NB Isis

Isis was a new Colecraft shell commissioned by me in 2009. It was designed as a family liveaboard with a traditional appearance, benefiting from solar power and a gravity fed central heating and hot water system powered by a Rayburn solid fuel range. This avoids the need to run the engine daily which not only prolongs its life but is also more environmentally friendly.

Craning in at stretton

                                                                           

This rayburn is installed to run a domestic heating and hot water system completely by gravity. No circulating pump is necessary to heat the water in the calorifier or central heating system. This type of installation is more suited to a liveaboard boat, with a good solar array you have no need to run the engine to charge batteries or heat water... even in winter! Using large pidgeon box apertures in the roof you can control the heat well in summer too, extending the use of the Rayburn well into the summer season.

This galley is unusual even for a narrowboat, but affords good use of storage space while still allowing convenient access through the boat while it is in use. Most boats suffer from a "pinch point" in places like this meaning someone has to stop what they are doing and move to allow someone else through to the back.




 The interior is finished in a light egshell paint which gives the impression of light and space in a portholed boat.

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From bare shell to finished boat