Task

The mission is to create an environmentally friendly way of using of our canals

The canal system in the UK is a wonderful legacy left by our hard working forefathers. The canals were built for barges to carry goods throughout the country. These were horse drawn and it must have been a very tranquil means of transport with just the gentle sound of swishing water, the rustling of leaves and the sound of birds singing. Nowadays it isn’t being used to its full potential. 

Narrow boats now use the canals for leisure activities They use propellers powered by diesel engines to move the boats. These are noisy and the propellers stir up the water to create a muddy soup. This prevents users of the canals, including walkers and fishermen, from seeing the wildlife living below the surface of the water.

With this in mind I have designed a new type of paddlewheel that only uses water near the surface to propel a boat. This leaves most of the water undisturbed.

The new paddlewheel draws and pushes water, like a pump, to create a flow of water that, by reaction, propels the boat. Generally paddlewheels just push against the water and cause energy wasting turbulence.

To demonstrate the paddlewheel I have designed the Tootle Pedal Boat. People can now use the waterways in an environmentally friendly way. It is possible to just float over the water experiencing a sense of freedom as most of the body is at rest. Only the legs and feet are used to propel the boat.

There are stretches of the canal system where narrow boats are not in use and it would be good to develop these stretches just to cater for canoes, rowing boats and Tootle pedal boats. This will allow and encourage many more people to enjoy the real beauty of the canals and see nature under the water as well as above the water.

There are many locks on the canal system. These take a long time to operate but as the Tootle pedal boat is easy to board and alight it would be quicker to tow the boat along the towpath and skirt around the locks. Special docking platforms could be provided