The Kingfisher takes visitors on tours of the Mangroves at Pran Buri Forest Park and along the Pranburi River to see all the natural flora and fauna there, including monitor lizards up to more than 3 metres long and almost 30 different species of birds, including kingfishers, ospreys, egrets, herons, swifts, peacock, etc.
From the 2007 high season, visitors to the Hua Hin/Pak Nam Pran area will be able to experience the unbelievable excitement of skimming across the sea at nearly 50 km/hour in virtual silence: a truly exhilarating experience! And yet as eco-friendly as you can possibly get!!
Mermaid Cruises also runs all-day sightseeing/fishing tours and evening squid-fishing trips on its traditional teak-built, 21 metre long, 2 deck seagoing passenger ship, “The Peacock”. On these trips, the passengers also have the chance to catch sight of the endangered pink bottle-nosed Irrwaddy dolphins.
Booking and information: 032-632223 (office), 084-8007400 (Barry – English/German/Thai), 089-0120885 (Nang – Thai)
Email: barry@huahincruises.com
Website: www.huahincruises.com
Mermaid Cruises & Shipping Co., Ltd. was founded in late 2004 by Barry Stone, who comes from a small fishing town in the West Cork region of Ireland. In early 2005, the company moved to the fishing port of Pak Nam Pran, 25 km south of Hua Hin on the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand, an area renowned for its natural beauty.
After trying to run river trips using a conventional speedboat with outboard petrol engine, the company decided that the noise and smell, plus the pollution, was not good for observing nature and not a particularly pleasant experience for the passengers.
So the company decided to find a more pleasant alternative: the “Kingfisher†is the first and, as yet, only electric tour boat in Thailand 
it is virtually silent and creates no pollution. Barry decided that he wanted a silent boat and the only option was electrical power.
However, he wanted the boat to look like a traditional-style Thai river boat with a long-tail engine – but it had to be high-tech, i.e. made from fibre glass and with an electric motor. The search then began to find someone to do the technical design and build the boat.
It proved impossible to find anyone with experience in building electrically powered boats in Thailand. Eventually, however, a small company was found in Pattaya that had extensive experience in building golf cars, using the same electrical technology.
They were able to construct the boat according to Mermaid Cruises’ specifications and install the electrical drive.
A lot of attention was also paid to the seating arrangements in order to avoid simple rows of benches. The solution was an L-shaped interactive compartment for up to 8 of the maximum number of 12 passengers.
The entire project was completed within 3 months and no modifications were necessary whatsoever after the river/sea trials.
Kingfisher details
Prototype built in Pattaya/Thailand in July 2006, motor and batteries from USA
8 metres long, 1.65 m wide, fibre glass
Upholstered interactive seating, tables, drink holders, soft roof and side curtains
Draft fully loaded 30 cm
Seating capacity: 12 plus 2 crew
Electric motor direct drive: 4.5 HP (equivalent to 18 HP petrol motor)
6 x 6 v deep cycle batteries (total 36 v)
Range: 6-7 hours at 4-5 knots
Recharge time approx. 5-6 hours
Mermaid Cruises is further extending its commitment to eco-tourism:
Barry is currently building a 9-seater electrically driven minibus to take visitors to and from the Kingfisher eco-tours. It will have a top speed of 90 km/h, a cruising speed of 60 km/h and be able to cover a distance of 200 km between charges.
The vehicle will take to the roads for the high season 2007.
Mermaid Cruises is also constructing Asia’s first-ever environmentally friendly speedboat, almost 10 m long with room for up to 20 passengers. 