The Newun is a steel replica of a Northern River Wherry of the type originally used on the canal from August 1826. It is the only wherry on the canal now. Because of trees, it is not possible to sail on the canal now, so it is driven by an electric motor.
I set about building The Newun in my front garden during Covid lock down with the help of friends. It was launched in January 2022, so it took me about 2 years. Like any boat, it's still not absolutely complete.
The Newun has been used mainly for lifting heavy logs out of the canal, using it's winches, mast and gaff and as a floating/mobile base for canal maintenance. All on a completely voluntary basis. It is driven by an electric motor and a huge battery of LiFePO4 cells, which do not catch fire, last very well over 20 years, don't give of any gas (flamable or otherwise) and so on. This is a compltely stable and safe battery design. The motor is over 90% efficient, unlike the 10-30% efficiency of the petrol engine (which I do have on board as balast only).
