Nicols is based in Cholet, Maine-et-Loire, in western France. Its boatyard and design activity are centered there.
What kinds of boats does Nicols build?
Nicols builds river cruisers and houseboats for inland waterways. The company’s range is aimed at liveaboard cruising and charter use on canals and rivers.
What is Nicols best known for?
Nicols is known as a French builder of inland waterway boats and as a licence-free charter specialist. It is also recognized for producing its boats in France and operating a large European rental fleet.
Nicols is a French builder of river cruisers and houseboats based in Cholet, Maine-et-Loire. The company was founded in 1986 and combines boatbuilding with a licence-free charter operation. Its boats are built in France and used for inland waterways cruising across European rental bases.
History and shipyard
Nicols was created in July 1986 within an industrial group in Cholet that specialized in plastics processing. Its boatyard is in Cholet, France, where production and the charter operation are closely linked. The company says this single-site setup allows customer feedback from the rental fleet to be passed directly to the design office for ongoing model development. Over time, Nicols became a major French name in river tourism and inland navigation.
Model range and fleet
Nicols builds riverboats and houseboats for inland waterways use, with a range that has included more than 25 models across five lines. Sources describe the fleet as centered on comfortable liveaboard cruisers, designed for French rivers and canals and built for charter use. The brand also operates a large hire fleet from bases in France and other European countries, making it both a manufacturer and a rental specialist. Publicly cited examples of its models include the Estivale range and other cruiser families.
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