GoBoat Canberra has launched from the Kingston Foreshore pier, offering self-drive, Scandinavian picnic boats for hire, with no boat license required.

Canberra is the first Australian location for GoBoat, which started in Copenhagen in 2014, and now runs across Denmark, Sweden and London.

Owner Nick Tyrrell first used GoBoat on a trip to Stockholm two years ago with his wife for a friend's wedding. He left a corporate desk job to bring the business to Canberra with the aim of getting more people, both visitors and locals alike, out enjoying Lake Burley Griffin.

"You can ride around the lake, you can jog around the lake, if you've got your own kayak or paddle board you can get out on the lake, but I think for too long there have been too many barriers to ordinary Canberrans to get out and enjoy the lake," he said.

"And that was our vision to open it up to every day people and to enjoy. Cause it is a beautiful lake, the scenery is fantastic, there's not a lot of development around the edges of the lake and you can see a lot of the monuments from the lake too."

The first two boats arrived in Canberra via Sydney over the weekend, after a six-week boat-ride from their factory in Croatia. Two more will arrive at the end of the week, followed by another four in early December, bringing the total fleet of boats to eight.

The electric boats, which are Danish designed and constructed from 80 per cent recycled PET bottles, fit up to eight people on board, including the skipper, and are dog-friendly, with a limited number of dog life jackets available.

Customers are free to explore most parts of the lake, steering clear of shallow water and rocks. The pedestrian bridge near the Carillon is also off limits, as it's not high enough to get under.

For now, you can take on your own picnic, and the GoBoat Canberra office will eventually sell drinks and snack, and Mr Tyrrell is also working with local businesses on a catering menu.

Boats are licensed and BYO, and for the skipper, the same blood alcohol limit laws apply as to drivers of vehicles.

And does he think the lake's namesake would approve?

"I imagine Walter Burley Griffin would be proud to see his lake being enjoyed by people and not having too many restrictions and in a really classy way that I think fits with Canberra," he said.

"It gives people an opportunity to see the city that he designed, from a completely different perspective, and not needing to have any special equipment."

Boats are available to rent from 10am-7pm daily. Prices start from $95 per hour or $169 for two hours, with the hourly rate decreasing the longer the booking. Book at goboatcanberra.com.au.