Smith is completing and renovating model boats and will donate them to various disabled sailing projects across America including the 2012 Robie Pierce One-Design Regatta for sailors with disabilities, the Duxbury Bay Maritime School's ACCESSAIL programme, the New Bedford Community Boating Centre and the Schwartz Centre.

The model boats Smith used were left unfinished by students taking the Ship and Boat Design course, run as part of Tabor's nautical science department curriculum.

Smith pulled the unfinished boats out of storage, obtained permission to donate them from their previous owners and spent the semester working on them so that children and adults with disabilities could sail them as part of model boat regattas.

He was helped by Robie Pierce, a 1958 Tabor alum and disabled sailor, and Captain David Bill, head of the nautical science department at Tabor. 

"I found a biography about Robie in an old alumni magazine at Tabor that talked about how he had founded the Shake-a-Leg programme (which creates opportunities for children and adults to overcome adversity through therapeutic sailing) which is now called Sail to Prevail," Smith (pictured below) said.

"I got in touch with him shortly after that and he's been so supportive of my project ever since."


The American Model Yacht Racing Association V32s (pictured top) that Smith worked on are 32 inches long and sloop rigged.

The radio controller operates a rudder servo and a sail servo which enable the sailor to steer and sail the boat.

"Asa is a super guy, a tremendous sailor, and a great student," said Captain Bill, a lifelong sailor and member of the National Champion Tabor Varsity Sailing team.

"This project is exceptional because of its benefits to the sailing community in addition to the learning experience for the student."

Sailing for athletes with a disability began to develop as a competitive sport in the 1980s.

It was introduced to the Paralympic Games as a demonstration event at Atlanta 1996 and four years later, it became a full medal sport at the Sydney 2000 Games.

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