A COMMUNITY canal boat which will help provide training for volunteers who are unemployed or have mental health problems was set to be launched today.
Volunteers have spent months giving the 60ft barge a facelift, after it was bought by the city social enterprise group Re-Union with help from the National Lottery.
The boat was due to be launched opposite the Westside Plaza at Wester Hailes at 1
0am this morning, and was then set to sail to Edinburgh Quay, accompanied by a piper, canoes and currach, a type of wooden boat.
The Re-Union group will now be hiring out the boat for conferences and private functions. They will invest all the profits in helping people learn new skills and get back to work.
Thirty volunteers spent four months refurbishing the wide-beam boat, with help from a £60,000 legacy fund from the council-owned EDI group.
Pat Bowie, manager of Re-Union, said they were pleased they were able to replace a smaller 12-person boat with the barge, which has space for three times as many.
The group is trying to help local communities become more involved with the Union Canal.
She said: "We are delighted to see this new boat set sail. The volunteers have worked incredibly hard, and it's a real testament to their efforts that bookings for the vessel are already flooding in.
"Through training volunteers in everything from hospitality to boat-building, first aid to local biodiversity, we can continue helping build communities in the West of Edinburgh."
Volunteer crew members include Jak Hyslop, 18, from Parkhead, who said the project has helped him gain qualifications.
After leaving school, he gained his Complete Crew Course certificate from the National Community Boat Association.
On days off from his job in a supermarket, Jak helped with joinery, installing electrics, and painting and decorating the boat.
He has now completed his Health and Safety Passport qualification, and is attending workshops in woodwork, basic plumbing and electrics.
"I've gained confidence and improved my communication skills through the Re-Union experience," he said.
Much of the funding was provided by EDI after the completion of Pentland Gait, a 70,000 square feet development next to the Union Canal in Wester Hailes.
John Mark Di Ciacca, acting chief executive of EDI, said: "It's fantastic to see the EDI legacy fund being put to such good use.
"Our main aim is to generate economic and social benefit through innovative development. The fund was established following our development of Pentland Gait, which transformed an area that was landlocked and blighted by electricity pylons, into attractive offices."
The full article contains 444 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
