I built a 30ft yacht in my back garden to bring joy at Christmas

Ian Rankin has always enjoyed building small model boats but, after a cancer diagnosis, the 82-year-old set himself a new challenge.

The great-grandfather has spent the past 12 months hand-crafting a 30ft yacht in his Bearsden back garden with the hope it will “bring joy” and “make people happy” over the festive period.

The boat and its 33ft mast are decorated with hundreds of Christmas lights, which can be seen by those passing by on Milngavie Road.

Ian says that people often say it’s brought a smile to their face, with one neighbour telling him that it has “lit up her Christmas”.

He says the project has also acted as a form of “therapy” for him, while he underwent treatment for bowel cancer.

“It’s done me good,” he says.

“It’s given me a purpose to get up in the morning and do something.”

Ian is a keen sailor and used to keep a small model boat in the garden.

After a passer-by told him that seeing it had made them feel happy, Ian was inspired to build a full-sized yacht.

His daughter, Lucindy, 52, who is also fighting cancer, told the BBC how her dad had been out “in all weathers” over the past year to complete the boat by Christmas.

“One thing about my father, nothing keeps him down,” she says.

“Getting a stoma bag; battling bowel cancer; 82 years of age – he carries on.

“To say he’s one in a million to me is an understatement.”

Ian says that local children often describe the yacht as “the boat in the sky”, due to its high mast and elevated position on a hill in his back garden.

He hopes that its presence will show young people that despite old age and ill health, you can still build amazing things.

“I want to expand the imagination of the younger generation,” he says.

“If an old guy at 82 can do this, they can do anything.”

Ian is encouraging people who are “cheered up” by the boat to make a donation to the Beatson Cancer Charity, whom he says have done a “tremendous” amount for his family.

His daughter Lucindy was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, and was given just two years to live, four years ago.

Ian’s wife Vera has also been fighting breast cancer at the Beatson Centre, and his brother Donald died in 2023 from prostate cancer.

“People have taken time and effort and money in tough economic times to donate to the cause – and that cheers me up no end,” Ian says.

The boat now has a permanent home in Ian’s garden.

“It’s a thing of beauty. I love looking at it,” he said

“It gives me pleasure, and I hope it gives other people pleasure.”

After Christmas, Ian says he’s looking forward to converting the boat into a “man cave”, where he can return to building his small model boats.