Virus clips the wings of Graceful Swan
SOMETIMES the whole world is against you, or at least that’s how it must have seemed to Malcolm and Karen Weaving, owners of the Rendezvous Hotel in Skipton. They, together with Thomas Randell, who originally opened the hotel in 1992 and who is a boatbuilder, decided to embark on a project to run the first electric dining boat in the UK. But as we reported in a previous issue of Towpath Talk, a number of problems had befallen the project – the main one of which was, at that time, an issue with planning regulations. However, with plans resubmitted, the project was eventually completed and Graceful Swan took to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in May 2019. The boat itself is not small at 60ft x 14ft and is able to accommodate up to 54 people for group dining (prior to social distancing). Built at the cost of £500,000 Graceful Swan has been, as you might expect, built to MCA regulations and is registered with the Canal & River Trust. It has around 2.4 tonnes of batteries on board powering both the on-board systems and the 20kW motor. Graceful Swan is designed not only to be environmentally friendly but also quieter inside and out while also being vibration-free. Gracie, as she is sometimes called, is fitted with exterior floodlighting, a multi-purpose entertainment system, wheelchair access, a bar and toilet facilities. There is a holding area for the serving of food which is prepared by the hotel’s chefs before being taken aboard. Seating can be adapted for different uses by groups of diners or private events. The boat is also fitted with bow thrusters, black water and grey water holding tanks together with a stainless steel freshwater tank. Control is via a power-assisted hydraulic joystick situated in the rise and fall wheelhouse at the stern. With the stage set for a grand launch and the commencement of bookings for the three-hour evening round trips however, the coronavirus lockdown was put in place and everything was put on hold. However, just before this happened, five trips did take place, and the feedback from customers was extremely positive. The lockdown has provided just one more obstacle – one that even this tenacious 88-year-old hotel owner and his team couldn’t overcome. So for the time being, Graceful Swan is moored up and waiting for the opportunity to take guests quietly along the nearby waterways. It would seem that the Graceful Swan’s environmentally friendly propulsion system isn’t the only way the hotel is working towards lowering its carbon footprint. Malcolm told us: “Over recent years we’ve been developing the hotel’s eco-friendly credentials, including the introduction of a biomass heating system and electric car-charging points. “It was therefore extremely important to me that this newest member of the Rendezvous family was electric.”