Staff and pupils build narrowboat

A BRAND new boat is being built for use on the restored Chesterfield Canal that will be fitted-out by the staff and pupils of the nearby  Eckington School.

Eckington School is recognised as a top-performing specialist engineering college, and the idea of the project to build a narrowboat was born last year, David Morris tells us.

Chesterfield Canal Trust

A group from the school spent time with Chesterfield Canal Trust volunteers and Partnership Development Manager Dr Geraint Coles on a course learning how to operate a boat safely on the canal.

The course was a great success and the pupils earned credits towards ASDAN qualifications tells teaching assistant Gill Parker. Gill wanted the whole school community to be able to participate in the experience, and managed to secure funding to enable the school to have a shell constructed to be completely fitted-out.

Working with Geraint and boat builders ABC Boats of Lincolnshire, the first part of this project is now reality as the school have taken delivery of the shell. The first stage is to paint the boat to protect it over the winter months, and then comes the fitting-out, in preparation for the eventual launch.