Boats Build People

In 2018, the West Boathouse Project commissioned Govan-based community boatbuilders GalGael Trust, to build us 'Dratsie', a small 'picnic-class' traditional rowing skiff. Her function was to provide an alternative, more stable boat to access the Clyde. Since her launch, she has participated in litter picks, carried a Lord Provost, delivered a flag for Glasgow Women's Library and transported musicians, Sequoia Duo, as part of their film 'Clota's Journey' released for UN World Water Day in March 2023.

A group of people stading beside a rowing boat. West Boathouse

A skiff style, blue rowing boat in a workshop. West Boathouse

'Dratsie' inspired our subsequent community boatbuilding project with Archipelago Folkschool. In autumn 2019, we began working with an enthusiastic team of volunteers from Glasgow Disability Alliance - Ashley Booth, Adam Graham, Izhar Hussain, Shug Kennedy, Boudiala Kouyate, Ross McMaster, Jane Proudfoot and personal assistant Karen White. Over the course of the project, volunteers learned about boatbuilding and maritime heritage, how to use traditional boatbuilding tools, work with different woods and materials and acquired a range of practical skills in boatbuilding, oar making and woodworking.

A group of people looking at plans of a boat. West Boathouse

A man and a woman stand at a workbench making a wooden oar. West Boathouse

Man and a woman holding an oar. West Boathouse

Man with wood shavings on his head. West Boathouse

People standing beside a rowing boat. West Boathouse

A group of people launching a boat on a river. West Boathouse

Two people in a boat and one crouched on wooden steps by a river. West Boathouse

Two people pulling a trolley stacked with two boats. West Boathouse

In exchange, they helped the boatbuilders adapt the programme and process of boatbuilding to make it easier for people with different abilities. The Covid pandemic brought the project to an abrupt halt and the boats were put into storage. We continued to work with GDA members on other projects - nature walks and other outdoor activities, and online workshops on local history and heritage, but finding an accessible space to finish the boats proved tricky and they were mothballed.

More recently, GDA members have been working with artist Fiona Fleming on the design for the specially commissioned West Boathouse flag. The original team members finally completed the artwork, paint schemes and names for the boats over three years later, in 2023.

People making model boats. West Boathouse

Two people making model boats. West Boathouse

Group of people making model boats. West Boathouse

Groups of people in a hall, gathered around tables. West Boathouse

Two women at atable looking at artwork and maps. West Boathouse

A printed list of propsed boat names. West Boathouse

A carboard box labelled 'ballot box'. West Boathouse

Group of people gathered around a table during a workshop. West Boathouse

Artwork prints on a table. West Boathouse

Working on the same principle that engagement with craft skills can be a powerful tool for building a sense of community, the Skylark IX Recovery Trust was getting underway around the same time, downriver at Dumbarton. Volunteers from Alternatives Community-based Recovery, Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol (DACA), and local community members worked with the same boatbuilders (Archipelago Folkschool) to gain boatbuilding and joinery skills, confidence and purpose as part of their journey of recovery from addictions. Our two projects have run parallel and we were delighted when an opportunity arose to collaborate, and volunteer boatbuilders from Skylark came to assist with completing our skiffs.

The Skylarkers have recently founded the Dumbarton Rowing Club, a new coastal club, rowing the boats they handbuilt themselves. In addition to supporting a new generation of rowers, the club marks a new chapter in Dumbarton's long history of rowing and boat building.