Second rowing boat built with extra volunteer help

The new skiff took four months to build

A scheme to get people on to the water has seen "lot more community involvement" in the construction of its second rowing boat, the project's coordinator has said.

Glass Aalin, which is Manx Gaelic for beautiful green, was recently launched after four months of building work as part of the Laxey Community Skiff Building Project.

Coordinator Alan Kneen said a lot of people had been "wanting to row" since the first St Ayles Skiff set sail in December.

With two of three boats planned now in operation, they could begin to be used for racing, social rows and "trips up and down the bay", he said.

Inspired by a Scottish scheme to get people back in touch with the sea and preserve boat building techniques, Mr Kneen said the team had "learnt a lot along the way" so had been able to speed things up with the second vessel.

While the first boat Teeval took almost a year to craft, the extra manpower by way of more community volunteers saw the second boat take 108 days to construct, he said.

The colour of the new boat reflects its name Glass Aalin, Manx Gaelic for beautiful green

The team took a kit of pre-shaped ply and a timber cutting list and crafted the materials into the 22ft (6.7m) boat in a Garff Commissioners shed in Laxey.

Mr Kneen said the team had to "concentrate on building the second boat because we wanted to get two boats on the water for the summer".

People had already been "ringing wanting to know when were operating", he said.

The boats will be used for races and social rowing

It is thought that since 2009 more than 500 skiffs have now been built across the world as community projects in places including Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.

Mr Kneen said although the third vessel would be the final boat for the Laxey scheme, the team would be prepared to "help anyone who wants to build one".