Snag List of the boat, and, well, Le Boat

It’s fair to say the Mystique 03 wasn’t in perfect condition. Of particular annoyance:

Facia of dashboard broken – doesn’t inspire confidence in the boat, does it?

Power cable not properly insulated

Barbecue a total lottery (got it working once, failed to get it working two later occasions)

Kettle whistle doesn’t, like, whistle
Steering leaking hydraulic fluid

Mooring spikes a fucking joke – try hammering these into hard ground with a toy hammer

Fridge missing two door racks

No hot water in the rear washroom (only discovered on last day – like I say, we didn’t take many showers)
Bikes in a terrible state, gears not working. And those unprotected gears scratched my leg up pretty nicely.

leg

That’s not to mention the less important:

Had to ask for a chopping board and a dish you could actually put in the oven
Had to ask for some blankets
Heater had some issues leading to a battery replacement
One loo was “tired” and unsuitable for poos
Turning off the radio was a battle of wills

Now, you’d think that at this stage of the year, with things being quiet yet close enough to peak season you’d want your fleet to be in perfect condition, we’d have had our run of pristine boats. So the fact we’ve got a second-league vessel which has clearly been round the block a few times makes you wonder what’s going on. The guy at Nicols in Le Somail talked about “actionnaires” on Le Boat boats, so maybe the commercial model means some part-owners get dibs on newer boats. Not sure about that, but some basic maintenance and preparation checklists would seem to solve the issues we’ve had. Mind you, the engine and systems have been fine, unlike the guy we met whose Locaboat had been unable to move for a day and still had warning lights on even after the technicians visited. As noted elsewhere, Le Boat clearly expect a good number of complaints based on their product offering, which is shit, but there we are. At Port Cassafières, I noticed collateral about part-owning a boat, which is clearly their main commercial model and regular punters like us are just mugs. It’s a shame as a promised 4 star experience ends up feeling like a 2 star (and therefore overpriced) one and therefore the likelihood of rebooking or recommending dwindles to zero.