WITH a newly refurbished boat about to set sail on the Stort, Star reporter Dan Phillips visited Harlow-based Canal Boat Project to find out more about how the charity stays afloat in a recession.
"WE are the best kept secret in Essex," said project manager Doreen Goodall, as I joined her and three volunteer crew members for a jaunt along the Stort.
We were aboard the Stort Daybreak – one of the four boats used by the Canal Boat Project to help open up the waterways to disabled people – on a typically rainy day.
The Burnt Mill Lane-based charity is impressively well equipped for trips up and down the river to beauty spots such as Pardon Mill and beyond.
Despite an unimposing office – a wooden ‘shed’ by the Stort River – the project has two day boats and two holiday boats and an astonishing 137 volunteers.
As well as manning the boats, the volunteers also carry out almost all of the maintenance on the boats. This means overheads are kept low.
The group is just completing a full refit of its boat the Stort Challenger and when I visited last Thursday volunteers were hard at work making it ready for its first booking next week.
But even on the cusp of finishing this project, the group already has its collective eye on another goal – which is buying a brand new holiday boat by 2013.
"That would enable us to use the Challenger as a day boat and then sell on our small boat," said Doreen. "The only problem is we’ll need to raise £175,000 and I don’t know where we’re going to get the money from! So if there’s anybody out there who wants to help – then let us know."
Volunteer Tom Bilbow said: "It is our goal to have a group of disabled people go out together – with no assistance from us. Because it is possible and that would really be fantastic."
The boats currently enable day trips for groups on the river and longer trips for families that have a disabled member.
They have wet rooms, ambulant toilets, surfaces built at heights suitable for people in wheelchairs and specialist winches made by British company Autochair – all designed to enable rather than stop people enjoying the river.
Autochair’s Chris Adolph said: "It’s hard to imagine this is like for a mentally aware person to have a physical disability and be stuck inside watching TV all day. That’s why organisations like this, that help give these people different experiences, are so important."
All the volunteers spoke with special enthusiasm about one thing: the looks of delight on the faces of disabled people who get the opportunity to pilot a boat. Taking hold of the tiller of the Stort Daybreak, I caught a glimpse of what they meant.
I can’t imagine what it is like living with a disability, there’s no doubt anyone can understand the thrill of being on the river – even if you don’t get to control the weather.
