CLT chairman Duncan Butcher, chief executive Paul Allison, and four trustees were involved in the hand-over, when the boat was used for the first time on Lake Dunstan in front of Old Cromwell Town by boat club vice-commodore Roger Gibson.
The red inflatable is the largest of three CLT-funded boats recently given to the club, for the club's $88,355 project aimed at boosting sailing in the community.
Hand-held radios, life jackets, and four 420 sailing dinghies were also part of the club's new equipment for its Community Sailing Programme.
Mr Gibson said the inflatable boat provided an ideal platform for coaching, plus good safety support for a range of water-based education and community activities.
"It will play a pivotal role in the club's learn-to-sail programme, which was recently initiated. Having a reliable, safe, and easy-to-use safety boat will help support not only our own activities, but will allow us to work in better with other providers such as the Cromwell College Aquatic Centre and Yachting New Zealand's learn to sail programmes," Mr Gibson said.
The red inflatable will be used in support of the club's new sailing dinghies which are used for team racing, and will also be available for search and rescue operations if necessary.
