Like many Hawkesbury businesses that are at the mercy of the weather, the Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler has had a hellish season, and owner Ian Burns is appealing to locals for their patronage.
The Paddlewheeler, a Hawkesbury River icon, is currently moored near the Paradise Cafe wharf at Lower Portland, kilometres from its Windsor home which it can't get back to until the river is dredged and the sandbanks removed.
But the Paddlewheeler's issues began before the floods, said owner Mr Burns.
"As the new Windsor Bridge construction has gone through, our access to Windsor Wharf has now gone down to zero," he said.
"During the bushfires most of our cruises were cancelled. Then we had the heat wave and a really bad Christmas season," Mr Burns said.
Then came the flood, when Mr Burns had to cut the vessel's moorings because it was copping a beating from debris.
"Because of the flood, there's now a massive sand bank across the river that you can't even get a little boat through. Even the wharf at Governor Phillip Park [where the Paddlewheeler was operating] was washed away in the flood and has to be replaced," he said.
The Paddlewheeler was tied-up temporarily at Grono Point, but vandals attacked the vessel, cutting the rope that secured it to a nearby tree and causing thousands of dollars of damage.
"We got a lot of damage in the flood, hit by trees, bouncing off the side of the river bank floating down the river," Mr Burns said.
"[Then] the boat was vandalised and broken into and they cut our trees and we floated down the river,
"I've repaired several thousand dollars of damage. It was just the last thing we needed.
"We've cancelled probably 50 cruises in the past six months in our busiest period. It's cost us a massive amount of money."
The Paddlewheeler has now gained approval to operate in the Hawkesbury River from Lower Portland, and is seeking approval to run in the Colo River as well.
"The waterways are unsafe to even navigate up at Windsor," Mr Burns said.
To book a cruise on the Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler, visit www.paddlewheeler.com.au or call 0401 798 088.