A YACHT designed by a British woman in the 1930s is being built in the UK for the first time by students at the Lyme Regis international school of boat building.

The Prima - a 22-foot, two berth, carvel built timber cruising yacht - was designed in 1937 by the then 19 year-old Joan Jardine Brown - daughter of traditional boat builder T Harrison Butler.

The boat has been built before in New Zealand and Italy, but never in the UK. Joan Jardine Brown, who is now 85, has been hoping someone in the UK would build the boat for many years.

Now two students at Lyme Regis international school of boat building are bringing the Prima to life.

Kaila Simmons, 30, an ex-IT specialist from New Jersey in the United States, and Mike Broome, 34, a machinery designer from Stourbridge in the Midlands, have been working on the boat since last October.

Both students are on the school's main 38-week course and are working to gain a City and Guilds NVQ - an internationally-recognised boat building qualification.

The pair chose to work together on the Prima because it was such an interesting boat that hadn't been done in the UK before.

Said Kaila: "I wanted to do something that involved a bit more stuff, if you know what I mean. Something a bit more challenging."

The two students have met Joan Jardine Brown, who has visited the pair in Lyme Regis and is extremely excited at the prospect of seeing her design built in this country.

"It's been her pet project to get the Prima built for years," said Kaila.

Mike and Kaila, who lodge at the boat building school, had not met before the course started in September. For both of them, coming to Lyme Regis is the realisation of a long-held ambition to build boats.

"I've always had a hankering after building a boat," says Mike "having always designed things, it's now great to actually be making something myself."

They say they enjoy working together, but both have had to make sacrifices in the name of teamwork.

Kaila - something of a late riser - had to promise Mike that she'd start the day a bit earlier, on the condition that he gave up smoking. Mike says he hasn't had a cigarette for a month now.

The combination seems to be a success and the two plan to work together again in the future.

The Prima is such a big project that Mike and Kaila think they will stay in Lyme Regis to complete their work after their course has finished in June. And they are looking forward to showing Joan Jardine Brown the finished product. The pair then plan to sell the Prima before launching their careers as professional boat builders.

*Lyme Regis International Boat Building School opened in 1997. As well as the core 38-week course in boat building, it offers a range of short courses in related subjects. A new course in boat outfitting starts on April 28. It is a course for beginners and aimed at people interested in fitting out the hull of a boat with a view to working in the industry. Contact Tim Gedge on 01297 445545 for more details.