“Yo — Drink in hand, I can dance on a moving boat with my tongue out and point at pink text.”

Do rock the Boatonian

All aboard for drinking and dancing, just get your sea legs

Young Bostonians with the ability to balance drinking and dancing can add a new challenge to their repertoire — doing it on a boat ride through Boston Harbor.

Every Thursday at Rowes Wharf, a herd of little black dressed girls and popped-collared boys nervously clutching IDs are told to move to make way for people running to catch the ferry home from work. The young crowd is waiting to board Boston’s only Thursday night sunset party cruise, The Boatonian. Commuters whiz past their high heels and designer jeans, maybe slightly jealous that their boat ride will not have dance poles and an abundant supply of Miller Chill.

Unlike the commuters, the young drinkers have nowhere to be except drunk before sunset. The Boatonian can make that happen.

The party takes place on the Samuel Clemens, a white and red barge that looks like it sailed up from New Orleans in the 1860s. Sam has three floors, a DJ booth, and with three bars on board, there’s plenty of booze.

After the sun lazily lowers itself behind the Prudential, official Boatonian DJ Wayne Partello demands the barely legal guzzlers show off their sea legs on the dance floor to the mix of hip-hop and sing-along classics.

Despite the Miller flowing like ambrosia, there aren’t any sea-sick drinkers on most Boatonian voyages. Co-founder Brian Napoleon says the Boatonian has a policy for drunken sailors. “You know those women at the front of pirate ships? We tie them up there like that,” he jokes.

The barge is perfect for birthday and bachelorette parties, but those who are only onboard to celebrate Boston’s breathtaking skyline won’t be disappointed.

Chris Neil, a young professional nursing a Bud Light, wanted to give his friends visiting from out of town a unique experience. “My intention was to go from being in the city to now seeing it from the water. Who can show someone George’s Island, the USS Constitution and the Boston Harbor in one fell swoop?” he asked.

The last hour of the ride is filled with rump-shaking contests, chugging competitions, and the contestant selection for the annual Miss Boatonian. Every week a dance contest decides who will be the winner of a cash prize and an invitation to come back on the boat for the rest of the season. On the last cruise of the season he or she (it’s usually a she) will compete with other contestants for $1,000 and the title of Miss Boatonian. Attention recent grads: refrain from putting this on your résumé.

After the boat docks, the great time everyone just had seems to be overwhelmed by the exhausting question of what bar to go to next. Somehow, any bar they go to won’t be the same; balancing a drink in hand while dancing just isn’t as fun on land. Those commuters don’t know what they’re missing.

The Boatonian
Thursdays through September
Boarding begins at 6:30 p.m. and returns at 10 p.m. sharp
Rowes Wharf, Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Haymarket
$15-$20, 866-GO-BUS-GO
www.boatonian.com