Tag Archives: F/V Lorna Jane
Fisherman converts boat to become first in UK powered by battery
Sitting in the water, there is little to tell the Lorna Jane apart from other fishing boats. But this vessel is believed to be one of a kind. Below deck, where the engine once was, there is a battery equivalent in size to a small electric car. Above, there is a double-sided solar panel, catching the sun’s rays and reflections from the sea. Unlike its diesel counterparts, this fishing boat runs entirely on electric. Its owner Hans Unkles has been a boatbuilder and fisherman for around 40 years. He spent two-and-a-half years converting the boat in a shed near the village of Tayvallich. “It’s definitely the only one in the UK, and I’ve done a whole lot of social media, which reaches around the world, and I’ve not heard of another all-electric fishing boat.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:19
Steaming on sunshine – fishing with solar power
Tayvallich fisherman and boatbuilder Hans Unkles has outfitted 6.40-metre potting boat Lorna Jane to run on solar power. He has owned and skippered nine potting boats, andworks the latest of these on a part-time basis, fishing for lobsters two or three days a week. It was his expertise and a deep interest in renewable energy that led to outfitting Lorna Jane with solar panels to make it the UK’s first fully electric commercial fishing vessel. ‘I worry our fishing industry is missing the boat. With our current trajectory towards Net-Zero our vessels will be worthless. The process of wind and sun creating energy is fascinating to me, so I thought I could be the right person to give it ago,’ Hans Unkles said. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:04
