312. This narrowboat is totally unlike any other! 

It's such a nerdy boat, and I love it. I've thought that a hybrid drive would make a lot of sense; never thought of using a pod to house the motor. If I was in a position to build a narrowboat, this is the kind of drive I'd love to install. Brilliant video, as always

As an engineer who has played with batteries, solar panels, electronics and radio engineering for decades, and has 3 "Raspberry Pies" at home, I thoroughly love this canal boat! That's a fortune in AmpHours under that bed! 😊

I originally wanted to build a NB with a pod drive, but couldn't find a vendor. Now, thanks to you David, I've found it. BTW, yours was one of the first NB vlogs I started following years ago. And when you swallowed the anchor and moved back ashore, I was afraid I wouldn't have a straight review about the goings on along the "Cut". Thanks for staying with us. Always the straight dope about canals. Thank you, thank you, thank you....!

Well done for yet again finding something new to show us! Thanks again David and guests.

Pods have been around for a long time now. I wondered why narrow boats didn't have them but thinking, most narrow boats were kind of traditional in their own way. Thanks for this insight.

That is beautiful engineering! I was amazed at just how small the engine pod is, too. I do wonder if it was steered by a wheel instead of the tiller, would the learning curve for adapting to its steering be less demanding? I hope canal boat designers/builders adopt this idea for new boats. Historical boats should stay historical so that we don't lose that aspect, but new-builds can be free to move with the times and new technology. --Dan

I bet he could build the famous 'flux capacitor' if he needed one. An amazing, informative video 👍👍.

The pod drive looks like the future. Excellent and very informative video, as always.

I imagine that this could be adapted to work with a helm wheel type layout, with a motor that turns the pod instead of a tiller. This way you could operate the boat remotely if you wanted. Very cool stuff!

What a brilliant design idea to have a drive pod. Love all the techie gubins too.

Nothing better than 2 pi's. I love this boat so much. It would definitely be similar to how I would set it up. Unfortunately I am sure it would not be as nicely organized.

I am glad to see that some Narrowboaters are not afraid to do something different. So many want everything old school. One improvement would be a hydraulic or electric assist on the tiller to make it easier to turn.

I love this design! It could also be modified to have more batteries, more solar, and a smaller generator as backup, and it could be a good solar electric boat!

David would adore having this boat

Fantastic! This guy has fixed a problem that never existed using nothing more than stacks of cash.😂

Very proud of themselves. As they should be. What a pair of guys to know.....

This is a lesson on how to make a simple, relaxed lifestyle complicated.

This was realy facinating, as an electrisian this is the stuff that makes me love my field of work and the potensial to impliment it in to other hobbies😊

Thank you David for bringing such an interesting idea to our attention. As always, a very well presented video. 👏👏👍🥴

You can see the pride in his Dads face! What a project!

I haven't watched your videos in a while ( you know, that thing called life happened). You're such a delight! I feel no remorse or guilt for indulging, or rather binge-watching, your videos on my Sunday afternoon. Your filming quality is top notch and your content is always interesting. You work so hard. Thank you for your engaging content David.

What an absolutely brilliant idea, thanks for doing this video to show us all.

Another top-notch program. Amazing innovation, ,presented to your usual standard! Narrow boats really are amazing - and adaptable to taste and technology. The motor setup is really something! (The maneuverability, too … plus, the father / son aspect is nice.). Altogether a beautiful and choice craft! Happy Canal Trails to you! Thanks, David!

Thank for that very interesting tour David🙏

The high-pitched noise from the VFD can be really annoying if you need to stay at a speed where it's prominent for a prolonged period. I discovered this after installing VFDs on large, 2-5HP exhaust fans that need to run all day at specific speeds. The sound was absolutely maddening. The fix I found is to install a "line reactor" in line between the VFD and the load. The reactor's on-label use it to protect from transients (as it's basically a set of 3 inductors), but a side effect is that instead of the drive making the noise, now the reactor makes the noise. The reactor can be mounted either far away or in a sound-insulated box (make sure to add some cooling), which is way easier than doing sound mitigation on other parts of the system. This is the only reliable fix I've found for VFD whine, and it's incredibly effective. For a peaceful narrowboat, it's a modification I would make immediately, and fortunately they're relatively inexpensive.

That's fantastic.. I hope alot more of those narrow boats get built like that. I really enjoyed watching this..Thanks David for sharing!

Fantastic, just fantastic. If I were on the cut and could afford it, I'd love the Pod Drive system. I live in a house now but miss everything from my old boat. Result of being married.

Aircraft engineers and technicians are the most diligent and creative people of all. A good friend of mine comes from a lineage of aircraft servicemen (3rd gen), and he is the only person i ever let touch my cars and motorcycles. Even the authorised service techs admitted his work is superior to theirs, better than factory. His wiring skills are second to none, his harnesses being made with aircraft grade redundancy, so if he installs something in your cars/bike, that will be the last thing to fail.

