Batteaux and the James River have been a part of our lives forever. Our companies founders were introduced to the magic of ‘batteauing’ at a young age through the James River Batteau Festival, a yearly week long event where around twenty of these boats float 120 miles from Lynchburg to Maidens Landing (near Richmond). Our co-founder, Will Smith, was more or less born into this as his father Ralph become involved in the festival the year he was born in 1987. 

In 2006, Will Smith and fellow co-founder Will Cash started a new batteau program with their friends named the Morning Dew. It’s hard to describe how special that week became. Life plans and obligations needed to accommodate the Batteau Festival, not vice versa. Waiting for the week throughout the year became a bit like a child waiting on Christmas. It was inevitable as the days wore on that the conversation would move towards our privilege of being a part of a tiny group of people who get to experience this. 

James River Batteau Company was founded with the idea to spread the joy that we experience on the boats and along this river with the public. You can rest easy knowing that you are riding with batteauman who have been navigating this river for over 25 years and have over a decade’s worth of experience in hospitality and tourism.