Stories about boats and waterways
Although lots of technical data about narrowboat propellers exists already, it largely relates to the traditional diesel engine. With electrically-propelled canal boats now becoming more commonplace, boat-builder Ortomarine held a practical trials day to see if changing prop made for a better or worse experience when your narrowboat has an electric motor.
Continue readingIt sounds great, for sure. A narrowboat needs only 1-2kW to move along (once it has begun moving) thus a 20kWh battery pack could sustain 5-10 hours travel (presuming standard
Continue readingI’ll cover outboard motors further down the page but the de facto powerplant for a modern narrowboat or widebeam is the inboard diesel engine. Known for long reliability and substantial
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In May 2022, I published a video about a narrowboat being built for a couple who had specific mobility and agility requirements following illness. This is a follow-up video to see how they’ve been getting on with it since launch.
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I was kindly invited aboard NB Tranquility to see its one-of-a-kind (on the canals) electric propulsion system as well as the many other technical features of this intriguing boat.
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For single-handed canal boaters, shimmying up and down lock ladders or trying to get through swing bridges can be a huge nuisance. How much easier it would be if you could steer your boat with remote control! That’s exactly what Gill Gregory can do aboard “Desiderata” so I went to see the system in action.
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What would a narrowboat look like if you were able to start with a blank sheet of paper and design it so that the boat was still very usable in later life or with limits on your physical agility? A couple from Hampshire have done just that so I went along to see the finishing touches being put to the boat ahead of it going on display at the Crick Waterways show in June.
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At the end of May 2021, I attended a narrowboat trials day arranged by boat builder Ortomarine. Starting on the River Severn and going up the Droitwich canals, eight boats using a variety of power plants would have their fuel, efficiency and any solar input measured and compared. This video summarises what happened and the results.
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With many thanks to Alan and Wendy for letting me on board, this is another video where I peek into other boaters’ craft – but also, this particular narrowboat has a fairly rare type of engine set up, being a hybrid diesel-electric.
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