Naming a narrowboat Endeavour reflected the determination of a disability group to succeed against the odds, said disability minister Maria Eagle.

Miss Eagle officially named the vessel - commissioned by Skipton & Craven Action for Disabled - at a ceremony in Skipton canal basin yesterday.

The specially-designed boat is used to take disabled people on trips along the Leeds-Liverpool canal from Skipton canal basin.

Pouring champagne across the prow of the £70,000 boat, Ms Eagle said: "The name Endeavour is highly appropriate because it gets across in one word the successful effort the group has made to bring this project to fruition."

The Government was making legislation to make sure disabled people were included in all walks of life, but it was projects like this which brought the law into reality, she added.

SCAD raised the £100,000 to finance the boat and running costs for two years after it was refused a lottery hand-out to fund the venture.

Judith Carter, SCAD's chief executive, said: "We were very deflated when we were told there would be no lottery money. But we were not beaten and we were determined to raise the money ourselves, which we did in 12 months."

The organisation's old boat, the Marjorie Charlesworth - which had operated on the canal for 13 years carrying 9,000 people with disabilities - was sold for £25,000 because it did not reach modern standards. And the rest of the cash was raised in time to launch the new boat in July.

It was designed for disabled people, with lower windows, special disability access and a wheelchair lift.

SCAD was founded in 1981 in the Year of the Disabled and has a full-time staff of six people, backed up by about 50 volunteers.

It has a shop in Newmarket Street, Skipton, and funds four special buses for the disabled, which cover the Craven area.