Falkirk Wheel gains electric passenger boat
The boat is used to ferry up to 96 passengers along the Antonine Wall on the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals, which run coast-to-coast through Scotland. Connecting them is the Falkirk Wheel: an enormous, and rather unusual, rotating boat lift which connects the two canals by lifting boats between high and low ground on a large rotating platform. It’s a popular tourist attraction, with Scottish Canals having run day trips along the route since the opening of the wheel in the early 2000s.
The vessel which has been converted, the Antonine, formerly used a diesel engine for propulsion. NoPuttPutt, a small Bristol-based electric boat conversion company, took on the boat and converted it to electric propulsion by removing the diesel engine and hydraulic components before installing a 50kW direct-drive electric motor and converting the thrusters to electric operation. It’s now got a battery life that is sufficient for twenty 90-minute trips, which use roughly 7.5kWh of energy per trip. It takes roughly 13 hours to charge overnight, but holds enough charge to power trips over multiple days.
Scottish Canals has confirmed it is now beginning work on its other passenger vessel at the Falkirk Wheel, i.e. the Archimedes, so that it will have two all-electric boats in operation at the popular attraction. In 2023, they also launched self-drive eBoats at both the wheel and the nearby Kelpies.
Ross McMillan, Head of Destinations at Scottish Canals, commented: “Today’s launch of an all-electric passenger boat at The Falkirk Wheel is another step forward towards our net zero goals. The upgrade of the Antonine will not only improve our customers’ experiences, as they embark on their journey up the world’s only rotating boat lift, but will also help us continue to meet our high sustainability practices already recognised throughout the site.”
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