---
title: "‘McBoat’: Meet Germany’s McDonald’s Drive-Thru for Boats"
description: "Is that seasickness you feel, or is it the double-stacked Filet-o-Fish getting its revenge?"
date: "2021-01-04"
modified: "2021-01-04"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/38505/mcboat-meet-germanys-mcdonalds-drive-thru-for-boats"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Trains"
---

# ‘McBoat’: Meet Germany’s McDonald’s Drive-Thru for Boats

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/12/AF1QipNr9N4n5_wkqEkCz8p7hurYdUlYQegxCdHIdHHWs1536.jpeg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Getting a quick meal on the go is a cornerstone of modern travel, but not all attempts to court hungry travelers work out. Sticking a fast-food franchise in a travel hub is a recipe for success, but cramming one aboard the mode of transport itself? [Not as good an idea](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38221/the-mctrain-the-rise-and-fall-of-mcdonalds-ambitious-plan-to-conquer-the-railroads>). Following the McTrain's failure, McDonald's Germany presumably went back to the drawing board and asked itself how it could apply the proven model of the drive-thru to new modes of transit. And when someone unrolled a map of Hamburg's canal network on the conference table, lightbulbs went off.

Indeed, along Hamburg's *Mittelkanal*—an offshoot from the Elbe river—floats a jetty emblazoned with the unmistakable Golden Arches. Officially known as the McBoat, this dock features small cleats for mooring [watercraft](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/36475/the-corvette-boat-was-pretty-terrible-for-actually-boating>), allowing canal travelers to disembark and order meals via an intercom-equipped kiosk.

![message-editor%2F1609433485647-af1qippddqdgnfe5oh8chadvjnyhmyhso5fsetqqvzwcs1536.jpeg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1609433485647-af1qippddqdgnfe5oh8chadvjnyhmyhso5fsetqqvzwcs1536.jpeg>)
*McDonald's "McBoat" waterway drive-thru in Hamburg, Germany, *Google Maps | Michael Frimberger**

In addition to standbys like the Big Mac, this location offers unusual fare exclusive to McDonald's Germany, notably a double-stacked Filet-o-Fish and a thousand-calorie, avocado-smeared horror called the [Signature Surf'n'Turf](<https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https://www.mcdonalds.com/de/de-de/product/signature-surfnturf-6185.html>). Whatever your order, it'll be brought down the steps by an employee as soon as they can peel themselves away from the restaurant's standard [drive-thru](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29377/city-of-minneapolis-bans-drive-thrus-to-increase-safety-and-reduce-pollution>) for cars, which McD's DE calls a "McDrive." Guess *McFahrt* wouldn't be as appetizing a name.

https://youtube.com/embed/HqLx5374fZc

This [apparently common stop on Hamburg canal tours](<https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.petri-heil.de/mit-dem-boot-zu-mc-donalds-das-gibts-nur-in-hamburg/&prev=search&pto=aue>) has a slightly murky history, with no documented date of opening, though a photo uploaded to [German Wikipedia](<https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:McDonaldsBootsAnleger.jpg>) in September 2009 shows it has been open since at least then. And while many restaurants have struggled throughout a pandemic-rocked 2020, the McBoat hasn't been one of them; the [most recent Instagram post](<https://www.instagram.com/p/CGlOQBHMGt3/>) under the #mcboat hashtag depicts a sign reading *Geöffnet*—open. Hardly a surprise given the McBoat's business model amounts to curbside pickup. Or rather, dockside.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1328797176378560512

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*h/t* [*Reddit*](<https://old.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/kmujww/this_mcdonalds_has_a_drivethru_for_boats_located/>)

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)