A RARE sailing boat believed to be the last of its kind still functioning made its return to the water at Weymouth Sailing Club.

Vidar, built in 1949 and named after the Norse God of vengeance, returned to the water following 15 years of inactivity.

Vidar is part of the Viking class, a collection of boats built when three yachtsmen from Castle Cove Sailing Club reimagined an entirely new class of sailing boat.

The trio constructed the boats from the cellar of the Royal Victoria Hotel in Ferrybridge.

They produced seven boats, with the first six being named after Norse Gods, including Vidar, Loki, Freya, Estrid, Ellida and Hugin. The seventh boat was named Sven.

The boat’s previous owner, Alan Cheeseman, who purchased the vessel in 1989, decided he did not have the time or finances to provide the renovations the boat would need to return to the water.

He gave it to a family friend, 20-year-old furniture maker Tom Doar, who quickly got to work. After six months it was ready to re-enter the water.

Mr Doar said: "Alan told me he didn't have the time or money to fix the boat so he let me take it off his hands.

"Luckily through lockdown I had a lot of time on my hands so I was able to fix it up. I treated it as a challenge.

"I only actually got into sailing last year. I've always had an interest in boats but never took it any further than that.

"She went in the water well. She hasn't been on the water in 15 years so it takes a bit of time. She still needs a few tweaks but I think she’ll be ready to sail in a week or two.

"An elderly couple even came over to ask if it was a Viking because they had actually owned one when they were younger."

Mr Doar is now hoping to discover the whereabouts of the rest of the Viking collection, having heard rumours that one of the boats is kept somewhere between Dorchester and Yeovil.