Boat hire

Le Boat

Also sold as: Emerald Star

Le Boat runs self-drive boating holidays on rivers and canals in Europe and Canada and trades in Ireland as Emerald Star. Its Irish bases are Carrick-on-Shannon and Portumna, so a one-way trip along the Shannon between them is possible; boats sleep 2 to 12 and no licence is needed after the handover briefing.

Company website Call

Illustration: a cruiser crossing Lough Derg towards a wooded island with a round tower and ruined churches, limestone and reeds on the shore.

Bases: 2 bases
Waterways: Lough Derg, Upper Shannon: Lanesborough to Carrick
Languages: EnglishGermanFrenchDutchItalianSpanish On the booking website or spoken by staff
Phone: +353 71 931 4127
Checked: Desk research, not yet checked on site

Before you book

Season: Apr – Oct
Shortest hire: 2 nights
One-way trips: Possible
Pets: Allowed
Skipper’s minimum age: 18 or older
Licence: Not needed
Fuel: Per engine hour
Deposit: Not yet checked

From the company’s own hire terms, checked on 23 Oct 2026. Terms change, so confirm them when you book.

Read the hire terms (opens another website) Compare all companies What the hire terms say

Bases

Where the boats are. Each base is a stop in the guide, with its moorings and what is ashore.

Le Boat Portumna

Portumna

Lough Derg

Le Boat's Lough Derg base (Emerald Star in Ireland) for cruiser holidays, April to October; the office is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 09:00–17:00.

Connaught Harbour, Bridge Road, Portumna, H53 W447

+353 90 974 1120 Base website (opens another website)

Plan a trip from here On the map
Le Boat Carrick-on-Shannon

Carrick-on-Shannon

Upper Shannon: Lanesborough to Carrick

Le Boat’s Shannon base (also trading as Emerald Star), with cruisers for 2 to 12 people from April to October; it also sells Smart Cards.

The Marina, Carrick-on-Shannon, N41 RD29

+353 71 962 7621 Base website (opens another website)

Also hiring here: Carrickcraft

Plan a trip from here On the map

Save this trip for offline Saves the map and the pages of every region of this trip, for use without signal.

Ready-made trips from these bases

Day-by-day routes with distances, locks and cruising times, ready to open in the trip planner.

Carrick-on-Shannon to Lough Key, Boyle and Lough Allen

A relaxed week from Carrick-on-Shannon up the Boyle River to Lough Key and Boyle, then back by Leitrim and the Lough Allen Canal with a night under the Iron Mountain.
- 7 nights
- 91 km
- 8 locks
Moderate Round trip

Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0
Carrick-on-Shannon, Lough Key and Boyle: an easy week

Seven short days from Carrick-on-Shannon, none much over three hours: Jamestown, the Boyle River to Cootehall and Boyle, a night in Lough Key Forest Park, then Leitrim and Drumshanbo, with no Lough Allen crossing.
- 7 nights
- 85 km
- 6 locks
Easy Round trip

Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0
Carrick-on-Shannon to Leitrim and Drumshanbo short break

Three easy nights from Carrick-on-Shannon: Leitrim village, the little Lough Allen Canal past Battlebridge, a night in Drumshanbo and back down to Carrick.
- 3 nights
- 33 km
- 4 locks
Easy Round trip

Photo: tower10 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Carrick-on-Shannon to Athlone and Lough Ree

A week's round trip from Carrick-on-Shannon through the small lakes of the Upper Shannon and the full length of Lough Ree to Athlone, with a Tarmonbarry check before you book.
- 7 nights
- 165 km
- 6 locks
Moderate Round trip

Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0
Carrick-on-Shannon to Portumna one way

Seven nights down the Shannon from Carrick-on-Shannon to Le Boat's Portumna base: the Upper Shannon lakes, Lough Ree, Athlone, Clonmacnoise and Banagher.
- 7 nights
- 141 km
- 5 locks
Moderate One way to Portumna

Photo: Miguel Mendez · CC BY 2.0
Portumna round Lough Derg

A week from Le Boat's Portumna base around the whole of Lough Derg, with nights at Terryglass, Dromineer, Killaloe, Scarriff, Mountshannon and Dromaan.
- 7 nights
- 111 km
- 0 locks
Moderate Round trip

Photo: David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0
Portumna short break on north Lough Derg

Three nights from Portumna on the northern half of Lough Derg: Terryglass on the first evening, one crossing to Dromineer and back up the lake to the base.
- 3 nights
- 51 km
- 0 locks
Moderate Round trip

Photo: David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0
Carrick-on-Shannon to Belturbet on the Shannon–Erne Waterway

Eleven nights from Carrick-on-Shannon over the Shannon–Erne Waterway's sixteen Smart Card locks to Belturbet on the Erne and back, with no day much over five hours.
- 11 nights
- 163 km
- 32 locks
Moderate Round trip

Photo: Suse · CC BY-SA 2.0