FARADAY - a green energy passenger Trip Boat!

Aim

We are building FARADAY, an innovative, solar powered, all electric narrowboat for 12 passengers, to operate along the historic Ashby Canal

SUTTON BOAT TRIPS are crowdfunding for £22,800, which makes up 33% of the build cost towards 'FARADAY' our bespoke-built, Eco friendly, solar powered, electric motor propelled Passenger Trip Boat. We are planning to be operational by July 2023, located at Sutton Wharf on the Ashby Canal in Leicestershire.

Why we need your help?

We have nearly 60% owner investment towards the build cost of £70,000, but with the current financial climate, borrowing the additional funds we need to complete the build from the banks is just cost prohibitive. We support the ethos of 'paying it forward' and by Crowdfunding and offering future Reward Trips aboard FARADAY, pledger's can have grassroots involvement in this exciting, cutting edge, green project.

By essentially pre-paying a trip or cruise on this innovative future attraction, the funding you provide will enable us to purchase and complete the interior fitting, cabin, canopy, kitchen and bar ready for service. 

We are also very proud (after months of paperwork!) to have been awarded an Energy for Business grant from the University of Nottingham for innovation and carbon saving (funded by the European Regional Development Fund). This funding specifically goes towards the cost of the Lynch electric motor, as we will be reducing our carbon emissions* by over 80%! (*that would be created by a traditional diesel engine)

Green Credentials

Using renewable energy from solar power means we will operate with zero emissions and be low carbon and as environmentally friendly as possible. FARADAY will run quietly and cleanly, so our passengers won't have to endure any diesel exhaust fumes or noisy engine, and can truly relax surrounded by the sounds of nature, and water lapping past the bow.

The Carbon savings of running our trip boat with an electric motor instead of a traditional diesel engine are impressive! Reducing potential CO2 emissions by over 1.7 tonne per year and saving over 70% of annual fuel expenditure. These figures will improve again when we have our permanent solar array installed and are no longer reliant on grid electricity for recharge.  With the DC electric motor weighing only 21kg and the modern Lithium batteries substantially lighter than lead acid batteries, we will be saving several tons in weight, and therefore create less water displacement and more energy savings, compared to traditional diesel engine.

Initially we will have to ‘fast recharge’ the boat daily using grid electricity at the wharf, but we have expansion plans for a permanent onshore solar array, in order for our power to ultimately be completely renewable, green and carbon zero. 

Our ultimate vision

Once FARADAY is built, we look forward to running an eco-friendly business and offer this new visitor attraction, which will educate and introduce a new generation of canal users in the ongoing use of the historic waterways in modern times. 

We will be offering a daily program of one hour skippered trips for up to 12 passengers, with catered hospitality and a selection of hot/cold drinks from our licenced bar. The hour long cruise will pass by Ambion Woodland, has views of part of the Bosworth Battlefield and turns at the halfway point just before Shenton Aqueduct. We'll create a unique visitor experience, with special Summer Evening Dining Cruises, and seasonal, educational and exclusive Private Charter events. 

All food will be Organic and Fair Trade where possible, or locally sourced to keep our carbon footprint low. We will also use environmentally friendly cleaning products to ensure zero impact on wildlife and to protect our waterways for nature. Our booking system will be online, which will allow for easy redemption of your reward vouchers.

With the historic precedent of passenger trip boats operating from this site since the early 1980's, we have planned for this venture to work well in current times alongside the existing hospitality provided by Sutton Wharf Restaurant and The Floaty Oakie Ice Cream Boat, and will offer a unique visitor experience to the area.

About Us

Sutton Boat Trips is an alliance between two inventive young men named Tom who are both live-aboard narrowboat owners, based at Sutton Cheney Wharf in Leicestershire. 

Tom J dreamt about building his own passenger Trip Boat since he was a child, as his family business operated up to 4 passenger trip boats along the Ashby Canal for over 15 years before the expansion of Sutton Wharf into its present thriving restaurant business. Tom trained as a chef and worked in some of Leicestershire's top restaurants before returning to the Wharf. During the initial covid lockdown in 2020, he realised part of his dream by the creation & build of the Floaty Oakie Ice Cream & Coffee Boat, which provided much needed canal side refreshments for the many visitors as we came out of lockdown. He has been involved in the renovation and re-fit of at least 3 narrowboats and it is fair to say that boating and the Ashby Canal are in his blood!  

Tom M has run Malone Electrical Solar Services for over 3 years, installing solar panel systems on boats all over the UK waterways. He spent his earlier working life as an Electrical Engineer in industrial factories, specialising in electronics and project management, before he & his wife sold up, paid off the mortgage, and moved onto their 57’ narrowboat home! While the Malone's were moored at the Wharf for over 3 months during lockdown, the Tom’s met and became friends. Tom M’s knowledge and skill set became useful in creating the circuit diagrams for The Floaty Oakie (it has a big coffee machine!) and the pair have shared and bartered their skill sets to joint advantage ever since!

What then?

