DISCOVER the LOT AVAL by SOLAR HOUSEBOAHIRING WITHOUT A LICENCE
DISCOVER the LOT AVAL
by SOLAR HOUSEBOAT
HIRING WITHOUT A LICENCE
Zero emission! Zero noise !
The choice of renewable, non polluting engine power.
The SOLAR HOUSEBOAT is a concept river catamaran propelled by electrical solar energy that may accommodate 6 overnight passengers and 12 day sailing passengers.
The electric engine powered by an on-board photovoltaic generator assures affordable, silent sailing. Its design with recyclable materials makes it the first entirely recyclable recreational boat.
SAS BATEAUX POUR LA PLANÈTE
Quai des Gabarres 47440 Casseneuil - 06 88 40 76 21
mariniere_2000@yahoo.fr • www.bateauxpourlaplanete.com
839 847 258 RCS Agen
DISCOVER THE LOT BY ECOLOGICAL SOLAR BOAT
ECOLOGICAL
1/ Equipped with 24 m2 of solar panels, it produces its own energy that recharges the battery pack comprised of 4 lithium batteries; the two 6 kW engines are powered directly by the batteries. The living quarters are powered by 220 V thanks to a 5-kW inverter. It thus economises on 10 t CO2 per annum of emissions. It gives off no hydrocarbon waste and is also completely silent.
If all the river tourism boats for hire were equipped the same way, that would avoid emissions of more than 100,000 t of CO2 per annum and enormous amounts of hydrocarbon waste in the water.
2/ Used water is stored in a tank that allows it to be emptied into the sewage networks at the ports.
AFFORDABLE
The prices are adjusted to be affordable for the largest number of people. Thanks to its propulsion type, operation of the boat is 48 times cheaper than that of a diesel boat!
The fresh water tank consists of a 600-litre tank that requires intelligent water management: short showers, hand dishwashing, laundry done on land. The drinking water is in bottles which are refilled at the dock facilities. Hot water is produced by gas boiler.
There are no supplementary charges: not for fuel, or for electric recharging…
INNOVATIVE
The SOLAR HOUSEBOAT is the only solar boat for hire without a licence in France, created in 2019. The boat is accessible for Persons with Reduced Mobility, pursuant to the 2005 regulations; it is one of the only ones of this type with the following design: Main bridgedeck, w.c. and showers to starboard.
DISCOVER LOT
Visits and activities during your cruise
Dragon Boat activity at the Temple Base
Founded in 1970, the open-air multi-sports base centre located at Temple sur Lot welcomes a varied public around numerous sporting and leisure activities. The multi-sports centre has set itself the objective of developing sports training, company seminars and outdoor classes. Dragon boat is a team nautical sport using a type of canoe also called dragon boat, which 14 participants may paddle!
Canoe and paddling activities with BKS.
Full freedom alone, with family or friends; you will enjoy a route through a natural, well conserved area. Groups: With our recent material and our qualified team, we are ready to respond to your hire deeds or a scheduled programme...
Available: canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddle
Restaurant La Commanderie at Temple sur Lot
Located inside a 13th Century fort, La Commanderie restaurant is at Temple-sur-Lot within Lot-et-Garonne.
By the hearth, or on the terrace beside the river basin, you are invited to taste the local cuisine.
Your restaurant La Commanderie welcomes you for seminars, wedding meals, company meetings.
The old bridge of Villeneuve sur Lot
Visit Villeneuve sur Lot
From the castle to the fortified village, from the pigeon loft to the museum, the cultural and architectural heritage of Villeneuve sur Lot is rich and varied. Here “heritage” means the emotions of a Romanic church and still feeling the magic of its energy...
One may also marvel at the prowess of Medieval artists who made their mark on our wealth of local features.
Free concerts every Wednesday evening in July and August at the docks by the river.
Bike touring along the Lot.
Laid out and marked along pleasant short routes (practically flat in Lot-et-Garonne) near the Lot, with little car traffic, the Bike Route takes you, over 160 km, from village to village through the orchards, market gardens, wheat fields and vineyards of Cahors. That is a fine way to discover the region and its culture, cuisine and people. See information.
www.tourisme-lotetgaronne.com
Possibility of hiring bikes to keep on board: €15 per day.
