ON THE quiet shores of the Holy Loch, the sound of saws and the scent of fresh timber is once again part of daily life in the village of Sandbank. Members of Holy Loch Sailing Club have been hard at work building a St Ayles Skiff – a project that is as much about community and heritage as it is about rowing.
Sandbank has a long and proud history of boatbuilding. For generations, skilled craftsmen along this stretch of water shaped and launched vessels that worked the Clyde and beyond. Though the days of large-scale commercial yards have faded, the knowledge, appreciation and affection for wooden boats remain woven into the fabric of the village. For many at the club, constructing a St. Ayles Skiff has long been an ambition – a way to honour that legacy in a practical, hands-on way.
Work on the skiff began in late October. Progress since then has been strong, with the hull taking shape steadily under the careful guidance of an enthusiastic and dedicated build team. The team is led by Ali Marshall, whose experience and calm leadership has kept the project moving forward. He is supported by Peter McWhinnie, Jim Maclean, Duncan Chalmers, Chris Bowen, Jim Hoey, Neil Stewart and Jim Lee – all kept firmly in line, as members jokingly acknowledge, by project manager Marion Bowen. Their collective effort has transformed a flat-pack kit into the elegant shape of a traditional clinker-style hull.
As with all St. Ayles Skiffs, the boat has been constructed upside down on a building jig – a method that allows the overlapping planks to be carefully aligned and fixed before the hull is ready to be turned. A St. Ayles Skiff is a 22-foot, four-oared coastal rowing boat, built from marine plywood and larch. Designed in Scotland in 2009 to encourage community boatbuilding and coastal rowing, the skiffs are rowed by four oarsmen with a coxswain steering. They are robust enough for challenging coastal waters while remaining light enough to launch by hand, making them ideal for clubs and community groups
On Saturday, February 21, the project reached a significant and highly anticipated milestone. Members gathered at the build site to witness the turning of the hull – the moment when the completed shell is lifted from the frames and rotated upright for the first time. Before the ceremony, Commodore Kirsty Brown addressed those assembled, thanking the sponsors, donors, builders and everyone who had contributed time, skill and encouragement to make the project possible.
Special thanks were paid to the project’s main sponsors. Swordfish Marine kindly donated the space where the skiff is being built, providing a vital home for the work to take place. Shearwater Marine is supplying much of the hardware needed to fit out the hull, while Marine Blast has generously donated paint and other consumables essential to the build. Western Ferries and Alpkit, through their respective community sponsorship schemes, have also made significant financial contributions towards the overall cost of the project. In addition, many club members and friends have generously made donations, demonstrating the depth of local support behind the venture.
Following the words of thanks, the hull was carefully and ceremoniously lifted clear of the building jig and turned the right way up to warm applause. For many present, it was an emotional moment – the first time the skiff could be properly appreciated in her upright form, revealing the graceful lines that will soon cut through the waters of the Holy Loch.
The celebrations continued afterwards at the recently reopened Oakbank Community Inn, which proved to be a very welcoming venue which kindly allowed the club to hold the event there while its own clubhouse is undergoing renovation. More than 60 members of the club and local community gathered to mark the occasion. Guests enjoyed a well-received film about the history of the St Ayles Skiff movement, followed by a slideshow charting the progress of the club’s own build – from the arrival of a kit packed into a cardboard box, through months of careful craftsmanship, to a finished hull ready for internal fit-out and final finishing. The celebration concluded with an excellent fish supper provided by local chippy Anselmos, rounding off a day that perfectly captured the spirit of the project: community, heritage and shared pride.
Attention is now turning to the final stages of fitting out, painting and preparing the skiff for the water. The club hopes to launch her in the summer – an occasion that promises an even bigger community celebration on the shores of the Holy Loch. When she does take to the water, she will join an ever-growing fleet of St. Ayles Skiffs on the Clyde. It is believed that Holy Loch Sailing Club’s boat will be the 14th skiff in the Clyde fleet, further strengthening the area’s thriving coastal rowing scene.
Anyone interested in becoming involved in coastal rowing in the Holy Loch, whether as a rower, coxswain or supporter, is warmly encouraged to get in touch by emailing [email protected]. As this project has already shown, there is always room for more hands – and more enthusiasm – on the oars.
