The coble is a type of open
traditional fishing boat which developed on the
North East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
coast of
England. The southernmost examples occur around
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
(although
Cooke drew examples at Yarmouth, see his ''Shipping and Craft''
[
]
series of drawings of 1829); the type extends to
Burnmouth
Burnmouth is a small fishing village located adjacent to the A1 road on the east coast of Scotland. It is the first village in Scotland on the A1, after crossing the border with England. Burnmouth is located in the Parish of Ayton, in the S ...
just across the Scottish border.
The distinctive shape of the boat — flat-bottomed and high-
bowed
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.
Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to th ...
— arose to cope with the particular conditions prevalent in this area. Flat bottoms allowed launching from and landing upon shallow, sandy
beaches; an advantage in this part of the coast where the wide bays and inlets provided little shelter from stormy weather. However, fishermen required high bows to sail in the dangerous
North Sea and in particular to launch into the surf and to land on the beaches. The design contains relics of
Norse influence, though in the main it shows
Dutch origin.
A Scottish version of the coble, much shallower and beamier than the English type, serves for salmon-fishing off beaches near
Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
and
Montrose in
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
. These cobles have a less refined construction than their southern counterparts.
Ghillies employ a smaller, better-built version for
fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...
on Scottish rivers.
Local boat-builders constructed the
clinker-built cobles locally as required, without the use of plans. The craftsmanship on many boats gave them a long working life. They had a reputation as dangerous to sail for an inexperienced crew, but in the hands of experts could move both safely and speedily.
, surviving cobles generally use
diesel engines, removing the need for the distinctively shaped
lug sail. In a further concession to comfort, a
tarpaulin shelter often covers the bow.
The
Northumberland coastal village of
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea has a pub called "The Coble" named in tribute to these boats. A park, Coble Dene, in nearby
North Shields is likewise named after the vessel.
See also
*
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
*
Staithes
*
Foyboat
*
Scottish east coast fishery
References
External links
The Coble and Keelboat SocietyWorld of Boats at Eyemouth ~ Seahouses Coblebr />Example of a Northumberland, Seahouses coble named "Boy's Own" - built for Robert Rutter in 1933.
National Maritime Museum Cornwallbr />Example of Northumbrian coble "Sunshine" from ca 1880
Yacht Design Databasebr />NMMC also has an online database list of yacht designs mentioned in yachting magazines which includes several cobles
Portsoy Organisation for Restoration and Trainingproject to investigate and document the Scottish coble's construction an
videoabout the project
Scottish National Dictionarydefinitions
Salmon Net Fishing Association of Scotlandregarding the "net and coble" method
{{fisheries and fishing
Types of fishing vessels
Boat types