Watt Now - £110,000

Introducing Watt Now

A stunning 62ft Hybrid Narrowboat, now available for sale at £110,000.

NB ‘Watt Now’ is an electric ‘parallel’ hybrid boat with a battery large enough to allow for cruising electric all day. In practice when cruising for extended periods of time we found that the best use of the battery was to run with the 5kW electric motor in the morning and run on diesel engine in the afternoon. This means that the battery would be fully recharged for when we stopped in the evening. One of the main attractions of the parallel hybrid is that when it is used in this way there is rarely ever any need to run the engine when the boat is moored. This contrasts with a serial hybrid system where the generator is often starts whenever the battery finds itself sufficiently discharged which can happen at any time of the day or night. For us, the other attraction of the parallel hybrid is the comfort factor of having a powerful diesel engine directly connected to the propellor, ready to tackle rivers and tidal estuaries where having around 40kW of power to the prop can be very useful! This is far more than a typical serial hybrid electric motor system can muster.

 

 The boat was designed as a floating home for two in retirement. To this end, we equipped the boat with all the standard domestic equipment that one would normally expect in a house. The boat is designed for comfortable living for two people but with the ability to occasionally sleep 6 if required. The layout is conventional with the main bedroom at the stern followed by bathroom/ toilet, 2nd bedroom, galley and the saloon at the front

 A key feature of the system is that the boat has a 240V AC inverter that is intended to be always on 24/7. There are at least 10 x 240V sockets around the boat, most of which have USB charging sockets for phone and tablets. The lack of a shore supply is not normally a problem since the boat battery is so big. Having lived aboard and cruised for long periods we have often moored for several days using the 240V domestic equipment without ever having to run the engine to replenish the batteries. The only time the inverter has ever been turned OFF is on a few occasions when the boat has been left for many months and the fridge and freezer have been emptied.

 GAS

 The gas locker in the bow houses two full sized gas bottles. Both can be connected at the same time and there is a charge-over valve to select which one is in use. A bubble tester is installed to enable simple checking of the integrity of the gas system.

 CRATCH

 There is a cratch frame and close fitting cratch cover to weather protect the well deck. The horn and the LED tunnel light are located in front of the glazed cratch frame. There is also is a very powerful 12V plug-in hand held searchlight in the engine room at the stern. This can be plugged into the 12V socket below the Radio/CD player.

 WELL DECK

 The Vetus 75kg Bow Thruster is under the bench seat in the well DECK. Access to the bow thruster is via the cross bench in the Cratch. The 2 x 110Ah lead acid batteries for the bow thruster are also located under the bench seat these and the 12V domestic battery are charged by a DC converter in the cupboard next to the radio in the engine room. The steps on either side of the well deck are also storage lockers. The port side locker contains the anchor chain and warp. The anchor is normally stored on the roof of the boat adjacent to the automatic satellite dish. The stainless steel freshwater tank is under the floor.

 SALOON

 A ‘Hobbit’ sold fuel stove is located just inside the front doors. Because the Webasto power central heating is so effective, the Hobbit has seen very little use. However on the occasions it has been used, it has proved to be so effective that it is necessary to open doors/windows to keep cool! There are two double electric sockets in the saloon, both with USB charging sockets. There are 6 ceiling lights complemented by 3 wall lights for alternative localised lighting. The television in the saloon can receive programmes either from a small terrestrial aerial or the automatic Snipe satellite dish on the roof. This is operated from the controls in the tip-forward cupboard underneath the television. The cupboard has hidden catches on both sides to enable it to be fully opened if necessary to access the wiring for the TV. The sofa folds flat and with the two stools makes a double bed. There is storage under the sofa and also in the two stools. In addition there is a wooden tray that fits over one of the stools that can be useful for playing games etc.

 GALLEY

 The galley is equipped with the normal items that one would expect in a domestic situation. As an electric boat, an induction hob could have been fitted and hence eliminated the need for gas. However, experience has shown that electric cooking uses a considerable amount of power which would have reduced the electric cruising range and hence a full sized domestic gas stove was fitted in the galley. Above the cooker is a two speed 12V extractor fan with LED illumination. There is a breakfast bar with two stools, both of which are height adjustable. Underneath the breakfast bar in a slide out cupboard is the general waste bin and separately a wine rack. There are work tops on both sides of the boat, both with large windows looking out plus a side hatch with close fitting draught free glazed inner doors. There are many cupboards for storage of kitchen equipment and a full height split high/low pull out larder cupboard. Adjacent to the sink is a slide out cupboards for spices, chopping boards, cling-film foil etc.

