What happens when you put two dyslexic entrepreneurs on an electric narrowboat powered by solar panels? You get a fascinating conversation about boats, business, and life.
That’s what I did on the 6th of September 2023, when Tim invited Neville Wright, the owner of Oundle Marina and Tim’s landlord, on a journey on the River Nene. Neville is a successful businessman who has sold one of his businesses for 100 million pounds. He is also dyslexic, like Tim, and they share a slightly left field view of the world.
We set off from the marina on Shine, one of the electric narrowboats that was built at Mothership Marine, a company that Tim founded six years ago. Mothership Marine is a very forward thinking boat business that challenges the norms and has found creative solutions to age-old narrow boating problems. It is the first narrowboat company to elegantly promote solar as the primary source of power. It also has other innovations, such as direct-drive water-cooled motors, informative monitoring systems, the drawbridge bed, the CBD (Chaise, Bed, Diner), and the use of reclaimed timber for the interior fit out of the boats.
As we cruised along the river, we enjoyed the silence and the scenery. One of the benefits of electric narrow boating is being able to have easy conversations on the back of the narrowboat whilst motoring along. Something which is not very easy on a diesel driven narrowboat.
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that affects reading, writing and spelling. It also comes with other quirks, such as not knowing the difference between left and right, getting confused with stop/go signs, difficulty with road signs, and difficulty with forms. However, dyslexia also gives us an uncanny ability to solve problems and think creatively.
Dyslexic people often find school difficult and their childhood is often marred by being called stupid. However, famous dyslexic people include Albert Einstein, Picasso, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Branson, George Washington and Steven Spielberg. Neville and Tim are proud to be dyslexic and believe that it has helped them achieve success in their fields.