John M. MacAulay - Fernhaven, - Flodabay, - Isle of Harris. - HS3 3HA.
Tel:01859 530340
Builder of the Hebridean`Birlinn` model
`COASTAL
AND ISLAND BOATS`
continued..........
twenty-one
to around twenty-five feet. Those built originally for the Monach Isles
fishing were rigged with two standing lug-sails and a jib. This rig was
modified to a single dipping lug-sail when the first internal combustion
engines were fitted The boats adapted quite readily to engine power and
could be very easily driven with a paraffin engine of between five and
twelve horsepower They were clinker-built of larch strakes on steam-bent
oak ribs and if. in comparison with contemporary craft. they appear at
first sight to be less robust. a closer inspection reveals a constructional
ingenuity which combines maximum strength with the most economic use of
material. Like the majority of Scottish coastal and island boats. they
were completely open and depended on the transverse thwarts for lateral
rigidity The Grimsay craftsmen improved on the standard method for securing
the ends of the thwarts with grown-oak knees by fltting substantial fore
and aft stringers between each thwart end; these were also closely fitted
to the hull planking and frames, creating a highly effective 'ring-frame'giving
greatest strength where most needed, but still allowing the hull to flex
and absorb the external forces of water pressure acting on the hull The
fine underwater lines allowed the boats to be easily rowed. and their
sailing qualities and manoeuvrability were unmatched. With the advent
of motor power the design gradually altered and you are now more likely
to find a transom-sterned boat with a wider beam and slightly more freeboard
in order to accommodate all of the equipment that goes along with today's
catching methods.
I recently drafted the lines of the Welcome Home. a twenty-three foot
Grimsay boat built for the Monach Isles lobster fishing in 1933. Originally
built for sail. she was later converted to engine power. Amazingly. there
was no more than
three-quarters of an...
Books
by John MacAulay:
Birlinn,
Longships of the Hebrides
(White
Horse Press)
Seal-folk
and Ocean Paddlers
( White
Horse Press)
click on icon to
view line
drawing of 19ft sailing boat
Glossary
of Terms used
in this article
