Ollie Owl - Electric Hybrid - 58.6 ft - sleeps 5/6
Our popular 5*eco-friendly green serial hybrid 58 ft narrowboat, Ollie Owl.
Right from the concept of Cafwin Cruises, we wanted to make our narrowboats as green and eco-friendly as possible, but, at the time, affording an actual Electric Hybrid boat was not possible for us. However, we were thrilled to announce in 2022 that we had added an absolutely stunning Ortomarine 58.6 ft Narrowboat ready for our discerning guests to hire (we were the first hire company in England to offer electric hybrid narrowboats). Imagine cruising in near silence, with almost zero emissions, at one with nature – that is the Ortomarine experience which will now be shared by our eco-friendly guests.
In our new 5* rated Serial Hybrid Narrowboat, there is a single electric engine to drive the prop-shaft, but as the batteries start to get low, a small, quiet and efficient diesel generator automatically kicks in and recharges the batteries as you cruise along. A solar set-up of 10 roof mounted semi-flexible solar panels means that on those long summer days you might not even need the use of the diesel generator. However, the flexibility of having the generator back-up means that you are not confined to having to find an electric hook up each night to re-charge your batteries and you will have the flexibility to moor up anywhere you choose on route.
Stunning Boat Design – for Five Folks
As you can see from our pictures, Ollie Owl boasts a modern fresh feel with a colour scheme that is bright and jazzy, as befits a contemporary and very current electric hybrid vessel. Further below you can see the layout of Ollie Owl, which has been designed to provide as much luxurious living space as possible, with the bonus of French Windows leading to the bow which will be fitted with a picnic table and seating for summer al fresco dining. Designed for couples, or families and friends to travel together, Ollie Owl is fitted with a cosy double bedroom, containing a permanent bed with masses of storage underneath, fitted with a superior luxury memory foam mattress. for guests 3, 4 & 5, the dinette and living room settee area make up into an equally comfortable double and single bed sleeping area with all guests easily able to access the Jack and Jill bathroom. Guests will experience the same creature comforts you would expect in a quaint Boutique Hotel, but with the added fun of being able to wake up somewhere new every day. After you’ve battened down the hatches for the night, snuggle up in the evenings on your large sofa and read a book, watch family films, play games, or listen to soft music. It sounds like bliss to us!
Boat Specification with all Modern Amenities
At over 58″ long x 6’ 10” wide, Ollie Owl is a 5* rated boat designed for comfort, romance and family adventure. We cannot emphasise enough just how exceptionally high spec Ollie Owl is. Ortomarine, as one of the UK’s leading electric hybrid narrowboat builders, are well known for the quality of their work, their innovation and style, as well as their goal to build environmentally friendly boats that significantly reduce the carbon footprint of their vessels. As a result, Ollie Owl provides our guests with the “greenest” narrowboat that current technologies allow, without compromising on reliability or comfort. In addition to being the greenest holiday hire boat on English waters, you won’t be surprised to hear that Ollie Owl is also fitted with lots of other wonderful extras:
- The very latest Vetus Bow thrusters which will help enormously when it comes to easy manoeuvrability of this top of the range narrowboat.
- A beautiful rainfall shower.
- All-electric propulsion for near-silent cruising combined with an efficient onboard generator, plus 1.6kW of solar power to enable recharging of the high capacity battery bank, without the need to connect to shore power.
- In the future, we are hoping to run the diesel generator exclusively on HVO fuel which eliminates up to 90% of net CO2 emissions and significantly reduces nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO).
- Unlimited free WiFi.
- ROKU Freeview TV system with access to numerous channels including NETFLIX, PRIME and YouTube.
- Bose speaker and many more things besides…
Creature Comforts
On arrival at Droitwich Spa Marina, you will find Ollie Owl, a beautiful semi-traditional narrowboat, finished in shiny mid-grey with deep ruby red external peripheries. You will access your holiday home from the capacious stern (that will comfortably seat 4) entering into a bright and inviting interior, decked with the best quality Karndean mid-oak Lifestyle Luxury Vinyl Tile flooring. This boat is sunny and bright, reflecting your holiday spirit, and sparkles with a gorgeous Farrow & Ball colour scheme on the walls, mellowed with accented jazzy colours of reds, purples, yellows and blues. Designer features abound with Maxtop Black Onyx Sparkle Quartz worktops, slate grey radiators, a rainfall shower, comfortable soft furnishings, as well as ambient mood lighting twinkling from the gunwale.
On your holiday, you’ll be able to enter from either the stern or the bow of Ollie Owl making access particularly easy for larger parties and allowing for different external private areas where guests can sit and enjoy the tranquil waterways in peace and solitude. The kitchen is modern with a full cooker/oven/grill and separate microwave. There is a full sized fridge and a large discretely hidden box freezer. Use the convenient full flush toilet system and after a day filled with fun refresh under the hot rainfall shower, drying off with fluffy fresh towels kept warm on the heated towel rails. Relax in your soft courtesy dressing gown & spa slippers, dry and style your hair with the provided hairdryer and straighteners, knowing dinner will soon be on the table.
Cosy from the shower you can snuggle up on the large sofa with your feet resting on the large footstool which also provides extra storage space. Catch up on your mail courtesy of the free unlimited Wi-Fi; listen to the radio, or your own music streamed into the boat from the Bluetooth BOSE speaker; recharge your electronics with multi-USB Charging Points whilst watching a romantic film on the flat-screen TV/DVD with Freeview and a ROKU TV Stick allowing you access to any Amazon Prime or Netflix accounts you may hold.
Relax with a cup of complimentary tea or freshly brewed coffee from the cafetiere. Enjoy a refreshing G&T with your mixers kept cool in the full-sized fridge. Eat at the roomy dinette without having to erect and dismantle tables or crouch having to eat awkwardly from the couch. When it comes to washing-up use the provided Eco-friendly washing up liquid and other cleaning materials on board for your ease.
Come bedtime, nestle yourself in your beds with your personal choice of pillow and soft throws for those extra cool nights. Enjoy the velvetiness of Egyptian cotton Sheets and the freshness of your Night Owl 10.5 top coverless duvet (washed for every single hire) and read your book lit by soft night lights. Drink cocoa and charge your phone and know that you will wake up refreshed to start your cruising adventures again the following day.
Come Rain or Shine
Whilst cruising down the beautiful canals, relish sitting in comfort opposite the Helmsman in cushion clad seating. When you come to moor up, eat alfresco at the bow of Ollie Owl courtesy of the picnic table and parasol. We hope the sun shines for you daily, but, let’s face it, we live in England, so if it’s raining, we’ve provided you ‘Military 1st’ high quality Wet Weather Ponchos to help keep you dry and snug.
A Virtual Tour Around Ollie Owl
A virtual tour of Ollie Owl is still being edited (as of Jan 23), so for now we thought you might be interested in this short piece of footage taken last year where you can see Ollie Owl coming out of a lock. Just see how quiet he is! Other than the annoying cars that you can hear, all you really get is a bubbling water sound. Imagine just how peaceful this is going to be on a canal away from the roadside. Pure magic!
We hope to see you soon
If you’ve been inspired by the pictures and what you have read, why not contact us soonest to book your week long cruise ….. or even longer. We can’t wait to welcome you to the immaculate Droitwich Spa Marina and introduce you to our boats.
To book our beautiful boat Ollie Owl, please click the button below.