28 November 2017 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk
THE BOAT TEST
WORDS ADAM PORTER
PICTURES ANDY R ANNABLE
W
ould you like to look at
my boat? It’s got really
interesting batteries...
that isn’t perhaps the
most thrilling boat test chat-up line
we’ve ever heard, but when you think
about it, plenty of boaters are obsessed
by their batteries. Are they charging
properly? Are they holding their charge?
Am I going to have to shell out for new
ones? And I can guarantee that any
boater who has a battery monitor will
check it at least twice a day – and
probably a lot more.
Fortunately, this boat has a lot moreof interest about it than just its
batteries. It’s built by Braidbar Boats
and is one of the first where James
Attwood had a significant hand in its
design, having joined the company from
the multi-award-winning Boating
Leisure Services. It’s also a longer boat
than most we look at, and it’s based on a
very fine shell.
But back to batteries – which is one
area where technology is moving quite
fast and having an impact on
narrowboats. We’ve looked at a couple
of boats in the past with the latest
lithium batteries, but this boat has awhole lithium pack by Mastervolt, which
makes choosing the lithium option a bit
easier and everything is included.EXTERIOR
The 68-footer is based on an impressive
sheerline Josher shell by Tyler Wilson.
Sheerline means there’s a long sweeping
curve along the gunwale line, and
together with the nice Josher-style
curves of the bow it’s a boat that’s well
worth standing back and admiring to
fully appreciate the attractive lines. And
there are details to applaud, too, many
of which are pleasingly discrete.If we said the batteries on this Braidbar cost £15k
(and that’s just for three) you’d probably think
it’s a misprint, but it isn’t and there’s a good
reason why so much has been spent on themPowering to
the future