Unexpected is our 11th serial electric narrowboat, built on a Tim Tyler shell with a semi-cruiser stern style. At 56’ in length, she is slightly shorter than most of our previous boats – the customer specifically wanted a shorter boat for ease of handling and mooring between parked boats. The all-electric propulsion is provided by a powerful brushless motor (with 18kW peak) and there is a Fischer Panda PVMV-N 8000x generator to charge the batteries on days where the large solar array (2.0kW) doesn’t provide enough power for living and cruising.
The colour schemes were heavily influenced by her talented design student daughter, who created the design for the beautiful signwriting. It is the first boat we have built where the remit was to minimise stainless steel and chrome fittings and to go for brass & gold finishes instead. This gives the boat a more traditional and rustic feel, which is just what the owner wanted.
To assist the owner when she is cruising the boat on her own, we fitted our remote control system Ortopilot, to the boat. This controls both the electric motor and the brushless bow thruster so that she can guide her boat into and out of locks and through swing bridges, from the towpath.
Living the most eco-friendly life possible is important to the owner, she is hoping to minimise her fossil fuel use so she has no diesel powered heating, it is all electric. To keep her warm, there is an Ekol Baked Apple Pie stove – in which she will burn special eco wooden heat logs, and cook her meals. There are also thermostatically remote-controlled electric plinth heaters in the galley and bedroom, in case a quick boost of heat is required. Hot water is provided by an electric heating element in the calorifier which is also heated by waste heat from the generator. The electric element is controlled by our Ortomate system which will also use the water tank for solar dumping in the summer whenever there is excess solar energy available.
For added privacy when cruising on her own, she opted to have side steps into the cabin. This enabled her also to have a U-shaped galley which was another high priority. A large breakfast bar, with folding side extension gives her an ideal area to work from or feed her family when they are aboard.
There is a corridor outside of the bathroom, with a sliding barn door, which allows access through the boat even when the bathroom is in use. The owner opted for a cassette toilet due to being concerned about responsibly disposing of the waste from a composting toilet – as she lives in America, there is no option for taking her composting waste home with her!
Located at the bow, the bedroom has a full size 4’6” double bed with gas strut side lift, padded headboard, over-bed cupboard, and dressing table. Another interesting feature here is a separate dressing area between the bathroom and bedroom which provides ample storage in the large full-height wardrobe. It also provides a handy passing place on the boat!
As with all of our new boats, Unexpected 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.
