A WHEELCHAIR accessible boat specially designed for angling will be launched on Sunday (March 1) – the opening day of the new fishing season – at Wimbleball Lake.

The new Coulam 16 Wheelyboat comes thanks to a joint venture by The Wheelyboat Trust, The Angling Trust and Wimbleball Fly Fishery.

All Wheelyboats are hand built and fitted out to order by Jim Coulam of boatbuilders Coulam Ltd having been designed by naval architect Andrew Wolstenholme.

They enable disabled anglers, and wheelchair users in particular, to access the Wimbleball Lake, allowing them to fish independently for top quality rainbow and wild brown trout, courtesy of Rainbow Valley Trout Farm near Bampton.

The Wimbleball boat is the first to be launched as part of a growing fleet – the Wheelyboat Trust and Angling Trust has provided seven of them. Funds for the project were provided by The Peter Harrison Foundation and Lord Barnby’s Charitable Trust. 

Andy Beadsley and Patrick Veale will be the first disabled anglers to take to the water: “I know first-hand the enjoyment that comes from casting a line and whiling away a few hours on the water doing something you love,” said Andy.

“We’re delighted that another Wheelyboat will be calling Wimbleball Lake home and hope that many disabled anglers and hopefully those new to the sport too, will come and experience for themselves the joy of angling independently.”

Mark Underhill, who owns Rainbow Valley Trout Farm and leases the fishing at Wimbleball, said: “With our new Wheelyboat, disabled anglers will be able to fish across the 374-acre Wimbleball Lake, exploring the many bays and inlets, all stocked with some of the best trout in the country.”

The Coulam 16 Wheelyboat can accommodate up to three people. Access on and off is via a ramp from a pontoon onto a hydraulic platform built into the boat that lowers the angler from gunwale height to floor level with ease.

Once on board, the angler can sit at the bow or the stern and is able to operate the boat entirely independently.

As a charity The Wheelyboat Trust relies on donations from individuals and organisations. To donate and help The Wheelyboat Trust get more disabled people out on the water, visit www.wheelyboats.org/current-projects.