Canal Boat — November 2017

canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat November 2017 21

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ME & MY BOATS

uses 100 percent renewable energy.

While we put sustainability at the

heart of this build we didn’t want to

compromise on style and we believe

the interior is unlike any other boat

currently on the water.

The array of 20 photovoltaic solar

panels on the roof are linked to provide

maximum solar energy output. They

feed two solar controllers which charge

the batteries and power the twin electric

motors that enable the boat to cruise

almost silently at a comfortable three

knots.

At the heart of the boat there’s a large

bank of forklift batteries which can

store 96 kWh of energy and provide

ten hours of continuous cruising without

any daylight, or 18 days of domestic

supply. The batteries are topped up

every day by the solar panels.

The innovations don’t stop there:

the interior floor is made of 18 tons of

concrete with underfloor pipes that are

heated by the stove which burns

renewable smokeless eco logs and also

supplies a hot water storage cylinder.

Added to that there’s triple-glazing, a

heat recovery system, rainwater

filtration and a no-flush toilet.

The journey wasn’t all plain sailing,

though, and we ran into some negative

responses as we sought to design a boat

powered only by solar energy.

“I started looking for alternatives but

there was simply nothing out there that

didn’t rely on diesel,” says Ryan. “Some

boats have solar panels for domestic

supply but there was nothing on the

market that would allow us to cruise

Open-plan living on board

Galley equipment runs on solar power

Owners Hayley and Ryan

WIN

£100