Canal Boat — November 2017

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LENGTH: 68ft

BEAM: 6ft 10in

SHELL: Tyler Wilson

tylerwilsonboats.com

STYLE: Semi-trad

LAYOUT: Standard

BERTHS: 2+2+2

FIT-OUT: Ash, painted ash and oak

ENGINE: Beta 50

Tel: 01452 723492

betamarine.co.uk

INVERTER: 2 x Mastervolt 3.5kW

mastervolt.com

BATTERIES: Mastervolt MLI Ultra

24/5000

mastervolt.com

BOW THRUSTER: Vetus

vetus.com

BRAIDBAR

BOATS

Lord Vernon’s Wharf

Lyme R oad

Higher Poynton

Cheshire

SK12 1TH

01625 873471

braidbarboats.co.uk

THE BOAT TEST

DESIGN

AND DECOR

THE BOAT TEST

TECHNICAL

SPECIFICATIONS

34 November 2017 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk

The Mastervolt lithium pack fitted to this boat

illustrates that these batteries are becoming

more mainstream and an easier option to

choose. Many people will be put off by the price,

but the fact they last a long time and can be

charged so quickly will appeal to a lot of boaters.

The price of the lithium system helps make

Jenny Rose quite an expensive boat. It cost

£195,000 – and that’s a lot of money in anyone’s

book. But don’t forget that the batteries alone are

almost £15,000 of that, and then there’s a

second inverter, too.

In addition, this boat is 10ft longer than most

we look at. If you went down the route of having

a more typical length of boat with a more

traditional set up, a Braidbar would start at

around £125,000.

While the batteries are important and

interesting, there’s clearly a lot more to this boat.

The shell looks great from a distance and close

up has lots of pleasing features. The fit-out is

high quality, as you’d expect, and it’s a bit of a

departure in style from many Braidbars we’ve

seen before, thanks both to the owners having a

clear idea what they wanted and the addition of

James Attwood to the team.

VERDICT

Price £195,000

 Hob: Neff induction £349 neff-home.com

 Water filter system: Seagull

purewateronline.co.uk £413

(there had to be one, didn’t there?) is

the price. Each of these batteries costs

an eye-watering amount – a shade

under £5,000.

No doubt the price will come down

in the future, but it’s a significant

investment if you decide to go down the

lithium route. Of course if they really do

last as long as some people predict, they

could be the only batteries you ever buy.

As there’s such a lot of power

available, it makes sense to use it for

things such as cooking. To provide the

240-volt supply, this boat has two 3.5kW

Mastervolt inverters.

Central heating and hot water comes

from a Webasto boiler.

ON THE WATER

We like the handling of Tyler Wilson

boats and it seems their 68ft ones are

just as good as the shorter models we’ve

tested. This boat goes where it’s pointed

and responds well to the tiller. The

engine is nice and quiet, yet provides

plenty of power.

The extra length is, of course, very

noticeable when it comes to turning

around; you really need to use the widest

part of the winding hole and the bow

thruster offers plenty of grunt to give you

a helping hand if needed. CB

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