Here's how Pentargon ensured emergency power to charge phones and run GPS in the early days. The device could act as a jump start OR even supplement or replace the leisure circuit. Keen piece of kit for anyone buying a typical "budget" narrow-boat where nothing is known to work properly or trusted?
Fuzzy photo is intentional so that you have to ask me to produce a working copy of this.
My email is [email protected].
Pentargon is an OFF-GRID boat with a vengeance! While cruising, the device was clamped across the starter battery and charged by the alternator when the engine was running. The sockets were bridged across the crocodile clips to provide a 12v supply which could be left on the roof while cruising, if not in "charge" mode. It was independent of boat, car, marina ...
In 2012, when Pentargon began touring under my helm, the only practical way to keep in touch with the outside world while cruising inland waters was by mobile phone ... provided you had a signal ... and a charged phone ... Believe it or not, the day after I had taken ownership, I had to climb 150' upwards to Braunston village to phone my wife to tell her I was safe. My boat had no way to charge a phone back then. Nor indeed had ANY canal boat. I needed to find ways of ensuring that I always had a charged phone and a signal. (story) Reviewing this paragraph in 2022 it is incredible how far canal boat communication has come in ten years.
© MMXXII [email protected]
The device was made on the kitchen table at the 'home' late 2011 when I was driving around the country looking at my 'list of possible boats'. That "Power Station" kept my Garmin GPS and mobile phone peaked during those treks ... independent of the car. Being totally mobile, it could be hawked onto boats or anywhere. Working on it honed my lateral thinking. Many unique features on Pentargon have come about by thinking outside the box.
Pentargon was the first canal boat in England to have a proper composting toilet. It was (and still is!) the only narrow boat on the cut to be heated by a Hampshire Heater which uses restaurant grade charcoal to heat the sleeping quarters in Winter. I always advise new owners to think outside the box or go on a #POGUEawayDAY to discover how to think outside the box and get your Canal Crafts Woman Ship together ...
Pentargon had a Dyson handheld DC30 vac. from the beginning, the only item on board that requires mains to recharge its battery, but only because I bever got round to changing the leisure circuits to 24V. To answer the inevitable question "Is it cold in Winter?" read the "Hampshire Heat" page.
Pentargon was the first canal boat in England to have a proper composting toilet. It was (and still is!) the only narrow boat on the cut to be heated by a Hampshire Heater which uses restaurant grade charcoal to heat the sleeping quarters in Winter. I always advise new owners to think outside the box or go on a #POGUEawayDAY to discover how to think outside the box and get your Canal Crafts Woman Ship together ...
Pentargon had a Dyson handheld DC30 vac. from the beginning, the only item on board that requires mains to recharge its battery, but only because I bever got round to changing the leisure circuits to 24V. To answer the inevitable question "Is it cold in Winter?" read the "Hampshire Heat" page.
SAM SPRINGER ... UNSUNG GENIUS OF THE CUT This article may contain hotlinks
In 1973, Sam Springer was said to have been topping his 36' boats in wood: well, the ones he actually topped and they were not many on reality as most boats left Market Harborough to be completed elsewhere. It is rumoured that Pentargon was re-topped at some point in the 90s and that existing windows were cut in and others shut up! Pentargon does look like a steel top from a longer Springer was dropped on an older hull. Hence the unique lines and the tiny forward deck. Or so the story goes. During a 2012/13 'archaeological dig' to remove almost a ton of superflous concrete from the bilges, we were unable to unearth any evidence that the original boat had EVER been tampered with. It looks like Sam worked his magic to produce the ultimate Springer:
a narrowboat that can go to the most inhospitable inland waters in total safety.
Pentargon has been tested by me in Cat D conditions and behaved impeccably.
Cat D: tidal rivers and estuaries where significant wave height could be expected to be 2 metres
In June 2017, at Gailey Wharf, the freeboard was raised to 750mm to comply with "Cat D"
Pentargon had a pending date with the Bristol Channel later that Summer.
(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inland-waterways-and-categorisation-of-waters#inland-waters-and-how-they-are-categorised)
Cat.C is as far as I ever intended to take her, i.e. "inland" tidal rivers, estuaries, lakes and lochs where significant wave height could 'not be expected to be more than 1.2 metres at any time'.
Cat D [inland waterways] is found in very few places, such as the Thames Estuary, the Bristol Channel and the Humber but you do not need to be there to experience Class D conditions. Pentargon has weathered bow waves from Thames Clippers in the Greenwich Reach in excess of 2m and before the freeboard was raised in Gailey.
Pentargon is a much larger boat inside than is apparent from her 36' overall. She is constructed with a bulkhead to gunnel height separating the engine room from the galley behind which is a 'cruiser' deck: 8ft of cruiser deck. But the inside space is larger than found on most 42' boats as there is no waste in the bow. The main bunk goes right under the fire-escape window and is a full 4'6" double at gunnel height. It has a crew berth under it, along with the substantial water tank!
During 2013, Pentargon's fore cabin was extensively modified to fit a 4'6" memory foam mattress on a slatted [IKEA} base, raising the bed level up to the gunnel line thus permitting a view out the front window from the bed. An auxiliary bunk was fitted below and athwart for my personal use when solo in exceptionally cold weather and with the Hampshire heater active. Within this under-bed space resides a black plastic tank which can hold enough drinking water for almost a years' cruising, in keeping with the stated aim of being able to live 'off grid' whenever.
