Latest Projects at Milburn Boats Ltd

Sept. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Milburn Boats Ltd are pleased to announce completion of our latest narrowboat with a hybrid diesel / electric drive system.

The boat, named 'Huggles, is powered by Hybrid Marine's Enhanced Hybrid Package. Based on a Beta Marine 43 engine, the system has at its heart a 48v battery bank, made up of 24 x 2v cells, giving a capacity of 800Ah. The hybrid system develops a 10kW motor to drive the boat in absolute silence, and when the engine is running will give 5kW of power to recharge the battery bank. This setup will allow approx 8 - 12 hours of drive from a fully charged bank.

The package also has a 5kW Victron inverter / charger, allowing the boat to be gas free - all cooking on board is done via electric oven and hob. To help keep up with demand for electrical charge, the boat also has 2 x 180W / 24v solar panels fitted.

Apart from the technical innovation of the hybrid, 'Huggles' is built to the usual high standards found in Milburn Boats Ltd narrowboats. The galley also boasts a larder fridge, freezer, washing machine (all 230v), housed in custom made units with a Corian worktop, with molded waterfall edges & splashback.

The rest of the boat comprises of saloon, with pullman style dinette seating (that can also make a guest bed), a LED TV housed in its own cupboard (with Freeview recorder) and 12v Radio / CD player. For those soon to be cold winter nights, there is a Corner Bubble mulit-fuel stove. (as well as a central heating system run via a Webasto diesel boiler.)

The bathroom is a walk-through, with a large 900 x 900 quadrant shower, with a glass screen and thermostatic mixer. The toilet, a Jabsco Deluxe macerator, pumping to a remote holding tank. And an inset bowl in the vanity unit, with matching Corian top.

The master bedroom has a 4'6 x 6' cross bed (which folds away to give access past during the day), with Milburn Boats Ltd's trademark curved units above. The curves continue with the rounded bedside cabinets and large wardrobes.

The launch for this, our latest boat, has been booked for Monday 24th September, 2012. Huggles will be a live-aboard for its new owners, who plan to cruise the UK waterways network by starting with their current 'home' on the Yorkshire canals.

For more information on this boat, and many others we have recently built, visit http://www.milburnboats.co.uk.


Our next exciting project will be a bespoke widebeam hotel boat. The boat is planned to be 69' x 12'. it will have 3 x double guest rooms and crew accommodation, all will en-suite bathrooms.With a fully equipped galley to keep the guests well fed, and a comfortable saloon to relax in, the boat promises to be something spectacular.

This will be our second hotel boat. In 2010 we built the 5-star rated hotel boat Lady Teal - a 60' x 13' widebeam based on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. The boat was dramatically unveiled at Crick Boat Show 2010 and wowed all who managed to look over her. The boat has also featured recently in the ITV television series Yorkshire Dales.

The new hotel boat will be named 'Wessex Rose'. With build about to start, with a totally bespoke hull being made for us by Tyler Wilson Boatbuilders, the boat is planned to be finished by February 2013 ready for the seasons cruises. This boat will operate on the southern waterways of the UK - on the Grand Union canal between Braunston and London, on the Thames, and along the Kennet and Avon canal.

Details of the build of 'Wessex Rose' will be posted on our website once the hull arrives at our yard.

As well as these unique boats, Milburn Boats Ltd also have in build a number of other, more 'standard' narrow boats. All our boats are bespoke - designed and built to the individual customers requirements.

Details of all these boats, along with many of our recent narrowboats built in recent years, can be found on our website: http://www.milburnboats.co.uk