Classic Boat

BEA COLECHIN

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Walking her dog along the river in Nottingham one day, 18-year-old swimming instructor Bea Colechin spotted a dilapidate­d 23ft (7.1m) canal boat for sale. She loved working with wood and had taken up a part-time furniture making course, so she pulled together all her savings and bought the boat.

“Two years down the line I was spending every waking hour on that boat and my dad pointed out that I could do it as a job rather than a hobby.”

Bea applied to Lowestoft Internatio­nal Boatbuildi­ng Training College and qualified for a bursary and, at 19, moved to Su–olk for the year-long course. “I had a fun time. You build up your skills really quickly.”

She secured her first job at the family-owned boatyard, Eastwood Whelpton in Norfolk, before she passed her final exams.

“I’ve ended up with a really good job because I get to do a bit of everything,” she says. “There’s nothing we can’t do as women, we just have to think a bit di–erently sometimes. I’m by far the smallest person in my boatyard, so any jobs in hard-toreach places are my jobs because I can get in there better than anybody else.

“And the people here are very encouragin­g. Everyone’s always asking each other for their opinion on a job so I was able to ask questions. My confidence has improved massively.”

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