Nice to see you back.

That's the way they should be made. Nice. The traditional ones are cool too. Combine all that is there with remote control, like another boat from previous video, then it will be crazy cool.

This tech is the future for all the canal boats. All these guys need to do is make the entire wiring set up clear and labeled and make the interior attractive. No more fuel fill ups, no more fuel spills. A nice small solid fuel stove for supplemental heat and ambiance, a cup of tea and a quiet evening. And no fear about sinking because of a leaky gland!

AMAZING. I haven't even gotten through the video yet, I had to stop and leave a comment when I saw the hammocks. Why are there not more hammocks on more boats? Hammocks were made for boats. More hammocks please. I love seeing boats that were a pet project for someone who builds things for a living. These people always create something unique and wonderful.

All I can say is WOW and WOW again😳👍

This is pure genius.👍

We have built similar-looking, but of course much larger generators. Without any oil inside. These were sunk in the Donau and generate electricity by means of the current, which turns the generator rotor via the propellers. I've also been on a yacht in the Mediterranean that used inverter-powered electric motors for propulsion. I think it's clever. You just have to make sure that the heat generated is dissipated. Which is not always taken into account. . .

Excellent!! Amazing 👍🏻

Great find Dave, what an absolutely brilliant innovation.

Groovy episode

Excellent idea and I like the idea that canal boats could also be fitted with bow thrusters as well, would be so much easy to dock at the end of the day as well.

I think you have identified a trend for the future. Only a matter of time. Well done!

There are combustion engine powered steerable drives as well. When I was in yacht design school we always said that powerboats should never have rudders; leave that for sailboats.

Throw in some electric assist on the tiller and a set of bow thrusters and that thing would be a force to be reckoned with. Beautiful machine.

Very interesting idea. Pod and bow thruster, excellent

David, you are fast becoming the Mark Felton, of narrow boats and canals. Well done, you.🙏🙏👍🇦🇺

Well, if anyone was going to have such advanced technology in a ship, it's no surprise it's the Borg!

Thanks David! An electrifying video, as always.

Hello David from Chesterfield I'm still alive and very very glad when you do an upload. Your a star mate.

Well done!

I really wish Australia had a major canal network like England dose I would love to live on a canal boat and travel everywhere on it. maybe I should move to England when I Retire from working haha

A good idea overall. Autos are headed towards all electric and for boats that are primarily used for pleasure it makes good sense.

Very interesting video David. Thank you! 😊

Very interesting concept.

so glad we had you to inturprit the language these guys were speaking.... lol

That drop down cupboard of wires looked like behind a cars dash! That's a nest

That thing is ingenious ... and fast!

This is the future of narrow boating, I tell you.. Resistance is futile!

Having made the switch to lifepo4, lithium batteries I can honestly say that I have never had so much power available. Admittedly, I am on land and have 4kW of panels but I have 14kWh of 280AH (16) cells that cost less than £2k (I actually bought 20 direct from China). Add the 48V inverter upgrade and I can run a combination of planer thicknesser, table saw, routers, drills, bandsaw, lathes and more plus electric kettle, microwave, fridge-freezer & a freezer and a fangledy 3ph inverter driven washing machine plus water pumps, lights, computer & monitor etc etc blah blah blah. And my tired 10kWh, almost £2k worth of Rolls lead acid batteries now charge separately and run into my old 24V inverter as an emergency generator - which still haven't used in 18 months. Absolutely the best move I ever made in the >20yrs off grid here.

had that idea with a variation, but that is great! Keep that in mind If I move there and live on the canals!

Just like the QM2!

I feel this boat is contrary to the philosophy of a canal boat of off grid living. Personally I would rather have a wood burner & oil lamps complete with a diesel engine.

Grand job.

Wow! That sounds fantastic

I’m sure they keep everything lubricated 👍🏻😉

awesome design.

That is one smart and nice design. I think that can be some progress for the future narrow boating industry. It has some advantages... in compare to the traditional "drive system". But overall... thanks for the educational video🙏

Your vlogs are a wealth of information that would generally be unavailable to most people. I always look foward to all new episodes of CTC and Vandemonium. Thanks.

great concept, a bit like a jetboat I once plied the NZ waterways with. Wonderful use of electronics and gizmodery!! Nice job again sir!!

what a boat!!

Great video. Very interesting to watch.

Excellent video thank you David. Maybe power steering would be a good addition. Sadly there is another bad financial crisis around the corner so probably not a good idea to start a pod driven narrow boat building business now. But it's a brilliant concept.

One thing I find so different between the US and the UK is that the US has a single phase residental / commercial voltage of 120 /240 Volt vs the straight 240 Volt in the UK . 3 Phase newer voltages are 120 / 208 - 277 /480 or straight 480 volt - Old voltage combinations are still supported but once you upgrade your panel you have upgrade to the new transformer combo voltages for the 16340 KV system

Very interesting episode, thank you 😀

if you ever down my way again pop in for some tea!