 240V AC Kitchen Equipment :- 

Under counter fridge

 Under counter freezer

 Under counter Dishwasher

 Eye level Microwave 

Toaster

 Electric Kettle

 Cannon full sized Gas Stove with four burners, small oven/grill under and large oven below.

 12V Cooker Hood with two speed fan

 Belfast Sink with hot/cold water tap with separate drinking water tap fed from a dedicated drinking water filter system. 

‘Always ON’ hot water - The hot water for the sink tap is derived from the hot tank at the stern which is nearly 10metres away and so even if the tank is hot, there would be a significant delay before hot water arrives at the tap. To eliminate this delay and to save water, there is an 5litre electrically heated hot water tank under the sink that ensures that hot water is available immediately without having to run the tap for a long time. The temperature can be easily adjusted by a dial on the front of the tank. This is independant of the availability of hot water from the main hot tank. 

At the end of the galley there are two tall cupboards, one on each side. Port side has high shelves and a clothes hanging bar below. Starboard side has high shelves at the top and the lower two thirds is the ‘broom’ cupboard with standard domestic Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner, ironing board, dust-pan & brush, mop, bucket etc.

 Note - The Washing Machine/Tumble drier is located at the stern in the engine room. 

‘SNUG’/DINING ROOM/BEDROOM The dining room/2nd bedroom is also a ‘snug’ with TV. There are 240V sockets on both sides of the room and both have USB charging sockets. Tucked underneath the glass fronted glasses and drinks cabinet there is a large drop leaf table with stools to enable 6+ people to eat together in the ‘Snug’/ Dining Room. The doors of the tall cupboards fold out to act as a divider from the galley when it is being used as a bedroom. 

The boards to convert the bench seat into a double bed are located underneath the seat. There is ample additional space underneath for bedding. Also under the seat is the ‘emergency porta potti’. Any electric/mechanical device such as a macerator toilet can have problems every now and again and we regard the Porta Potti an essential backstop to allow for those situations. See comments elsewhere. There is also a 240V AC dehumidifier under the seat. Although the boat is easily heated and is a snug place to be in cold winter months, if there are more people on board that normal, this can result in higher levels of humidity and hence more condensation. We have occasionally used the dehumidifier for these situations. 

The side hatch in the snug has secondary close fitting glazed windows for added winter insulation.

BATHROOM

 The bathroom is equipped with a quadrant shower, ‘deluxe’ macerator toilet and sink. There are many cupboards for towels, supplies of toilet rolls and other bathroom essentials. The shower has a manually switched ceiling fan and an automatic shower waste water outlet pump, switching ON as and when there is water to remove from the shower tray. There also an override ‘ON’ switch in the cupboard behind the shower.

 Note 1 - Those who appreciate a warm bathroom should note that there is an under counter fan heater below the sink and a heated towel rack which helps to ensure that taking showers is a ‘warming’ experience! We like a warm bathroom! Note 2 - The 12V onboard freshwater water pump is unusual in that it is a variable speed device that increases the water supply automatically to maintain water pressure as demand increases. This helps to ensure that the shower temperature and flow rate hardly change when other taps such as in the galley are turned ON and OFF. 

The Jabsco ‘deluxe’macerator toilet has proved to be very reliable provided that users remember two basic rules 1) only put down the toilet what you have first eaten and 2) do not use too much paper at a time. The four button control panel has various water saving functions.

 BEDROOM 

The bedroom has ‘his and her’ wardrobes on either side of the 4ft 6inch wide (137cm) electric folding cross bed. The bed when folded, enables passage from the front of the boat to the engine room.

 Note - Before pressing the button to electrically lower the bed, you MUST release the wooden catch on the stern side of the bed and slide the whole bed towards the port side. This will allow space for the head end to lower down onto the bed base.

 The mattress is exceptionally thick, principally for the comfort of the current owners. This means that the top of the bed is relatively close to the height of the gun’ls and so it reduces the available length of the bed. It also reduces the gap available to walk past the end of the bed when it is folded. Therefore potential new owners who are of taller stature may wish to install a thinner mattress which will then enable the full width of the boat under the gunnels to be utilised.

 Underneath the bed is the black water holding tank and there are enough life jackets for several adults, at least two small children and two medium sized dogs.

 The wardrobe on the ´stern’ side of the bed has shelves and clothes hanging space. On the left hand side of the wardrobe is a portable distilled water storage tank with integral pressure pump. This is to refill the main 48V battery that is located under the floor in the engine room. The tank hose clips together with the battery hose and by operating the pressure pump, it will top up all of the 24battery cells to the correct level automatically. When the red spinning wheel in the hose stops, the battery is full. Note - Only use distilled or de-ionised water to top-up the battery. 

