted into many different positions should the sun’s glare get too strong, and is designed to fold down very quickly if the wind comes up suddenly.
Quite clearly, from its shape, it’s not suitable for rough or open water – it’s apparently quite happy in choppy conditions up to a wave height of 40-50 cm, but we suspect it’ll be heading for home long before that as it’s a low powered, leisure craft designed for low speed leisure activities.
Bottom line, we're very impressed with the bbq-donut® and can see it playing a role in social engagement of all types around the world. Perhaps not quite as suited to seaside resorts as inland and sheltered waterways, we warrant you'll be seeing one of these somewhere near you sooner rather than later. And for entrepreneurs anywhere near a river, go to it. Each bbq-donut® will cost between EUR 14,500 and EUR 23,500, depending on the model you choose, the graphics, the accessories and so on. From our viewpoint, it's a profitable franchise if we ever saw one. Entrepreneurs should contact Sebastien via his design studio.