A Dumbarton boat recovery project has appointed a community boatbuilding coordinator - in a step the charity hopes could lead to the town having its own rowing club.

The Skylark IX Recovery Project works to preserve the Dunkirk ‘Little Ship’ Skylark IX and deliver skills training projects for people recovering from addiction or facing social isolation in West Dunbartonshire.

Rebecca MacAskill will work alongside Jason Bradley, boatbuilding project manager from the Skylark IX Recovery Project’s partner Archipelago Folkschool, to help volunteer trainees learn new, transferable woodwork skills by building a 22ft St Ayles rowing skiff.

Rebecca, who is currently in the final year of a  BA in community development, joined the Skylark team earlier this year when she helped design and deliver the popular summer activities programme inspired by the survival, resilience and wartime service of the ‘Dunkirk Little Ship’ Skylark IX at the heart of the project. 

Moving to the skiff building workshop, which is housed in the Scottish Maritime Museum’s Denny Tank on Castle Street, Rebecca will work with the volunteer trainees helping create a safe and therapeutic space for them to meet new people and gain valuable new skills.

Rebecca said: "I’m thrilled to move to the skiff building workshop as the community boatbuilding coordinator. The work is super exciting.

"Watching the skiff take shape is extremely rewarding for the participants and myself included and I can't wait for the future with more boat building projects and, we hope, seeing local people use the skiffs to come together to establish a Dumbarton Rowing Club."

Claire McDade, project manager, added: "Rebecca is a wonderful addition to the Skylark IX team. Her enthusiasm and her understanding of community development gained through her studies will be of real value as we move forward and grow our programmes to help more people across West Dunbartonshire."