AN 18 year-old from Taunton set to circumnavigate the UK in an electric boat has obtained his boat piloting license.

Harry Besley has also taken delivery on his vessel named 'Electra.' Which has a 120hp equivalent electric motor (peak 150hp) supplied by EVOY with two 63kWh Kreisel batteries.

With a 6.5m aluminium hull RIB made by Galaxy in Ukraine and fitted out in the Netherlands. Charging options are through an Onboard Charger (OBC) which has a capacity of 6.6 kW AC or a fast charger unit at 0.7C of the total battery capacity so a little over 75kW.

We are in discussions with a number of suppliers that we met at Seawork about fit out work to the vessel to get her ready for the trip. Lots to do!

 At Hamble Point Marina the boat launched for the first time in UK waters. A spokesman for Thanks to MDL Marinas for the berth, the use of the slipway and trailer park and permission to take some drone footage.

Harry Besley lives in Lyme Regis and attends Wellington School. He is setting off from Lyme Regis, Henry and the team will be using a variety of shoreside charging solutions.

This environmental challenge stems from the absence of alternatives to fossil fuel propulsion in the small leisure powerboat sector.

The Round Britain eRIB challenge is a not-for-profit event which aims to encourage and building knowledge about the charging options for eBoats helps build momentum in the direction of the UK Government target which states in the Clean Maritime Plan 2050 that “all new vessels being ordered for use in UK waters are being designed with zero emission propulsion capability.”

He sets off for the challenge in summer 2024.