Scottish fishing boat

Full specification

Wooden ships comments on this Scottish fishing boat

Designer:       

Traditional, possibly MacPherson Campbell.

Builder:          

Weatherheads of Cockenzie near Edinburgh.

Year:

Launched 1949

Construction:

Conventional plank on frame construction typical of Scottish fishing boats.

Approx 2” larch planking.

6” x 4” sawn oak frames at approx 14” centres in single futtocks with oak cleats spiked on across the futtock butts.

All fastened with galvanised rose head boat nails. Partly refastened.

Oak back bone.

Approx 10 tons pig iron ballast with some concrete  midships from new to flush through the fish hold.

Deck in straight-laid pine, approx 1.1/2” thick, caulked and payed with pitch. The fore deck is raised by about 10”.

Frames taken up through the coverboards to form the stanchion posts to carry the 14” bulwark and capping rail.

In a first stage of conversion by Weatherheads a steel casing has been built over the mid-ships area approx 2’6” high from the wheel-house forward to the step in the deck.

Wheel-house built in the first stage conversion  in angle-iron steel frame clad with plywood.

Hydraulic steering to a steel plate rudder. Traditional spoked teak wheel.

Rig:

Former yacht mast, varnished stepped in a steel tabernacle on the fore deck.

Galvanised wire stays with stainless steel rigging screws and galvanised fore stay.

Additional varnished pole on deck ready to be made into a boom.

Original small mast in steel with steel supports mounted on the wheel-house roof takes signal flags and arials.

Machinery:

Kelvin T4 120hp 4-cylinder diesel.

Fresh water cooled with heat exchanger.

7knts @ 4000rpm cruising speed at approx 2 litres per hour.

9knts max.

Kelvin 3:1 hydraulic gear-box.

Hydraulic pump belt driven off the front end of the engine to power the windlass and the hydraulic auto-pilot.

2 x steel fuel tanks in the engine room.

4 x 12v batteries in 2 banks of 2 – domestic and engine start.

Battery charging from engine driven alternator and solar panel on deck.

12v and 24v circuits

Accommodation:

The vessel is largely unconverted. There are 4 berth forward in what was the original crew cabin.

The midships are, former fish hold, has a floor in loose boards and 6’6” head-room under the steel casing.

Access to the wheel-house by the aft door.

Access to the hold by a companionway in the fwd stbd corner of the wheel-house.

Access to the engine room by a steel hatch against the wheel-house aft or through the bulkhead door from the hold.

Sea toilet in the midships area.

Insulated hot water cylinder with calorifier coil heated from the engine cooling water, plumbing in place to the hand basin forward by the  sea toilet. A new water circulating pump is required.

2 x 45 gall plastic water barrels, either side of the engine room.

Inventory:

Compass

Hummingbird digital sounder

GPS

Plotter with charts for the W Coast of Scotland

VHF radio

Life raft (Service date August 2012 expired)

2 x fire extinguishers, one in the wheel-house, one in the engine room

Hydraulic windlass on the fore deck

40kg Bruce anchor

5 mooring warps

8 fenders.

History.

Registered on the Historic Ships Register

Various papers held relating to her fishing days including a photo of the vessel with a torpedo on the deck.

Hauled out ashore and under cover between February and April 2012 when the hull was stripped to bare wood, all under water seams raked out and recaulked.

Hull repainted and anti-fouled.

Any loose butts refastened with 5” galvanised boat nails.

Sea-cocks professionally removed, stripped and repacked.

It is not often these days we see a largely unconverted Scottish fishing boat for sale – the decommissioning grants saw to that.

This boat needs a lot of work to get her back to sound and fully sea-worthy condition, the major and obvious job being the replacement of the deck and most of the deck beams and stanchion posts. Despite that, she is used regularly by the owner for short trips round the bay.

The old Kelvin engine is a beauty and will no doubt run for years with basic maintenance and the hull appears to be tight from below though there are holes in the deck with work in progress.

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.