There are bedside cupboards on both sides, both with additional two drawers. The bedside cabinet on the ´forward’ side of the bed has a pull-out wooden bar to extend the size of the work-top to safely accommodate a tea tray without risk of it tipping off! Both sides of the bed have double 240V sockets with USB charging sockets and individual bedside lights.

 Office area - When the engine room door is closed, a board under the gunnel, hinged to the side of the boat can be lifted up and secured against the end of the wardrobe to serve as a desk. One of the four folding stools located in the folding table in the ‘Snug’ serves as a seat. Power for a laptop computer is available close-by from a socket just under the end of the bed. An ‘air’ printer is located in the wardrobe. There are additional power sockets in the wardrobe.

 

The engine room gives access to the engine under the floor. Also under the floor is the 48V 800Ah battery. In order to achieve maximum life, is important that the battery is not allowed to get too hot for extended periods. For this reason it is fitted with an automatic thermostatically controlled cooling fan. In hot weather and sometimes after cruising on engine, be aware that the fan may switch ON automatically any time even though the engine is not running. This is not a problem and is simply designed to extend the life of the battery by blowing cooling air around the cells. Within the engine room there is hanging space for coats and a 5kg Beko washing machine/tumble dryer is located in a corner. There are adequate cupboards for necessary boating equipment such as mooring pins, lump hammer, lock winding handles, mooring chains etc. In the electrical cupboard is a 240V switchboard and ammeter to give an indication of the power being gained from the sun. This also provides a useful storage place for maps. The controls for the Beta 43 engine are conventional. The controls for the electric hybrid drive are based Hybrid Marine 50V motor control box located in the cupboard below the DC switched fuse panel. The controls are simple. On the blue Hybrid Marine box, turn the front panel switch ON to power the system up. When you take the white plastic cover off the small display panel on the port side cupboard (opposite side) you will see that it is illuminated. Pressing the ON button (first button on the row at the bottom of the panel) will cause the system to initiate and enable electric cruising using the same Forward/Reverse control lever as is used for the engine. To change to running on engine, simply set the control lever to neutral and then start the engine. After a few moments, after the system has initiated again, the system will be in generation mode. Once the screen has settled to ‘Generator Mode’ the engine can then be used in the normal way. Diesel Bug can be a problem on any boat. ‘Watt Now’ is fitted with a diesel fuel filter that enable any water in the fuel to be drained off without it reaching the engine. There is a red warning light fitted below the large DC switch panel in the engine room. If the light goes ON when cruising, you should have plenty of time to stop and drain the water from the fuel filter before the water is drawn into the engine. Hence, you should never have to call River Canal Rescue because of diesel-bug! HEATING Day to day heating is provided by a Webasto diesel boiler. These boilers have been proved to be able to give long and reliable service as long as they are well ‘loaded’ and do not have to constantly cycle ON & OFF as would be the case with just a few radiators. In order to achieve this, the boat has no less than eight radiators of different types. There are three under counter automatic fan radiators and four conventional double finned radiators and one towel rail in the bathroom. The whole system is controlled from a 7day timer thermostat. Timed heating can be overridden at any time when heating is required. An additional benefit of the system is the frost-stat function. The boat can be left in the winter using the Webasto, with the control panel switched OFF to provide heating only as when required in order to stop the boat freezing. The key parts of the system are based on 12V DC and so do not require a connection to a 240V shore supply. Provided that there is some sun, the batteries will be charged. Batteries should be checked regularly if there are long periods without sun with no shore supply connected. The Hobbit stove in the saloon provides a useful back-up to the central heating system but it has been used very rarely. IMMERSION HEATER The immersion heater can be used when the boat is stationary, no engine and no shore supply. In order to ensure that it cannot be left ON continuously and hence drain the battery, it is controlled by a circuit that switches it OFF soon after the tank has reached temperature and the thermostat has turned OFF. If you wish to use the immersion heater again, you need to press the start button again. The button is located in the Victron inverter cupboard and is the green button in the small white case below the Victron inverter. Hence, no need ever to remember to turn the immersion htr. OFF! CRUISING ON ELECTRIC AND DIESEL ENGINE The system is based around a Hybrid Marine parallel hybrid power system. The system has a 48V 800Ah battery that has the capacity to be able to power the boat for a full day of cruising without need to revert to engine. Typically cruising on electric might consume 2.5kW of power. However, the available recharge rate from the engine is far higher and so the battery recharge rate is therefore much quicker. Thus it is possible to cruise electric for considerably more time than running on engine. This evidenced by the fact that after 10yrs the engine has less than 500hrs on the ‘clock’. STERN BUTTON FENDER Note that this is hinged so that it can be lifted to shorten the boat when in locks of tight dimensions (62ft) such as the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. REMOTE CONTROL OF ELECTRIC DRIVE The electric drive comes into its own when working locks. Nobody appreciates having to breath in diesel fumes from the engine. The electric drive provides the ability to be in full control of the boat in silence and still be able to communicate with the crew working the lock without being drowned out by the noise of an engine. Additionally the boat has a hand held remote control which enables the boat to be powered within a lock or out of a lock whilst the ´helmsman’ is on the towpath opening or closing the gates. This can be useful if working single handed or it makes it possible for the crew to leave the boat to prepare the next lock, leaving the helmsman behind to close the paddles and the gates and then reboard the boat to proceed to the next lock which has already been prepared for him/her by the crew. Another benefit of the parallel hybrid system is that in the event of a problem with either the engine or the electric motor, one will not be stranded. Whichever system has the problem, the other system will still be available to get the boat to the next boatyard or other convenient place to stop. There is therefore redundancy in the propulsion system that is not available in a serial hybrid electric boat which depends totally on the functioning of the electric drive system. This redundancy of the propulsion system on Watt Now has proved to be a very useful feature in the past. On one occasion, when diesel bug in the tank caused the diesel engine to stop, the electric drive got the boat to the next boatyard where the fuel in the pipes was cleaned out and remaining fuel in the tank was ‘polished’. The boats fuel system is fitted with a special filter and automatic red warning light to give advance warning if a similar problem should develop again. There is also the ability to drain OFF unwanted water/contaminated fuel before it reaches the engine. Conversely, in the event of a problem with the electric drive system, the engine can power the boat in the conventional way. 

