School pool perfect place for launch

Fellow Rodney College students watched Liam Pride’s progress throughout the year as he worked on the design and construction of his plywood dinghy. “Will it float?” was a common question.

A level 3 Materials and Design Technology project, Liam completed the requirements of the course by shaping a half-model and then scaling the dimensions for lofting or drawing onto a full size flat surface. 

This enabled him to construct and set up temporary frames so that plywood could be bent and joined with epoxy fibreglass to form the designed shape.

The hull was then fitted out with seats and rowlock chocks, painted and readied for launching.

On a warm November school lunchtime, a gathering of students came to watch at the pool while Liam tested and evaluated his boat. Some were even brave enough to take part and enjoy being out on the water because, yes, it did float and achieved its design expectations too!