That was really enjoyable, thanks for sharing. I'd still like to hire a narrow boat one day 👍

Needs better bearings and a damper in the pod to combat steering shudder, alternately you could electronicly reduce power while steering.

I could see this concept catching on. Is this the shape of narrowboating to come ?

At 2:16; That needs a bit of cable management? ;-D I had a concept for a narrowboat bow thruster control to be mounted on the tiller, like a motorcycle grip that could increase speed to the thruster, the tighter the turn (tiller angle)/separate from tiller position switch, port or starboard/on/off three way switch, maybe a horn button? ;-)

“You need no forward momentum to steer”…my son-in-law’s motto for life 😅

This is very awesome. Only an engineer could come up with this kind of idea. Hopefully you'll do the cruising the cut in Germany and the Erie Canal in the United States.

Very interesting, well done on finding this

Now all you need is a robot that open locks and bridges haha! The robot called Jo in honour of someone who, has probably opened the most locks and bridges in the UK

Did you ever hear about, or even encounter, a boat called (I think) “Nu-era”? Also electrically propelled, but via 4 submerged tubes, located at all 4 corners, each open towards bow or stern at one end, and to the side at the other. Props in each of the tubes allowed the boat to either push or pull itself along, either suck or push its way sideways, rotate, you name it. Control was even possible via a remote control wireless joustick! Read about it years ago, and even saw it on a RU-vid vid once, but not been able to find any info online for ages…

Amazing!

I'd be thinking of an electric tiller next, that'd be cool, steer it with a little lever perhaps? Nice video as always, thank you.

Amazing a narrow boat with 2000 technology.

Having built an off grid solar array for my cabin, I can tell you with some certainty that just the copper cables in this boat is a small fortune. I hardly dare think what those batteries cost. But that a boat!

If you can remember the Standard 10 car from the 1950's with the experimental magnetic clutch...activated by placing your hand on the gear lever in anticipation of changing gears??? Using basically the same principles..... a button on the end of the tiller handle to momentarily cut electrickery to the pod motor, then you can easily initiate the turning of the drive pod to to the correct position... quickly followed by finger off button... and drive reengages at the same power setting....or can be electronically set to accelerate from a slightly lower setting? turning the pod to steer while under way would then be a one-handed operation.....

Really that all one need do to have the best of both worlds is to run the generator on a vintage diesel engine 😉.

Love the almost modularity of it, particularly the implied simplicity of removing the engine pod over a marine diesel. And no stern gland!!

OMG.... i wish i had a narrow boat here in California. That would be so awesome! By the way, the Electric Narrow Boat is brilliant! Abbreviate: ENB Inc.

This will be perfect for converting to fully electric, once the price for an LFP (or other chem) pack seems right. There will also we huge synergies in putting up type2 AC and CCS DC chargers along the shore. This already happeneing in Scandinavia where the adoption of electric propulsion in the marine and boating sector is well under way.

That way the pod lift out is like how the jet engine comes out of planes. And the slight ringing, that's OK. Get Cordless drill and only press the trigger very slightly 🧐

If taking that concept on again, I would make it all electric from the start with the biggest solar panels you can find, and the Motor powered from the Battery banks. It might take 2 or 3 days to recharge the batteries from driving, but if the range is decent enough that should not be the problem.

Azipod technology! Just imagine if you can add a remote controlled pod at the bow of the boat. I wonder if a regular canal boat can be converted to this Azipod technology? Would be a matter of removing the engine and prop shaft and seals. Adding the casing for the Azipod assembly and adding the necessary gen Set and frequency controllers.

That is a very innovative system, I guess you could define it as a diesel-electric propulsion like a locomotive or submarine.

Hammocks and hanging chairs are back-breakers. That fine young man will be looking for furniture at some point, I'm sure of it. Otherwise, I love it! Thanks!

The Azipod 360 degree electric propulsion is an old idea. In 1983-4 Norwegian designed , Ulstein made an electric drive Vessel for the North Sea for Dowell Schlumberger, It lasted 39 years in service in the North Sea and was called BOXVIII or ('BigOrange 18), just recently decommissioned in July 2023, and double the life of a normal 20 year ship lifespan. The propulsions were 2 x azimuth stern pods powered by electric motors plus two bow thrusters. Good to see this 40 year old tech being used in the Canals! Yes she was electric over diesel. You do not explain your prime energy source or range on this New Narrowboat ? YES like this they had a Generator,,,, powered by diesel ??? Having an Azipod is good news, explain where the power comes from and range...vs a regular Narrowboat. ? As I say, done 40 years ago and on a SHIP scale.

As I tell my physics students.....engineers make the world go round. Very cool boat!!

Now just get a Sharrow Prop made. You'll have less vibration and better more accurate movment through the water.

Some incredible electrical engineering there, they must have had to do some serious fire protection.