I is for INSPIRATIONAL
Making oars as part of the boatbuilding project
There are plenty of inspirational figures to choose from in rowing, and plenty more involved in the project - from volunteers who stuck with it through a global pandemic, to the numerous partner organisations who sparked new ideas and reinvigorated us when we flagged. For this section, we'll focus on volunteers from Glasgow Disability Alliance, who, working with community boatbuilders Archipelago Folkschool, spent two weeks in November 2019 building two 'Caravelle' skiffs in a chilly backspace at the Briggait. Run by and for disabled people, Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA) is based locally in Templeton Business Centre and over 5000 members across the Greater Glasgow area. They support and advocate for diverse disabled people, people with long-term conditions, and member organisations led by disabled 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. The need for more accessible craft prompted the subsequent boatbuilding project.
The following year we began working with an enthusiastic team of volunteers from GDA - 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, the basic principles of boatbuilding and oar-making, and working with different woods and materials.
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.
Boatbuilding at the Briggait
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.
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 Project 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.
