How it works

The top of a boat with two rows of solar panels stretching away into the distance with two people working on one panel.

Powered by the sun

The boat is powered by sixteen 360w solar panels which generate (at peak) 5.4Kw of energy. This provides enough power to run all the appliances, sockets, lights and motors entirely off grid for at least 6 months of the year (in 2025 we expect to push that to 8 months, or even 9).

No fossil fuels

The boat is propelled by twin Lynch electric motors at the stern, and a Vetus electric bow thruster at the front, which means no diesel. Along with an electric cooker and electric immersion or pellet stove water heating, the boat uses no fossil fuels at all.

Rainwater harvesting

Rainwater falling on the boat runs down two channels and into two 400 litre tanks at the front of the boat. That water is pushed through a three-phase filter and used for showers, dishwashing and the washing machine. We top up from the pontoon water feed when it’s dry.

Compost toilet

Rather than a flushing toilet we use a Separett Villa ‘urine diverting’ toilet where the liquid waste goes into an external tank (emptied every two days into on-site facilities) and solid waste goes into a bucket which is emptied into a ‘hot bin’ where all the pathogens are killed within 30 days in temperatures of 50°C, and it can then be composted.