Area guide

The St Francis Bay canals

The St Francis Bay canals are a residential waterway system dug beside the Kromme River, where many homes have their own jetty and boat access to the river. Leighton Hulett began dredging them in the 1960s, the first system was finished by 1976, and canal owners now look after them through the St Francis Bay Riparian Home Owners Association.

Canal living here means a house on the water, a jetty at the bottom of the garden and a boat ride up the Kromme or out to the river mouth. It also comes with rules on boats, jetties and canal walls that a buyer should understand before signing.

The canals are part of St Francis Bay and sit between the village and the river, a short walk from the main beach.

Sunset over the St Francis Bay canals, with private jetties and boats

St Francis canals at a glance

Part of
St Francis Bay, Kouga Municipality
Built
Dredging from the 1960s, first system done by 1976
Managed by
St Francis Bay Riparian Home Owners Association
Waterway
Opens onto the Kromme River, navigable well over 10 km
House style
White walls, black roofs (2024 Aesthetic Standards)
Property24, 6 October 2026
19 for sale, R1.7m to R23.5m

How were the St Francis Bay canals built?

Leighton Hulett acquired 179 morgen of land beside the Kromme River and built his own dredger to cut the canals. The Kromme Trust dates the start of canal work to 1968; Seeff puts the first dredging in 1960. By 1976 the first canal system was finished, with eastern and western outlets to the river. The area was first called Marina Glades.

After Leighton Hulett died in 1987, his son Nevil Hulett dug further canals, including the Moby Dick Canal and Admiral's Passage.

Who manages the canals?

The St Francis Bay Riparian Home Owners Association runs the canal system, and every owner of a canal property is a member. Owners maintain their own jetty, beach and canal wall. The association dredges all year except over the December holidays, monitors water quality and rents out about 100 moorings at two small harbours, at La Digue Place and Shore Road. The Canal Harbour Office sells canal and river boat licences on behalf of Kouga Municipality.

The rules come from Kouga by-law 284 of 2006. A stabilised canal bank may not stand more than 0.5 m above the high-water mark, and a jetty needs an approved building plan.

Can you take a boat from the canals to the sea?

Yes. The canals open onto the Kromme River, which is navigable for well over 10 km upstream, and the river mouth reaches the sea. The mouth depends on the tide and has sandbanks at low water, so it can be dangerous. The waterway rules include:

  • no-wake speed on the canals and at night
  • registration for power boats and any vessel 4 m or longer
  • a certificate of fitness and a skipper's licence for engines over 15 hp
  • life jackets compulsory through the river mouth

Without a boat of your own, River Break runs canal and river cruises on a 12-seat barge from the small boat harbour.

What changed after the 2012 canal fire?

On 11 November 2012 a fire that started at a braai in Royal Wharf spread from roof to roof through the canals and destroyed 76 homes, most of them thatched. Most were rebuilt with tiled roofs rather than thatch.

Thatch is still allowed under the 2024 Aesthetic Standards, as Dekrit-type thatch with a white-painted cap and a 4.5 m boundary setback. Insurers now set conditions for thatched homes; Santam, for example, requires drenchers and fire blankets. If you are looking at a thatched canal home, get an insurance quote early.

What are the building rules for canal homes?

The canals follow the same aesthetic standards as the St Francis Bay village: untinted white walls and black main roofs pitched at 45 degrees or more. On top of municipal approval, any new canal wall, jetty or slipway needs layout approval from the Riparian Home Owners Association.

The canals depend on the sand spit at the end of the beach. A spring tide broke through it in July 2020 and threatened canal homes, which is part of why owners are now paying for rock groynes and sand pumping along the beach.

What kind of property is on the canals?

The canals are mostly freestanding homes on the water, each with its own frontage, many with a jetty and a small beach. There are also apartments, townhouses and the occasional plot in the Canals suburb, not all of them on the water.

Water frontage, the width of the canal, a jetty and the view make a large difference to value, and many older canal homes are bought to renovate. On 6 October 2026 Property24 listed 19 properties for sale in the Canals suburb, asking from R1.7 million for a plot to R23.5 million for a six-bedroom house.

For a current figure on a canal home, ask Seal Point Estates for a market value estimation.

Buying or selling in St Francis canals?

Talk to Jal Rigaard, principal agent at Seal Point Estates, on +27 72 559 0575. No-obligation market value estimations.

View listings Get a market value estimation

Other areas we cover

Cape St Francis The lighthouse village on the headland, ringed by nature reserves. St Francis Bay The white-walled village on the Kromme River, with two golf courses. Santareme Mediterranean-style homes and sea views across Harbour Road from the village. Port St Francis A working chokka harbour with a marina village of apartments.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Facts on this page come from: