Enchantress
Enchantress is our first ever serial hybrid boat we have had the pleasure of doing for a lovely couple from Jersey Justin & Tania. We first met Justin & Tania at Crick Boat Show 2023 where they visited us and straight away we had a understanding of what they were wanting and how we could make their dream a reality. Below is a little story written by Justin and Tania about their experience of their build with us for Crick Boat Show 2024.
“We are Justin and Tania and along with our dog Fable, we decided to begin a new chapter in our lives.”
“After spending our whole lives living on the Island of Jersey which is only five by nine miles, we felt it was time for a change. We wanted to explore the UK and after years of research and looking at various options of how to accomplish our dream, we decided that a narrowboat was perfect for what we wanted to do. There was however a slight issue with Justin being 6’4” tall and a few boat builders we had spoken to could not accommodate our requirements.”
“We decided to visit the Crick Boat show in 2023 to review all the different boats on show and see if we could find a boat builder who could make our dream a reality. Thats when we met Paul and his team from Russell Narrowboats. After discussing our wish list of things we wanted on the boat, Paul assured us that he could build us a boat that would meet our requirements.”
“We needed a boat builder who was willing to work with us remotely as we could not easily get to the UK. Paul explained to us that he had built a narrowboat remotely for a couple who lived in Texas and they were planning to move back to the UK. This turned out to be Pete and Caroline from the YouTube channel One Day More Aboard. As it happens Pete and Caroline were also at last years show where we got the opportunity to talk to them about their experience with Russell Narrowboats. After this we felt reassured by their positive feedback and knew Russell Narrowboats were the boat builders for us.”
“Paul and his team have been very helpful regarding our build specifications as we wanted an electric engine and we knew this was going to be their first electric boat build. Paul suggested ePropulsion for our engine setup and after some research we were happy to go with their I-Series I-20 electric motor. We decided to have Water Freedom and a Cinderella toilet installed just to make our lives easier when out on the cut. Paul also suggested larger hatches and increasing the head height onboard to 6’10”, this allowed us to increase the height of the internal doors to 6’5” so Justin would have sufficient room to move freely on the boat without banging his head.”
“When choosing to have a boat built remotely it is extremely important that you have excellent communication between you and the boat builder. Never once did we feel that we couldn’t talk with Paul, we would always get a swift response to any concerns or queries we had regarding our build. Paul would also have a video call with us fortnightly to talk face to face about Enchantress and her progress. Pictures and videos were sent frequently so that we could see the build progress and it was never a problem if we wanted to see more pictures or video from different angles, we always felt like we were right there during each phase of the build.”
“Now that we have gone through this process we can vouch for the exceptional service we have received from Paul and his team. This has been a fantastic experience so far and this is just the beginning of our Journey.”
“Special thanks to Pete and Caroline (One Day More Aboard) and Paul and Anthony (Narrowboat Life Unlocked) for responding back to all of our questions.”
“We just want people to enjoy our boat and appreciate all of the hard work and craftsmanship which goes into putting a boat like Enchantress together. It will be exciting to hear all the feedback regarding her and we hope she becomes one of the crowds favourites during the show.”
“We hope everyone enjoys the Crick Boat Show 2024.”
Enchantress also is one of the highest spec boats we have ever done, it features a large variety of customisations ranging from the E-Propulsion i-20 electric motor with x2 100AH battery banks & a Paguro 9000 generator with built in silencer in the engine bay. They also have a dog washing facility for Fable at the bow of the boat. The inside also features 2 electric roof lights with remote control openers & a Water Freedom system that turns canal water into filtered water highly recommended as it saves you having to re-fill your boat with water all the time and its drinkable!
We wish Tania, Justin & Fable all the best as they embark on their new life aboard Enchantress!!
