DAM-BAT

Our group of 9 friends rented an Horizon 5 for 10 days on the Canal du Midi. The boat was in excellent shape with all systems functioning. The boat briefing in Castelnaudary by Patrice was done exceptionally well. He was thorough and patiently answered our questions. He even assisted us through the first lock. All of the Le Boat staff that we encountered from beginning to end were courteous and helpful. It was a fun way to see the French countryside and visit the various wineries, restaurants and historic sites along the way. I would highly recommend Le Boat and this type of vacation if you would like to have a memorable and unique experience.

We had a wonderful experience with renting from Le Boat for a cruise on the Midi Canal in France. The boat was pretty easy to operate, with comfortable cabins and a well-equipped saloon/kitchen. The Le Boat staff, especially at Castelnaudary, where we started our trip, and Port Cassafieres, where we ended, were great. They were knowledgeable, helpful, and quick to assist. They all spoke English very well, too, which made communication easy.

In the Port Cassafierre Base where we concluded our 10 day trip, we had excellent customer service and warm welcome from Omar and Harare who both, while very busy, maintained a hospitable and patient composure, were helpful and cheerful. In Castelnaudry we had the good fortune to be able to board and provision our boat early (which cannot be overstated how much of a difference that made to the start of the trip), and we had an excellent orientation by Patrice who not only took our group of 6 through all the systems of the boat and a very thorough boat handling orientation, but also then took on the tasks of fixing and setting up our bikes. He was patient, made sure to cover all the safety and best practices and he is an excellent communicator, with a sense of humor. With regards to our trip in general, it was excellent, the experience was above my expectations. We chose a one way trip from Castelnaudry to Port Cassafierre, taking ten days. The sights, sounds and landscape passing by at a slow pace was rejuvenating while the rich and fascinating history of the region inspired a curiosity to learn more. As for the boat itself, I'm sorry to report it had many deficiencies, too many to recount here but a sample of the most important ones follows.... 2 of the state rooms had non functioning air conditioning. There was a bilge pump running continuously under one bunk. The propane valve must have been leaking as we went through 2+ of the 3 total tanks (we are all experienced boaters and we should only have gone through one based on our use. The upper helm station had excessive play and switching from the upper to lower helm station was problematic. We did manage it but not without undue effort. The Canal du Midi is a must do experience. We highly recommend doing it as early in the season as you can to avoid the crowds and the heat.

We rented a Horizon 1 from Le Boat for 11 nights and cruised from Castelnaudary to Port Cassafieres. It was a wonderful experience! Great prices. Bruce and his staff, especially Eric, were great. The boat came equipped with everything you need to cruise the beautiful Canal du Midi. Have a look at the Le Boat boat ownership program if you are considering spending time cruising canals around Europe and Canada.

We spent 8 days cruising the Canal du Midi from Castelnaudary to Port Cassafieres. I highly recommend this. Some of their boats are starting to show their age, but the service and the journey are well worth the expense. We even spotted a few fellow narrowboats!

The problem with LeBoat? They sell you „Premiere“ boats with nice-looking pictures. But these pics are far from reality. The so-called „Premiere“ boats look terrible, completely missing maintenance, and are partially worse than the „Standard“ ones. But this is not only about the damages. It‘s about dirt. Our boat (like others too) doesn‘t seem to get cleaned outside at all. I have never seen such an ugly boat before. Dirt all over the deck, filthy seat cushions ... you don't even want to touch anything. That said: they sell you something completely different to what they are giving you. As long as LeBoat doesn‘t dare to put the real photos of their real boats on their website (what every pro sailing charter does), don‘t trust them. Don‘t book with them. They sell you „Premiere“ and give you a very low-quality „Standard“. They don‘t seem to understand: the type of the boat isn‘t enough to call it "Premiere". What matters most is its current condition. Yes, this Horizon 2 might have looked great 5-10 years ago. Now it looks like a wreck (and it's not the only Horizon 2 of that condition at Le Boat Castelnaudary - so, no ... not bad luck. Complete lack of maintenance and proper cleaning). As long as they don‘t understand all of this, you may call this simply fraud. Dear LeBoat, start understanding your business. Investing into maintenance means: higher quality, better customer service, and less cost later. We will open a website and invite customers with the same complaint, in order to start a legal case asap. ps: attached the photos of the exact boat they sell as „Premium“ ps2: the personnel is very helpful and friendly. At least they book you a hotel and a cab. But managing the boats is something the Le Boat staff there does not understand. They buy the boats and rent them for the same high price until they are close to sinking (without proper maintenance). And most importantly, when you look at the bad reviews from 2 years ago … they do not seem to lear

What a sad outfit We selected ‘Le Boat’ to travel the ‘Canal du Midi’ based on a pre-Covid recommendation from an acquaintance, but we regret not having researched their competitors before making our overpriced reservation. Our boat, a 2012 Bavaria, was a relic of a long ago past. Chipped gelcoat throughout, broken side bumpers (the ones attached to the hull), faulty doors and hatches, badly done renovation (the upholstery was crudely redone). Cheap kitchenware, including useless knives. Faulty Bimini (no shade), faulty BBQ (could not open it), clogged kitchen sink (we had to become our own plumbers), reversed refrigerator door (I know, too much effort to swing them around…). Zero supplies of any kind, not even dish soap. Plastic ropes (dock lines) that will chew into your bare hands and you must use them constantly at every lock. A few euros more and they could have bought soft ones. The most blatant shortcoming is the absence of a rudder indicator, so you will have to guess if you have it right (as in straight) or not. You will also have to guess your speed, or install an app on your phone, as we did. Our boat had a forward cabin that was smaller than the aft one, and the shower – separate from the head (bathroom) – was a joke. The door opened indoor leaving minimal space to step in and then close it. The height inside the shower was, perhaps, 5’8’’ (1.7 meters), so if you are a tall person, you are out of luck. The shower is in the main cabin area; if you are prudish, that will not do for you. The Le Boat facilities, especially Port Cassafieres, are in a state of abandonment. Broken down docks with loose planking, broken water faucets, garbage, dust and dirt everywhere. It gives an indication of a company that is going through hard times. Employees are all nice, and they probably all need their job, so they do their best despite the situation. When, upon our return, we were asked how the cruise had gone, I could sense the whole office screaming ‘incoming’ a

Great support from the Le Boat team, well equiped boats, excellent training - an overall fantastic experience on the Canal du Midi.