Le Boat North America - Smiths Falls

Ranking: 5/5

Le Boat was a Great experience all around! Sterling, our trainer was excellent and the boats were very easy to handle (we had the Horizon 3). The boat was in perfect condition and had all the features you could ever ask for. Cooking meals was a breeze with the oven and microwave. The coffee machine and toaster are a nice perk. The beds were comfy and linens were warm. The showers worked surprisingly well with warm water even when the boat has been off for a while. The Rideau views with the changing fall colours were beautiful, the manual locks were fun to go through and the lockmasters were very nice and knowledgeable. Awesome experience! We hope to do it again in the future! 5stars, I'll be recommending Le Boat to all my friends.

Ranking: 5/5

I was looking to do something safe with my family after 6 months in COVID locked down in Ottawa, Canada. Le Boat was the perfect getaway my family needed. We could explore the beautiful waterways of the river from the safety of our own floating "bubble". I'm from the Ottawa area but have never seen the river from the perspective of a boat. It was gorgeous to see the flora and fauna surrounding the ridea and canal system.

All though at first I was worried about navigating a large vessel, Heather and the staff from Smiths Falls Le Boat were very helpful. They toured me through the boat and its functions. They took the time to train me and my family on operating the boat and guided us through our first lock system. We went through 3 locks and every Lock MAster was very friendly and helpful.

The accommodations on the boat are modern, bright, and roomy. The beds were comfortable and each of our 2 bedrooms had their own washroom. We only ate in the kitchen once as the top level dining area made for a lovely view.

If you have a 3 day trip stopping by Westport is a must! Visit the Scheuermann Vineyard & Winery for wine tasting, live music and wood oven pizza.

My only regret is that we didn't book more than three days.
Can't wait to go back!

Ranking: 4/5

Very nice way to spend time on the Rideau, but not perfect. The air-cooling (NOT air conditioning) made some nights more comfortable but was not always very helpful.
The boat was easy to maneuver, even for a novice. It's limited to 6MPH but has both bow and stern thrusters to make it go where you want it to. All said, it was expensive for the week but largely worth it.

Ranking: 5/5

An unforgettable experience. My family and I used to own a 25’ boat a while back and throughout all our trips, the word “comfort” was rarely used. In contrast, our Le Boat was perfection; we had 3 large spacious bedrooms, 3 bathrooms with showers, as well as working air conditioning.

We spent our 4 nights in various location switching between locks and buoys. Cooking barbecue while laughing and playing cards with the family is an experience everyone should live through.

It should be said though that the Le Boat experience is made for outdoor people. If you spend your trip lodged up in your cabin instead of swimming and enjoying nature, you will surely miss out.

Our time with Le Boat was fantastic and it is safe to say they have won over another customer. We’ll be using Le Boat in the future as we visit Europe.

Ranking: 2/5

The boat was beautiful and well-equipped, except for its lack of air conditioning, which was a fatal flaw for a two-week trip at the end of July. There was no way to cool the cabin, and the hot weather made it unbearably hot inside from around noon to 8pm every day. Le Boat didn't plan for temperatures in the high 80's and even mid-90's in the middle of the summer. The "air cooling" that they advertise does nothing at all during the day. It's so unfortunate that the company made the decision to skip AC. The trip up and down the Rideau Canal is beautiful, and our stops in Ottawa and Perth were amazing. The vacation would have been a great one, if the lack of AC hadn't detracted so much from our comfort.

