“Jouliet” is a 61ft serial electric hybrid narrowboat built on a stylish Alexander Boats semi-cruiser stern hull.
Propulsion is provided by a Bell Marine Drivemaster 20W EVO Motor (15kW with 20kW boost). There is a Fischer Panda 8000i variable speed generator and 12 x 200W flexible solar panels mounted on the roof to charge the 6 x Victron LiFePO4 Batteries (25.6V/200Ah Smart) – wired in series/parallel to give 600Ah @ 48V (5000 cycles @ 50% DOD).
Jouliet has the largest solar array of any of our narrowboats to date, plus the largest lithium battery bank we have fitted. It is also the first variable speed generator we have fitted. All in all, we are expecting the solar yield and generator efficiency figures from Jouliet to exceed our previous records.
This is a true 6 berth boat, the extra bedroom (snug) at the bow has full length single beds plus a wardrobe and drawers for storage. The bathroom is between the two bedrooms, which is the main change to the layout when compared to Hunky Dory. The main bedroom features a gas strut side lift standard double (4’6” x 6’3”) bed and a large, full height, double door wardrobe.
Packing 2 bedrooms into a boat this length means that compromise has to be made somewhere, which, in this case, is in the main living area. By choosing an L shaped dinette, which can be used to sit in comfort to watch TV, or as a place to feed the whole family, the space is well utilised. We have also designed a couple of fully de-mountable stools which can be used as bar stools when having breakfast for 2 at a high table looking out of the side hatch, or as extra seating around the dinette area, or a footstool and coffee table when watching the TV! We like to think of new, multipurpose, furniture for our boats to give customers the most versatile use of the space.
There is a good sized galley utilising handle-less doors and integrated mains powered appliances to give a modern, sleek and uncluttered look. The Lithium batteries are housed in the cabin where we would normally fit the calorifier. The calorifier is therefore housed in the engine bay, this means we were able to fit a larger 75 Litre capacity unit. Using our Ortomate system we are able to use the large capacity calorifier for “solar dumping” – if at any point there is more solar power being generated than is needed for propulsion or battery charging, the excess solar energy powers the electric element in the calorifier, to provide free hot water!
For more information about the history of the boat’s name click here.
