French Gulch Marina

Very patient, friendly and wonderful team at French Gulch! Answered all of our questions and concerns taking a pontoon boat out with very young children and we wound up having a fantastic time! Will definitely be back!

We got a pontoon boat for the last hour of the day. Some quick paperwork with deposit and we were quickly out on the water. Had a great time touring the lake with the family.

Labor Day weekend was a blast! First time renting a boat from here but definitely won't be the last! Friendly and knowledgeable staff plus the great weather, together made for the best experience for our group. We rented a pontoon boat- four hours at $200. Realistically, that is a wonderful price in comparison to other lakes and their rentals. The upholstery is a bit worn and ripped in some places and there was some sand in the boat but that alone wasn't enough to knock off any stars for my experience or review. Very happy and grateful I was able to enjoy this business and the beautiful outdoors! They also have fishing boats, kayaks and jet skis too. If you haven't given this business a try, it's definitely worth a trip to check them out and enjoy a beautiful day on the lake.

Had the best day ever!Rented a pontoon boat for the 4th of July weekendVery reasonable pricing, done over the phone, two fays in advance. Asked for a $200 dollar cash depositSeemed like a family business and the while crew was very friendly and helpful Boat was in decent shape And ran like a champWe even docked it and got the dogs in the water in a beach coveReturn was quick & easy filling the gas and paying the $13 tab with cash deposit backWould definitely return here to rent again on our next tripHighly recommend this marina for your boating needs See y'all soon

Convenient one-stop for permits, boat rentals, snacks and water toys/necessities. Busy but everything went smoothly. We rented kayaks and the young staff made sure we could get in and out with ease. Thank you for a beautiful morning on the lake!

A couple of weekends ago, my friend rented kayaks and a jet ski at the French Gulch Marina. It was near 100F degrees that day, minimal shade around this area and my friends and I were desperately trying to find some shade covering around the store. There isn't any -so be prepared to bake in the sun while you wait for your rental. Employees here got a bit of an attitude when we asked to wait in the shade, near a storage area -as they told us absolutely NO. Other than that, the kayaks are older models -as they don't have a back rest support on them. My two friends who rode on the jet ski, had no complaints about their ride. Really old, basic life vests provided with rental equipment -I'm not sure if they're sanitized before/after usage either. Hopefully the 100F degree weather will kill off any 'Rona (COVID) lingering. Staff inside the rental store doesn't wear COVID prevention mask, so come prepared wearing yours to protect yourself and others. As far as cost, my friend paid for the rental by the hour. Free parking in the dirt.

we were warned by previous customers the 200 cash deposit will not be given back. There will alway be more damage than the boat left with even if you do t dock it or beach it anywhere. So when it happened we were not surprised. Lake is fun. Can't swim off the boat renters beware and just equate the 200 cash deposit as part of the rental cost.

DO NOT TRUST FRENCH GULCH MARINA to conduct business with integrity, honor their word, nor their sale of gasoline to you. On 05/15/24 we rented a pontoon boat from them. The staff were nice and helpful but are not to be trusted when it comes time to pay the bill. We rented the boat for four hours with our time beginning at 11:30 am. It was to cost us $260 for the four hour rental.In the middle of our rental we stopped back by the dock to pick something up. I asked the manager if we could keep the boat longer and pay the eight hour rate of $300. The manager said yes. We ended up keeping the boat for one extra hour, five hours total.When we returned to the dock to end our rental I was informed that it would cost another $200 for the extra hour instead of another $40 as the manager said it would cost. They told me that the owner wanted to charge us an extra $200 because there were three employees there that day. It appeared that we were their only customers that day and our use of one boat did not require a staff of three employees. Plus, this is not what the manager told me it would cost.We liked the boat but, like the staff, it had its problems. The pilot's seat was not attached to the floor properly and would fall backwards if you leaned on it very much. The music system was dead. And the fuel gauge did not work. It registered EMPTY at all times. Very suspicious.As we returned the boat for the day the staff refilled the fuel tank with 5 gallons of gasoline and charged us $50 for it. We barely drove out into the lake, staying near the French Gulch Marina dock, drifted while we fished and repositioned ourselves a few times. With the small outboard engine on that boat and the amount of motoring we did, there's no way we could have used that much gasoline. The tank was not full when we first left the dock and we were overcharged.The extra cost for our extra hour on the water should have been $40 to pay the full eight hour rental rate and $50 for the gas (unlikely we used that much though). This should have come to $90 but for some reason they charged us another $110.I recommend looking for a more reputable place to rent a boat on Lake Isabella. Plus, there are no bathroom facilities at the dock. If you need a toilet you have to walk up a powdery dirt road to an unshaded porta potty. The only parking there is in a dirt lot with a path to the dock that is hard to walk on.

Start it off as a good vacation until they did not want to return our $250 deposit stating that we damaged the JetSki while using it they left my boyfriend in the middle of the lake for almost an hour while I waited with my children for them to go and find him because his JetSki stopped working and he was unable to get on it while we were in the middle of the lake. Some random person that seen my boyfriend needed help had to tow in the rental JetSki while he ride on the back they did not go to get my boyfriend from the middle of the lake. Once we got there they refused to give us her money back saying it was our fault. Very unprofessional the owner kept making it worse, saying they damaged our JetSki they damaged our JetSki. Never experienced anything like that.

We've been coming every summer since 2018 to rent a pontoon boat at French Gulf Marina. We've always had a great time, and have never had a single problem. The staff are professional and courteous, and the boats are safe and well maintained. We've never lost our deposit or been overcharged for gas. In fact, we were late to pick up our boat and they gave us extra time! The boats aren't brand new or luxurious, but they are perfect for a day of playing on the lake. Compared to the cost of renting a boat on most lakes ($1,500 for 3 hours at Lake Tahoe, for example), it's an amazing deal!!