Fishing on the Lot
The waters of the Lot are a sought-after fishing area. It is stocked with pike-perches, pickerels, black bass, bream, eels, etc. You can buy a weekly fishing licence (€30) or a daily one (€10) and enjoy your hobby during your cruise!
Visit to Penne d’Agenais
Penne is a word of Celtic origin (promontory, mountain edge) that witnesses its extremely ancient presence. Towering over the Lot valley, the fortified Medieval castle was known by the title “key to the duchy of Guyenne”; a strategic military site of a village that underwent several sieges and dark times during the war of the Albigeois, the Hundred Years War, the wars of religions. It is also a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin since the year one thousand, and also a stopping point on the Way of Saint James. When you pass through the Porte de la Ville or the Porte de Ferracap, you will see the lanes that wind among the beautiful houses, its artists, craftsmen and exhibitions, and you may find refreshment in one of the numerous cafés and restaurants. Gourmet markets every Thursday evening in July and August!
Water-lilies garden of Temple sur Lot
Gourmet market of Laparade
Dinner with open-air show event and sale of local specialities. The Local Producers Market is an event that has no equal in the region. The produce is subject to a departmental charter, established by the Chamber for Agriculture. It guarantees consumers the authenticity of the local products and the direct and exclusive origin from the producers themselves. Gourmet markets every Tuesday evening in July and August!
Visit to Clairac
The history of the village of Clairac, a small town with 2600 inhabitants built on the banks of the Lot, is inseparable from that of its famous Benedictine Abbey. Its international renown that previously reached throughout the Middle Ages in the fields of politics, religion and literature also affected cuisine. The feature of Clairac is its superb mooring dock located 800 m from a supervised beach on the Lot! (July and August).
Plum Museum and plant maze:
Another way to discover Agen plums! They will explain how plumbs are produced nowadays, with passion and savoir-faire that respects the fruits with multiples benefits.
You may taste the savoury products, manufactured on site: plums à l’ancienne, chocolate specialities, plums in eau de vie, plum creams, honey… A memorable pleasant day spent on the banks of the Lot with the unforgettable taste of local produce from Lot and Garonne.
Dédal’Prune (open in summer) is a plant maze made with maize, where the objective is to find the prune knight: a playful hunt to carry out with the family.
Water-lily Garden of Temple sur Lot -www.latourmarliac.com
Latour-Marliac, producer and supplier of water-lilies to the painter Claude Monet in 1894!
Come and discover more than 250 species from rural to tropical water-lilies. When walking through the 2.5 hectares of gardens, you will see exotic species, with the Victoria, the giant water-lily, a bamboo garden, pond with a Japanese wood bridge, and even more. Marliac, labelled “Remarkable Garden”, with a museum, café and boutique, is also the site of the National Collection of the Nymphaeaceae family, and the oldest water-lily nursery in the world. This site is located 900 m from the dock on the Lot and allows visitors to reach it on foot. There are concert dinners every Thursday evening in July and August!
The mill of Casseneuil
Visit to the church of Fongrave on the slopes of Fongrave, that provisionally replaced the 15th Century priory church of the Order of Fontevraud, destroyed during the Hundred Years War. This makes it one of the first functions of the building, shared by the faithful of the parish and the priory. It is registered as a Historic Monument since 1996 and houses a retable from the 17th Century, commissioned by the Fontevraud monks.
There is a dock by Fongrave, near to that church, on the site of the former port. Gourmet markets on the banks of the Lot every Thursday evening in July and August!
Visit to Casseneuil
FORMER PORT, surrounded by the Lot, the Lède and the Sône, as well as numerous small streams. Village aux Trois Rivières, with its Medieval burg, with its houses overhanging the Lède, its half-timbered houses, wood panelled and daub walls, its narrow streets, its ramparts on the banks of the Lède, the stately castle, the Place BERGONIE, its listed church Saint Pierre-Saint Paul, from the 13th Century, are waiting to be discovered. Bathing is possible near the mooring dock; gourmet markets every Saturday evening in July and August!