There was a conversation one day … 

Tom J : I’d love to build my own catered trip boat …

Tom M : What about having an all electric drive run by solar power? Hmmmmm I’ll do some calculations …

Ok, so that was the very simplistic version of many, many, many conversations, hours upon hours of research and meetings during the Summer of 2022 and then the reality of . . . Yes! It really can be possible to build & run our own bespoke skippered narrowboat! The sums were done and rechecked, spreadsheets created & populated, the boatbuilder‘s calendar was booked and here we are! This photo shows part of the build of The Ashby Trip boat "Jubilee" in 2002 with Bill, Tom's Dad overseeing! We can't wait to recreate this picture 21 years later with FARADAY and Tom J!

'FARADAY'

We've named our boat after British scientist Michael Faraday, who in 1821 succeeded in producing mechanical motion by means of a permanent magnet and an electric current -basically the ancestor of the electric motor as we know it! Faraday also had strong links to Sir Humphrey Davy and Cornwall, which is Tom M's heritage, so the name seems to fit!

The hull steel was purchased last year (we saved a few thousand in rising metal prices!) and the boat is currently being formed and welded by our boat-builders who we visit weekly. Interior fitting should start in April and our proposed launch is July 2023. This is an exciting and innovative project marrying traditional boat building skills with cutting-edge marine technology, the latest in solar power arrays and 'carbon free' electric propulsion. Even our boatbuilder is evolving his vast knowledge, as the weight distribution will be very different than with a diesel engine, so adjustments to the 'swim height' and draught have been made!

The boat will be open-sided in design, with a waterproof canvas canopy and removable window sections, providing passengers with ‘almost’ a duck's eye view of the canal and an immersive experience in the peace and tranquillity of the waterway, creating a sense of well-being whilst closer to nature.

The main cabin is accessed at the side into a seated area, with removable tables. This area will be heated (when needed) by low wattage electric heaters. We will have a licenced bar, with modern catering kitchen and flushable toilet.              

Behind the main bulkhead, with access only via the traditional stern, is the 'clean' engine bay, currently nicknamed 'Faraday's cage'! Here are housed the electric motor, battery banks and fuse board, along with the "brains" (inverter chargers, monitoring systems and displays) that make the boat function.

The Power

FARADAY will be powered by a 10kW 50hp 48v DC electric propulsion motor controlled by a variable speed DC drive. The Victron Multi RS 5000w Inverter/ Charger/ Solar Controller will supply our 240v plugs and appliances, control the incoming power from our solar array and charge our 48v Lithium battery bank from the mains supply (when needed).

The "brain" is a Victron Cerbo, a state of the art computer that communicates with the lithium batteries and  Multi RS via a CAN bus network to let us know how much power we have and make sure everything is working correctly and safely. There will be a touchscreen display for the Captain and all 'live' data is saved to a cloud server, so we can diagnose any issues remotely, as well as analyse the data to streamline the efficiencies within the system.

We will be installing a Solar array of 1600w on the roof - consisting of  8 x 200w Monocrystalline Fibreglass flexible Solar Panels.

Power Storage - Propulsion/Mains power battery bank with SIX x 48v 100ah Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries with a design life 20 years or 3500 cycles. We will also install a 12v 100ah LiFePO4  'domestic/leisure' battery that will power all internal lights, water pumps and flushable toilet.

The electrical drawings have been quite an undertaking, as although there are other electric boats on the waterways, the technology has improved so much over the years. Our project is pushing boundaries with the connectivity of Smart batteries and other equipment in a Passenger Trip Boat setting.

The 28.8kw battery bank will power the electric motor to propel the boat for FIVE hours from an overnight charge, in addition they will cover all our domestic power needs. The solar panels will also be collecting energy and feeding into the bank (daylight & weather dependant!) and this will allow us to run FIVE trips daily and with a quick top-up in between cruises, to also run our evening specials! 

Local area

Sutton Cheney is a picturesque village in Leicestershire alongside the Ashby Canal, which was opened in 1804 to carry coal from the pits in Moira and Measham (near Ashby de la Zouch). With over 200 years of history, the canal has had many users during its time, from the traditional working boats to the liveaboard boaters of today, leisure cruisers, hire boaters and Passenger Trip Boats!                            

This historic area also includes the multi-award-winning Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre (pictured), the Battlefield Line Railway (both steam & electric locomotives) along with many beautiful woodland and towpath walks.

The licensed restaurant at Sutton Wharf provides canalside breakfasts, lunches, cakes, coffees and much more with The Floaty Oakie moored alongside for takeaway ice-creams, hot drinks and doggy treats! The area is popular throughout the year with walkers, cyclists, families, paddleboarders, dog walkers & animal lovers, as well as history buffs, and the wharf is never short of a duck or two for added entertainment!

Sutton Boat Trips have a mooring agreement in place for FARADAY with the Canal & River Trust to moor and operate alongside and to the right of the cafe.

Small print stuff!  During the build we will not be paying out any wages from this project, as both owners run successful small businesses and any planned labour is either ‘in kind’ or bartered for in order to keep our build costs as low as possible.
Most Trip Rewards will be redeemable after 1st September 2023 (as we will need to cover set-up overheads when initially operational in July & August) and are valid for 1 year (unless stated). All cruises and events are weather dependent and based at Sutton Wharf on the Ashby Canal, Leicestershire, CV13 0AL.

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This project closed unsuccessfully on 8th March 2023