Ranking: 5/5

Experienced boaters, we rented for 10 days first week they opened 17 May 2018, and plan to rent again in Fall 2019. The fact we will rent again speaks volumes about our enjoyment of the first trip. Clearly some reviewers expectations were not met due to lack of adequate A/C, poor anchor system, other irritants. We agree somewhat though we didn't need the A/C or the anchor. Horizon cabin cooling and heating systems do have thermostats contrary to one reviewer's complaint. These boats were not designed for hot weather cruising if keeping the inside at American air conditioned house temps is a requirement. We went when the weather was cool and before the crowds. Staff was excellent from start to finish. We had no problem getting water at locks which offered it free or at various overnight stops. Just the smallest amount of planning and watching your water gauge solves this. We had to pump out black water tank once and it was easily accomplished at a marina simply by asking the marina master. We did have to pay about $30 but knew this in advance. The Rideau Canal, the Le Boat Staff, the Canadians who manage the locks (lockees), and all Canadians we met along the Canal were amazing. We've rented Le Boats in France, Netherlands, England, and Canada. For Americans the Canadian Rideau Canal trip is among the best because you can drive there, the exchange rate favors you, and the beauty rivals any canal anywhere.

Ranking: 2/5

Cruising the Rideau Canal with Le Boat
RATING: 2 STARS OUT OF 5 POSSIBLE
The boat was unacceptable for this trip. While billed as a “luxury” canal boat, it was hot and uncomfortable due to no air conditioning, limited screening and no ventilation.

3) The Boat – Horizon 2 S
Le Boat advertises their fleet as luxury self-drive boats. They charge for luxury; what they provide is something less. The boats are relatively large for one couple with two bedrooms and two heads. One bedroom is quite roomy the other is sufficient for two small children and is really suitable only as a walk in closet for one couple if they are going for an extended period such as our two-week charter.
Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Screens
The boats were designed for a different world. Temperatures in the Ottawa area go up into the mid-40’s C (over 100 degrees F) and are much hotter and more uncomfortable that we are used to being from Florida where the surrounding water provides some moderation.

Neither the air cooling nor the heating had a thermostat. The designers had clearly never slept on a boat. It starts out warm and gets cold at night. If we ran the “air cooling” eventually the cabin temperature dropped to outside temperature, We could not turn on the heat; it never shut off once started.
ii) Shade
The boat was hot. Steering from inside was impossible due to the heat, except during the early morning hours. There was a nice shade top covering part of the upper deck; with two strong people, you could adjust it to not quite cover the dining table or not quite cover the helm station. There was no way to adjust it to fully cover the helm station to keep the driver out of the sun. Neither was there a way to adjust the cover to provide shade for the dining or longing areas.
Even with just two of us on board, it was not possible to sit in the shade and relax as we visited the beautiful Rideau corridor. The available shade adjustment did not extend far enough, now was there a sufficiently large shade cover to shade the whole second deck.
The decision to not provide adequate sun shading is just unacceptable on any boat.
iii) Anchoring
What the boat did not have was a bow roller sufficient to hold the anchor far enough out from the bow to clear the fendering system during deployment or retrieval of the anchor. As a result of these substantial shortcomings, I had to manually deploy the anchor the one time we used it.

We were told, “don’t worry, there is no place to anchor anyway.” This is just a lie. Every lock chamber we encountered had a basin located downstream with one or more boats safely anchored.
The lack of cooling, limited ventilation, and in several cases limited space at the lock “gray line” encouraged anchoring in the areas clearly marked on the charts for that purpose.
Additionally, several of the “gray line” areas reserved for overnight tie up were filled with cigarette smoke as boaters congregated to discuss their day. The lack of air conditioning, limited ventilation, and smoke sent me to bed with a bloody nose on several occasions.
There is no excuse for providing an essentially non-functioning anchoring system, a bow roller that was unsuitable for the boat, no bale and no way to correct the deficiencies during our two weeks on board.
For all the anchoring problems, being lied to at the pre-departure briefing is the one that concerns me most.
iv) Water and Waste management
The boat has a 600-liter capacity. Sounds like a lot. After 4 days we started severe conservation. We were told, “every lock has water.” Well, they don’t.

Ranking: 3/5

Staff - 5 stars, excellent personnel.
Area - 5 stars, beautiful, peaceful, everything you can hope for if you are looking to disconnect and vacation for a week or two.
Boat - 2 stars: Missing AC is a huge bummer.
No nets to deal with super hostile mosquito community. We could not enjoy sitting on the deck at the evening...the worst...don't go if the company doesn't do something about it. Insist on getting serious netting for the upper deck.