Villages get ready to build boats

Villages get ready to build boats

5 March 2014

NINE villages have signed up to the exciting boat building and skiff racing project which is centred around Strangford Lough and the Lecale coast.

The village teams will each build identical St. Ayles’ skiffs before racing them against each other in a project designed to strengthen community ties across the Strangford Lough and Lecale area.

Volunteers from Dundrum, Ardglass, Strangford, Killyleagh, Portaferry, Kircubbin, Portavogie, Ballywalter/Millisle and Donaghadee have signed up the project and will shortly take delivery of their skiff kits which arrived in Portaferry this week.

The Down Community Coastal Rowing and Boat-building Project is the brainchild of the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership, supported by the PSNI.

The first big challenge for the teams has been to find suitable premises to build their boat. Portaferry was first off the mark which led to it being the “distribution centre”, thanks to Ian Smyth, who has supplied premises on High Street.

Arrangements at most of the other venues are well underway and the kits will be delivered to the other locations over the coming week.

The basic components of the boats come as flat packed marine plywood sheets with instructions on layout and construction. They will be finished with additional wood, epoxy resin and painted to a high quality finish.

Already the strong maritime traditions in this area have brought out many boat-builders and people with boating and woodworking experience who will take a lead in guiding the work on site and organising the build.

John Murray, from Portaferry, who has spent most of his life around boats and who has built many including the St. Brendan heritage tour boat used in Strangford Lough, welcomed the arrival of the skiff materials.

“Building a boat is something very special and this is a great way of bringing people together to do something for the community and for themselves,” he said.

“These kits have been designed to give non-specialists the chance to get involved but at the same time present a real challenge for everyone”.

Constable Nick Jenkins, from Portaferry Neighbourhood Policing Team, said it’s great the kits have now arrived.

“The project is already building a real sense of community spirit in the various locations along the Strangford Lough and Lecale coast and there’s also a healthy degree of competition developing between all of the participating teams,” he said.

Leonard Lawson, who is co-ordinating the project for the SLLP, is urging all of the teams to have their venues ready as soon as possible so that the real work can commence.

“Our funds cover the basic costs of the boats but people will need to pull together to get the work off the ground. It has been great to see people loaning their buildings and to see people with woodworking skills and tools starting to come forward at this crucial stage to get the project off to a good start”.

Anyone wanting more information should come along to a general meeting and membership drive for the Down Coastal Rowing Club at 7pm on Monday, March 10, in Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick.

For more information check out https://www.facebook.com/downcoastalrowing or contact: Gillian Armstrong 028 427 28886 gillian.armstrong@strangfordlough.org