b'Pagan - an electric motor canoeLOA 18ft. Beam 4ft 3ins. Draft 14ins.Built circa 1920, builder unknown. Mahogany planking on Oak ribs. Mahogany fit-out. Restored 1988 and 2008.Motor canoes are a style peculiar to the Thames that evolved around 1900, clearly a direct development from the paddling Canadian canoes that had been imported in great numbers for use on the river. The earlier motor canoes were fitted with electric propulsion, and some survive despite the corrosive effects of the early lead acid batteries.As soon as the petrol engine was sufficiently developed the electric motors were quickly superseded and the motor canoe lived on well into the 1930s.Pagan was the first launch I converted to electric propulsion when the idea of electric power for boats was revived in the 1980s. Although most of the structure has been replaced Pagan still retains her original simplicity and patina. Often modern re-builds can become complicated with up-to-date modifications and equipment to satisfy todays expectations of smoothness and sophistication. Pagan still has her original basic steering gear, which is reliable if a bit quirky; the basic controls for the motor do all that is needed; the seating is straightforward but comfortable; in fact she is exactly as she would have been when she was built circa 1920.Travelling in Pagan you sit low in the boat, the water is close by and, as the boat has been part of the middle Thames for so long, she seems to naturally blend in.70'