Countess

We had a great holiday with le Boat. The Thames…

We had a great holiday with le Boat. The Thames was better than expected – beautiful scenery + lovely old villages

Well… aside the fact that it leaked water and we…

Well… aside the fact that it leaked water and we had to change it, it showed its years and was quite small (I wouldn’t recommend it for 6 people)

Slightly difficult on steering!

Slightly difficult on steering!

Well equipped and very comfortable boat.

Well equipped and very comfortable boat.

The boat was very clean, if not a little worn…

The boat was very clean, if not a little worn in places. The double bed in the rear cabin is not very long, certainly not for a 6’4 person, but the beds in the forward cabin are a little bit longer. The kitchen was well equipped and the fridge kept the wine and beer nicely chilled. After cruising there was always plenty of hot water for the two of us to shower, but the lack of shower curtain left the door soaking wet which then dripped on the outside floor and needed to be cleaned up.
Although the Countess does no have bow thrusters I found manoeuvring for locks and mooring it relatively simple, provided the speed down.

Excellent itinerary boat well equipped

Excellent itinerary boat well equipped

Great boat, all interior was clean and comfy everything worked…

Great boat, all interior was clean and comfy everything worked as it should

Fine basic boat with everything you need for a good…

Fine basic boat with everything you need for a good holiday with two couples.

The Countess is well laid out for a family of…

The Countess is well laid out for a family of 4.

We opted for one of the older, cheaper boats in…

We opted for one of the older, cheaper boats in the fleet, but even so it was very expensive. It would have been very crowded with 6 people on board (we had 3), particularly on a wet day.

The accomodation is perfectly adequate for up to 4 people, with two cabins, a well equipped and usable small kitchen and a nice lounge area, high in the centre of the boat. All of the cushions and mattresses throughout the boat are very hard and uncomfortable – particularly true in the lounge area.

The boat is starting to show it’s age and was not particularly well maintained – you could not start the engine or sound the horn from the upper driving position, the latter of which is potentially a safety issue. The lower driving position was completely useless – we tried to use it in poor weather, but the wiper is inadequate and in poor weather the condensation inside makes it unsafe to drive even on a big Loch. One of the toilets often backed up from the start of the holiday, resulting in us being advised to get a pump-out half-way through the week. At the end we were told that we shouldn’t have had a pump-out could be charged for a blocked toilet!