News Boating

New community boat ‘Electra’ craned in at Milton Keynes

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Today, Wednesday 5th May, Electra the all-electric community boat was craned into the Grand Union Canal, just south of Milton Keynes.

Electra travelled almost 50 miles by low loader from Colecraft Ltd, the Warwickshire boatyard where she was built, arriving at the Willowbridge Marina where careful preparations had been made to lift the 16-ton craft into the water.

Commissioned by the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, Electra will be based at Campbell Wharf; Trust volunteers will run public trips and private charter cruises along the Grand Union Canal, giving residents and visitors a different view of Milton Keynes.

James Clifton from the B&MK Waterway Trust, said he was delighted to see the delicate operation successfully completed. “Now that Electra is safely afloat, we can commence ‘sea trials’, so the crew can get used to handling her followed by cruises for ‘friends and family’, before she begins fare-paying cruises in July.”

Owner of Colecraft Engineering Ltd, Gary Cole, said: “Although we have built over 30 trip boats since 2010, including two for Longleat Safari Park and twelve for the London Olympic Games, this is our very first all-electric boat.

“The demand for electrically propelled boats is definitely growing. With the government’s commitment to ensuring all inland waterway vessels meet zero emissions by 2050, this is definitely the right way forward,” he added.

Stephen Goosey, who manages the marina, commented: “Lifting a 16-ton boat is not a simple matter; there are a lot of technical issues to consider and, costing over £150,000, we took our time to ensure she was lowered carefully and safely into the water.”

Now that the boat has been delivered, the Trust is recruiting more volunteers, both onboard and ashore. The website has further details: bmkwaterway.org/mkcommunityboatelectra.

The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust funded the construction of the boat, with contributions from Crest Nicholson, via Milton Keynes Council s106 funding for the Campbell Wharf development, the Milton Keynes Community Foundation, and donations from Trust members.

Electra community boat electric propulsion motor drive photo courtesy of Colecraft Engineering Ltd.

   

Electra in the process of being craned in to Grand Union at Willowbridge Marina
images courtesy of Gill Prince Photography

For more information:

Based on a traditional 54’ long steel narrowboat hull, Electra is powered by a single 15kW electric motor (equivalent to 5 electric kettles), with 48 batteries fitted below decks and 24 solar panels on the roof.

At 54 feet, Electra is twice as long as a London double decker bus and is twice as heavy.

Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust  www.bmkwaterway.org

Media contact: James Clifton, B&MK Waterway Trust; mobile: 07710-175410;
email: james.Clifton@b-mkwaterway.org

The boat can carry up to 12 guests and be accessible, with lavatory provision and access lift for wheelchair users, and is fully Covid-19 compliant.

Subject to Covid-19 restrictions, trips are planned to run from July to December in 2021. These will offer ‘something for everyone’ – from short ‘eye-spy’ family cruises to Friday night ‘bubbles and bites’, relaxing days out in nature, mindfulness trips and walkers’ one-way hops. Eventually, Electra could carry up to 4,000 passengers a year.

This will be the first all-electric trip boat to be built by Warwickshire-based boatbuilders Colecraft Engineering, run by Gary Cole along with a team of 20 supporting steelwork, carpentry, engineering and sales staff. They have built more than 30 trip boats built since 2010, including two for Longleat Safari Park and twelve for the Olympic Games in 2012. The narrowboat will use an all-electric propulsion unit from Fischer Panda. The electric propulsion batteries with be capable of being charged from both mains power and on-board solar panels.

The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust is funding the construction of the boat with contributions from Crest Nicholson, via Milton Keynes Council s106 funding for the Campbell Wharf development, the Milton Keynes Community Foundation, and donations from Trust members.