Second chance: giving rowing boats a new life

• ?-Mid 1990's, Leicester Rowing club

• Mid 1990's-2019, Loughborough Boat Club

• 2019-2021, Putney Town Rowing Club

• 2021-2025, Somerset Community Rowing Club

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The four person boat was purchased from Leicester rowing club by Loughborough in the mid 1990's for £50. 

The boat was nicknamed 'fifty quid' but was renamed by Loughborough to 'Blood Sweat and Tears' to reflect the rigors of club life. Many Loughborough club members have rowed and raced in the boat before it was retired from use.

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The boat along with a few others from different clubs arrived in Putney, London, in 2019 in hopes of being donated to communities in South Africa. The boats being donated were still functional but as clubs invested in new boats, they became unused and abandoned. However, after COVID hit in 2020, the boats we rejected and could no longer be shipped so they stayed on a trailer, abandoned.

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They were was sold to Somerset Community Rowing Club in 2021, but were left unused as newer and more efficient boats became the top choice for rowers. After being left exposed to the elements, and a few knocks, the damage was too large to repair and they continued to be unused. However, being situated in the Somerset levels comes with its challenges. Annual flooding along with the fact that the boats didn't have cover has meant that the once durable marine varnish started to deteriorate and the wood had been left exposed to floodwater. 

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This boat was chosen for this project as it could no longer be repaired to be functional for rowing again so it would have be thrown away, but it still maintained most of its key and distinct features which I wanted to showcase in my designs. The flood water has left some sections of wood with rotting surfaces. I wanted to take some of these surfaces and include them in the design as it is part of the boats history.