'Imagine' is a 12 Metre 8.5 Tonne Catamaran, powered by two Lynch 48 volt motors supplied by LMC Marine, supported by a Panda 48 volt generator and 4 Rolls 375 amp batteries.
We cruised from Harwich in the UK to St Valery Sur Somme in France to begin our 1200 Km Journey to the south. We travelled via the Canal Du Nord, the Seine, The Centre, Saone and Rhone canals and spent two summers on the French Mediterranean coast before returning to the UK.
'Imagine' travelled comfortably at 5 knots at sea using the generator 3 hours out of 4 using just over 2 litres of fuel per hour and on the canals 4 hours out of 6 on battery alone, (the battery was never discharged below 70%).
The biggest challenge was travelling upstream against the very strong currents of the Rhone in 40 degrees plus, we took our time and the motors worked perfectly.
Generator uses aprox 2.2lt hr whilst running at 5kn and recharging the battery bank. We tend to run on generator after discharging to 70% to preserve battery life.
We are now back in Ipswich for a few necessary jobs to be done painting, anodes etc. and the only modifications we intend for the running gear is to have lower pitched propellers which will give us a higher cruising speed at no additional cost in power consumption.
Batteries
4 x 12 volt Rolls deep cycle batteries 375 amp at 48 Volt
Duration
Max speed | 90 Min
Max minus 1 Kn | 3 Hr
Max minus 2 Kn | 7 Hr