The castle of Castemoron
Visit to Castelmoron sur Lot
Built on the banks of the Lot, Castelmoron-sur-Lot is the cantonal capital that truly came into history as of the Middle Ages. The settlement originally grew up around a priory. That was the starting point of the town, that developed above all when the fort was erected around the castle in 1259. It consists of islets surrounded by a moat, which forms its line of defence. In 1345, the fell to English siege and the stately home was offered to the Knight of Caumont. The mooring dock is now located at the foot of the Moorish style castle that has become the town hall ... on the bank facing a protected bathing area that is open in July and August, as well as a hire base for canoes, boats and bicycles. In July, there is a world dance festival that brings in numerous spectators!
Example of cruise:
6 DAYS/6 NIGHTS -116 km SAILING (A/R)
Saturday: Leave at 10 h from Sylvestre; passage to the 13 m locks, sail to Casseneuil, the city of the 3 rivers.
Visit the town: half-timbered houses, tanners’ quarter, Romanic church, 12th Century fresco. Tour the Lède by canoe. Gourmet market in the evenings in July and August.
Sunday: Leave Casseneuil about 9 h. Sail to Fongrave, visit the church. Sail to Temple sur Lot. Visit the Water-lily Garden and Nursery founded in 1875 on 2.5 hectares of land, with 250 species and 80 ponds!!!
Monday: Sail to Castelmoron, passage through locks with a drop of 10 m. View of the town hall in a 13th Century castle restored by Félix Solar in 1840 in the Moorish style. Protected bathing area nearby. Stop at the Plumb Museum and plant maze. Sail to Clairac, visit the town, church, art galleries, 10th Century Abbey. Bathing available on protected beach. Evening participation in gourmet market at LAPARADE (July and August),
Tuesday: Leave Clairac demi-tour, passage through the Castelmoron locks and sail to Ste Livrade; visit town.
Wednesday: Leave for Villeneuve sur Lot. Visit the town. Concerts on the marina dock every Wednesday evening in July and August...
Thursday: Set off for Penne d’Agenais, passage through the Villeneuve locks. Sail to Penne d’Agenais. Excursion and visit to the Foie Gras Museum at Frespech in July and August. Participate in the gourmet market and dine on site with music. There you will discover the history of foie gras from ancient times to the present day; a family farm raising duck on non-GMO grain, a shop with samples to taste. Visit to the Medieval city with participation in a restaurant meal located in the old village on Thursday evenings (June, July and August).
Friday: DISEMBARKING after breakfast.
“There may be last minute changes to the programme. Weather and navigation conditions (speed of the current, may affect it)”.
WE PROPOSE 3 FORMULAS
week-end, one week and a mini-week
HIRE ON THE LE LOT
Dates 2020
Hire
1/ WEEKLY – 6 DAYS/6 NIGHTS
Pre-spring
4/10 April, 11/17April, 18/24 April,
25 April/1 May
€1,500.00
Spring
2/8 May, 9/15 May, 16 /22 May, 23/29 May
€1,500.00
Pre-summer
30 May/5 June, 6/12 June, 13/19 June,
20/26, June, 27June/3 July
€1,800.00
Summer
4/10 July,11/17 July,18/24 July,25July/1
August
€2,300.00
2/7 August, 8/14 August,15/21 August,22/28 August
Pre-autumn
29 August/4 Sept, 5/11 Sept,
12/18 Sept, 19/25 Sept, 26 Sept/2 Oct
€1,800.00
Autumn
3/9 Oct, 10/16 Oct, 17/23 Oct, 24/30 Oct 1
€1,500.00
2/MINI-WEEKS
EASTER
11,12,13 April €800 hire
1 MAY
1,2,3 May €900 hire
ASCENSION
21,22,23,24 May €1200 hire
PENTECOST
30,31 May and 1 June €1200 hire
3/WEEK-END
2 DAYS /2 NIGHTS
From Friday evening to Sunday evening, as of
1 April
€5
LOGBOOK EXTRACTS
FAMILY STAY (3 ADULTS - 2 CHILDREN) ON BOARD “SOLEIL D’AQUITAINE” HOUSEBOAT FROM 31 JULY TO 7 AUGUST 2019
This year we had a family gathering: brother, sisters and parents at Villeneuve sur Lot. We needed nearby accommodation for part of the family, and above all somewhat exotic, as they live in Japan with teenagers! Mrs Renouf proposed a brand-new solar houseboat on her site so we jumped at the chance, even though not sure about the sailing.
Arrival at the houseboat dock was a pleasure. The place, Casseneuil is very nice, picturesque and quiet. The houseboat had enough space for 6 beds.
