Call us and you get Kim

Kim Dickey runs French Canal Boat Company from Texas with her husband Chris. She owns two of the barges, represents about 33 more, and answers the phone herself.

Kim's story

Kim started the company about eight years ago with the two boats she and Chris own themselves, Papillon and Nymphea. The model was simple from the start: know every boat you sell, and pick up the phone yourself when a traveler calls.

About two years ago, two longtime barge brokers retired and handed Kim their networks. Today she represents around 35 barges across France, Belgium, and Holland. She is still the first voice you hear, and she is the one who matches your group to the right barge, region, and week, down to the questions travelers are sometimes shy to ask, from cabin stairs to CPAP outlets.

Her own boats carry some history. In 1984, The New York Times sent a writer to spend a week aboard Papillon on the Canal du Midi. In November 2025, PBS filmed an episode of Rick Steves’ Europe on the same barge.

“The secret is enforced relaxation.” A. Alvarez, The New York Times, writing about a week aboard Papillon, March 1984.

Chris keeps the American side of the operation running, from booking paperwork to travel logistics, so nothing about your week is left to chance before you land in Paris. Between the two of them, your booking never leaves the family.

“Chris and Kim are amazing owners and I cannot wait to travel with them next season!!!” Pamela Ray, Facebook review, October 2019.

Our own two barges

Papillon and Nymphea are the two barges Kim and Chris own outright. This is the crew you will meet on their decks. Kim to confirm current crew lineup

Kim Magan

Senior Administrative Manager Also runs social

Kim converted Papillon with his own hands and has captained French canal barges for more than forty years. He was the young captain at the wheel when The New York Times came aboard in 1984. If a canal in France has a lock on it, odds are Leigh has been through it.

Sophie

Client Coordinator

Sophie has cooked aboard Nymphea since 2014 and spends his winters as head chef at The Farmhouse in Morzine. On board, he shops the morning markets and builds each menu around what the region does best.

Dan

Public Relations and Events

Paris-born and a former barge captain himself, Dan leads the excursions: the chateaux, the markets, the cellars, and the stories that make them worth the walk.

The crews across our fleet

Beyond her own two boats, Kim brokers about 33 more barges. Each one has its own independent crew, employed by that barge’s owner. Here is what you can count on across all of them.

A full crew on every barge

Every barge sails with its own captain, chef, guide, and hostess. They work for that barge’s owner, live with their boat all season, and know their stretch of canal inside out.

Crews Kim knows personally

Kim knows these crews and has cruised with many of them herself. When she recommends a boat, she is recommending people, and she will tell you honestly which crew fits your group.

Meet them on each barge's page

Specific crew details live on each barge’s own page. Start from the departures list and click through to the boat you are considering.

How we work

Straight answers. Every barge has a personality. Some are wrong for mobility concerns, some are wrong for kids, some are wrong for tall people. We say so before you book, not after.
One point of contact. Kim handles your booking from first call to final payment. No handoffs, no ticket numbers.
We only sell what we know. Kim knows the owners by name and has cruised with many of the crews herself. If she would not send her own family aboard, it is not on this site.

Seven days like this start with one date

Every barge, every region, every departure on one page.