Recently relaunched, “Bartimaeus”, has been in our workshop over the last few months undergoing a conversion from parallel to series hybrid, along with a few other modifications.
Bartimaeus is a 58’ 6” boat with semi-trad stern, that we originally launched in July 2019. More information about the original build can be found here: https://www.ortomarine.co.uk/bartimaeus/
Having now covered the areas of the inland waterways where the additional power assistance of a diesel engine is most beneficial, the owners decided to take the next step and convert their boat to a series hybrid system.
The conversion included the removal of the existing Beta 50 diesel engine, which we installed on our other recent conversion ‘Electric Dreams’, to make room for a Engiro 12kW motor and a Fischer Panda 8kVA DC generator.
Originally launched with 8 x 160W semi flexible solar panels, the owners wanted to increase the amount of solar energy generated so an additional 4 x 160W panels were added.
We also took the opportunity to update our Ortomate system to the latest version, complete with large 10” colour touchscreen display at the aft of the boat, plus a brand new fascia – including the owner’s mandatory ‘panic button’, which we have written various functions for depending on how the owner is feeling on any particular day!
As part of the recent upgrades to Bartimaeus, we also installed a heat pump system to further enhance her efficiency and environmental credentials. The Kensa heat pump takes cold water from the floor tank and converts it into usable heat. This energy can then be directed either to the calorifier to provide hot water or to the onboard radiators to provide comfortable, efficient heating throughout the boat. To help with this, we have removed the single panel radiators and replaced them with double panel radiators to give the heat pump more load. We fitted the heat pump system in collaboration with Nick and Andy from Hydrogen Afloat, who sourced the heat pump and designed the system.
Externally, we added some glazed units to the stern doors, to allow some extra light to flow into the galley, and we touched up much of the exterior paintwork. We also took the opportunity to re-black the hull, as it had been a while since Bartimaeus has been out of the water.
In terms of the interior, the owners, Shane and Clare have already made this perfect for their needs after adding a custom-built storage unit in the saloon area for their tandem bike, so not much work was required internally. The exception to this was that we did need to take the saloon flooring up to accommodate the new floor tank, we had to find a home for the Kensa unit by relocating the calorifier into the engine room, and we had to re-fit the aft area.