PRAM HOOD 

The length of the tiller can be extended if required using the standard tiller pin so that the helmsman can either stand outside on the stern deck with the short tiller position or OR inside the stern doors using the long tiller. The pram cover has an unusual shape in that it appears to be ‘streamlined’ or leaning back i.e. the top part overhangs the stern doors of the boat. The purpose of this overhang is so that when the front and the rear covers are rolled up, the helmsman can stand inside the stern doors under cover and out of the rain whilst cruising and still have an unimpeded, clear view ahead & astern. Just remember to be ready to drop the whole cover BEFORE bridges! SUMMARY Watt Now was an early adopter of the Parallel Hybrid Electric Boat system. It has proved to be very reliable in use and has served us very well for 10 years. A few refinements have been added during that time, the boat has seen most of the canal network from Boston in the East to York in the North, Chester to the West and down to the Thames in the South. The boat has all modern conveniences on-board and has proved to be very easy to live with.

 

Vessel Features

This expertly crafted vessel boasts a " split" galley, offering a spacious and thoughtful design. Among its many high-end features, you'll find:

• Fixed berth with an electric bed
• Modern shower room
• Well-equipped galley
• ´The L shaped dinette when used with the folding table can seat 6+ or convert to a double bed.  The table and stools folds away into a cupboard underneath the glass fronted drinks cabinet.
• Saloon for relaxation
• Solid fuel stove for warmth and coziness

With its many optional extras and impeccable specifications, Watt Now is an exceptional opportunity for anyone looking for a premium narrowboat experience. Don't miss out on this perfect blend of style, comfort, and practicality.

Remote Control

Watt Now also has a remote control, making going through a lock single handed a breeze.

Specifications

Hull and Superstructure

Steel 10/6/4/5/4

Hull last Blacked: Feb 2025

Heating

Water Heating: Webasto Diesel Boiler / immersion

Cabin Heating: Webasto Central Heating / Solid Fuel stove

Toilet

Holding Tank + Cassette

Engine

Beta 43 Hybrid

Cooling: Keel

Bow Thruster: Fitted

Electrics

Shore Power / Victron 75a Battery charger / Victron Combi 5KW Inverter / Solar panels with Remote controlled powered lifters to enable higher solar gain

Batteries

Propulsion: 48v 800 AH

Domestic: 100 AH

Bow Thruster: 2x 100AH

Engine: 1x 100 A

Gas

Propane

Galley Appliances

• Full Size Domestic gas cooker
• Belfast sink
• Under counter 240v Fridge
• Under Counter 240v Freezer

Fitting Out

Maple

Flooring

Light oak 

Headroom

6ft 4in

Please note: this is not a survey report and all pre-owned boats are sold without warranty.

The information provided is based on a superficial inspection carried out by us and information provided by the vendor. No guarantee is given or implied regarding the specification, but descriptions are given in good faith as could be ascertained at the time of inspection. Aquavista takes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information and recommend the use of a marine surveyor to establish the condition of the vessel.