We had some very beautiful moments there as a family. We went on two full-day excursions and everybody (9 of us!) learned to drive the boat, to get past the bridges: Victory!; a lock (the one at Villeneuve): impressive!; to dive into the middle of the Lot, to moor the boat near a natural pool. Mrs Renouf accompanied us and was also our host at the docks on the Lot. Everything seemed so simple, so calm; there was nothing like evening on the water, the nights. It was a very beautiful adventure. The solar boat is an opportunity people should take advantage of. We have rediscovered Lot, the birds that inhabit the “Amazonian” banks, the traces of times past, where people used this river for transport (plums and other goods), for its current (mills), as well as sunken vessels, rusty ancient barges emerging. Thanks to Mrs Renouf for her talent, her perseverance and her very avant-garde point of view! She allowed us to live some unforgettable moments!
Françoise, Bénédicte, Chrystel, Stéphane, Jean-Christophe, Noriko, Yuto, Noemi
FAMILY WEEK-END ON THE SOLAR HOUSEBOAT IN JULY 2019
3 ADULTS AND 3 CHILDREN FROM 10 TO 16 YEARS
We wanted to give our mother a canal or river boat cruise to celebrate her 80th birthday. That was part of her dream-list of things she had never done! The idea was to find a boat adapted for wheelchairs with a flat bottom and without steps to get into the cabins. While researching, that was initially unsuccessful, we came across the solar houseboat “Soleil d’Aquitaine”. The boat called us on board due to its PMR accessibility, but also due to the originality of its autonomous electricity production, its accommodation and travel. After contacting Dominique, we reserved the boat for a week-end in mid-July, from Friday evening to Sunday evening. When we boarded at Casseneuil, Dominique explained how the boat worked to us, the procedure to approach the docks, as well as how to manage and use the batteries on board. After a first night at the mooring, we cast off in the early morning with a bit of apprehension. The solar houseboat seemed easy to manoeuvre and all the member of the crew, including the children, wanted to helm it in shifts during the two days of sailing on the Lot. The river is also very calm and with little traffic, which allowed us to stop and anchor wherever we wanted to have lunch or swim. We decided to moor at Fongrave to spend the second night. It was good weather, so we ate out on the spacious deck. The previous evening, it rained a bit, so we had dinner in the lounge, which was large enough for the six of outside and, above all, very luminous with its glazed bays. On the last day, we continued to the lock at Castelmoron-sur-Lot which we passed through under the vigilant gaze of Dominique who joined us to guide us through that manoeuvre that was new to us. We then continued our route after having turned around and back through the lock in the mid-afternoon. The balance of the stay is very positive. The boat most pleasurable and, above all, silent (without a thermal engine noise and without the smell of diesel). The batteries have a long enough range as we were never below a 90% charge, even though we had not ceased to sail nearly all day. Moreover, handling the boat and the specific tasks of approach, piloting and casting lines created a team spirit on board among the whole family gathering, to the great enjoyment of our mother who really appreciated her time out on the water. We wish Dominique all the best in his undertaking!
Lasserre Family, Montaut 64800
FAMILY STAY (2 ADULTS-3 CHILDREN) ON BOARD THE “SOLEIL D’AQUITAINE” HOUSEBOAT FROM 14 TO 21 AUGUST 2019
After reserving with Dominique, we were looking forward to arriving in Casseneuil. A new experience, a new adventure! We were agreeably surprised by the exterior; a pretty, attractive boat. The spacious, ideally equipped interior was also a surprise. The glazed window bays provided a feeling of space and freedom. Our first apprehension regarded sailing, soon dispelled on the morning of our departure. The boat is easy to handle and silent. Each member of the crew took on the role of checking the battery levels.
As the days went by, we had lost the notion of time and space. Sailing is pleasant, with a sufficiently long range to travel for more than 3 hours, and we quickly placed more importance on this than when we first arrived.
The simple operation of the boat confirms the need for this fine project to continue. We have rediscovered a region, a new way of having ecological holidays, calm and stillness, and no guilt over the need to conserve it. Many thanks to Dominique for our superb holiday. As we say in Brittany: “Good wind for this good project”.
Cordially yours,
Emilia, Raymond, Charline, Léontine and Jeanne