The fore-cabin (with en-suite utility room, Hampshire heater, wardrobes and storage) is thermally isolated from the aft cabin. Pentargon is built for two in luxury with an additional crew bunk under the main bunk. In winter, the fore- cabin is permanently maintained at around 15-19C. Early on, the Hampshire was tweaked, modified and re-positioned to duct warm air into the space under the bed. Originally, it had been heating the ceiling exceptionally well and the floor not at all. Over time, an ingenious heat trap was made from marble slabs cut by a monumental mason in East London and later added to by a mason in Bishop Stortford. The crew bunk can be made VERY warm and the main bed very comfortable. The water tank retains heat for some time in operation as indeed do all the furnishings and contents. It takes almost 50hrs to get everything up to heat if the boat is left lying for a while in winter.
With over 6'3" head-room, the aft cabin is not directly heated but is always warmer than outside. The mess and galley co-exist,with [summer] bunk space, to accommodate two guests when the galley bunks are made up! The base is designed and fitted out to take six large sliding drawers.
On-board there are only two of anything: cutlery, ware, table space, seats, steam cookers. glasses, chairs. Also, everything of board has [at least] two uses; if it hasn't its days are numbered. A glass flower vase holds EXACTLY enough water (150ml) to make a cuppa and the mugs hold exactly that amount of tea, coffee, cocoa, soup or whatever and THEY double up to hold the right amount of Weetabix for breakfast.
In 1973, Sam Springer was said to have been topping his 36' boats in wood: well, the ones he actually topped and they were not many on reality as most boats left Market Harborough to be completed elsewhere. It is rumoured that Pentargon was re-topped at some point in the 90s and that existing windows were cut in and others shut up! Pentargon does look like a steel top from a longer Springer was dropped on an older hull. Hence the unique lines and the tiny forward deck. Or so the story goes. During a 2012/13 'archaeological dig' to remove almost a ton of superflous concrete from the bilges, we were unable to unearth any evidence that the original boat had EVER been tampered with. It looks like Sam worked his magic to produce the ultimate Springer:
a narrowboat that can go to the most inhospitable inland waters in total safety.
Pentargon has been tested by me in Cat D conditions and behaved impeccably.
Cat D: tidal rivers and estuaries where significant wave height could be expected to be 2 metres
In June 2017, at Gailey Wharf, the freeboard was raised to 750mm to comply with "Cat D"
Pentargon had a pending date with the Bristol Channel later that Summer.
(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inland-waterways-and-categorisation-of-waters#inland-waters-and-how-they-are-categorised)
Cat.C is as far as I ever intended to take her, i.e. "inland" tidal rivers, estuaries, lakes and lochs where significant wave height could 'not be expected to be more than 1.2 metres at any time'.
Cat D [inland waterways] is found in very few places, such as the Thames Estuary, the Bristol Channel and the Humber but you do not need to be there to experience Class D conditions. Pentargon has weathered bow waves from Thames Clippers in the Greenwich Reach in excess of 2m and before the freeboard was raised in Gailey.
Pentargon is a much larger boat inside than is apparent from her 36' overall. She is constructed with a bulkhead to gunnel height separating the engine room from the galley behind which is a 'cruiser' deck: 8ft of cruiser deck. But the inside space is larger than found on most 42' boats as there is no waste in the bow. The main bunk goes right under the fire-escape window and is a full 4'6" double at gunnel height. It has a crew berth under it, along with the substantial water tank!
During 2013, Pentargon's fore cabin was extensively modified to fit a 4'6" memory foam mattress on a slatted [IKEA} base, raising the bed level up to the gunnel line thus permitting a view out the front window from the bed. An auxiliary bunk was fitted below and athwart for my personal use when solo in exceptionally cold weather and with the Hampshire heater active. Within this under-bed space resides a black plastic tank which can hold enough drinking water for almost a years' cruising, in keeping with the stated aim of being able to live 'off grid' whenever.
The fore-cabin (with en-suite utility room, Hampshire heater, wardrobes and storage) is thermally isolated from the aft cabin. Pentargon is built for two in luxury with an additional crew bunk under the main bunk. In winter, the fore- cabin is permanently maintained at around 15-19C. Early on, the Hampshire was tweaked, modified and re-positioned to duct warm air into the space under the bed. Originally, it had been heating the ceiling exceptionally well and the floor not at all. Over time, an ingenious heat trap was made from marble slabs cut by a monumental mason in East London and later added to by a mason in Bishop Stortford. The crew bunk can be made VERY warm and the main bed very comfortable. The water tank retains heat for some time in operation as indeed do all the furnishings and contents. It takes almost 50hrs to get everything up to heat if the boat is left lying for a while in winter.
With over 6'3" head-room, the aft cabin is not directly heated but is always warmer than outside. The mess and galley co-exist,with [summer] bunk space, to accommodate two guests when the galley bunks are made up! The base is designed and fitted out to take six large sliding drawers.
On-board there are only two of anything: cutlery, ware, table space, seats, steam cookers. glasses, chairs. Also, everything of board has [at least] two uses; if it hasn't its days are numbered. A glass flower vase holds EXACTLY enough water (150ml) to make a cuppa and the mugs hold exactly that amount of tea, coffee, cocoa, soup or whatever and THEY double up to hold the right amount of Weetabix for breakfast.
