“Bears Afloat” is our 12th serial electric narrowboat, built on a Tim Tyler shell with a semi-cruiser stern style. She is 61’ long, the extra length being used to accommodate a separate work room at the stern, without compromising on internal space elsewhere. This extra length also meant it was possible to fit the largest solar array yet fitted on one of our boats – there are 14 x 200W panels giving a total of 2.8kW. Bears Afloat is now regularly topping our Solar Data Table – much to the jealousy of our other boat owners!
The all-electric propulsion is provided by a powerful brushless motor (with 18kW peak) and there is a Fischer Panda PVMV-N 8000x (keel cooled) generator to charge the 800Ahr LiFePO4 battery bank when the solar is not generating sufficient power.
The boat is fitted with our remote control system Ortopilot. This controls both the electric motor and the brushless bow thruster so that the boat may be guided into and out of locks and through swing bridges, from the towpath.
This is neither a reverse layout or a traditional layout boat, but rather a hybrid somewhere in the middle – please see our boat layouts page for details
There is a workshop/utility room at the stern as you enter the boat, complete with a large wall mounted cupboard housing Kate’s comprehensive tool board. The cupboards mainly store the glass and lead used for Kate’s craft, plus further tools and equipment. A compact washing machine and under-counter freezer are also fitted in this area.
The bathroom is connected to the workroom, it features a larger than normal shower enclosure (1000 x 760mm) with pivot door rather than our standard bi-fold door. There is a Jabsco Deluxe pump out toilet with a stainless steel waste tank located under the bed.
The bedroom has a full size 4’6” double bed with gas strut side lift, padded headboard, over-bed cupboard, and large double door wardrobe.
The main living area is at the stern end comprising a U shaped galley with breakfast bar, plus living area with plenty of built-in storage and a comfortable John Lewis “Sweep” 2 seater sofa. A striking hanging light over the breakfast bar provides a nice separation between the two areas. The galley features a multizone induction hob, 2 x floor lockers, 3 x plinth drawers and plenty of wall and floor storage.
Heating & hot water is via an Eberspacher Hydronic HS3 D4E heater. Hot water is also heated by an electric heating element and by waste heat from the generator. The electric element is controlled by our Ortomate system which also uses the water tank for solar dumping in the summer whenever there is excess solar energy available.
As with all of our new boats, Bears Afloat was filled with a tank full of HVO at launch, which ticked another box for the customer’s aim to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
