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The Polperro Gaffer is a type of 
The Polperro Gaffer and the Plymouth Hooker were essentially open boats with a fore deck back to the mast, a small aft deck and narrow side decks or waterways. The "cock-pit" was divided into the fish hold where the catch was carried and the net hold where the long seine nets were carried with a wooden roller athwartships to feed the net in and out.
It was not uncommon for the boats to have a couple of berths in the fore peak cabin.
A Brief history of the Polperro Gaffer
Economy of Cornwall Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom
fishing vessel
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.
The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was ...
used in Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
. The Great Gale of 1891 destroyed the fishing fleets of many of the smaller Cornish villages. The old boats were generally clinker-planked and lug-rigged.
The new boats built after the Gale with government intervention and support were to a new design, carvel planked and with the "modern" gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...
, boats we now know as typically West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
with straight stem and transom sterns though the lines varied from port to port.
Polperro fleet
The little fishing port ofPolperro
Polperro ( kw, Porthpyra, meaning ''Pyra's cove'') is a large village, civil parish, and fishing harbour within the Polperro Heritage Coastline in south Cornwall, England. Its population is around 1,554.
Polperro, through which runs the River ...
, 5 miles west of Looe
Looe (; kw, Logh, ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census.
Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe ( kw, links ...
had a fleet of small sailing fishing boats known as Polperro Gaffers. Their principal catch was the pilchard
"Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the ...
but this was a late summer catch and the rest of the year they set long lines, and seine nets.
Most were built in Looe, around 26' with a deep 6' draft, a gaff rig on a pole mast stepped on the keel and they dried out on legs in Polperro's drying harbour.
Similar vessels
The Plymouth Hooker was very similar and the only surviving sailing fishing boats still working, the Falmouth Oyster Boats are almost the same in hull design.Design
The Polperro Gaffer and the Plymouth Hooker were essentially open boats with a fore deck back to the mast, a small aft deck and narrow side decks or waterways. The "cock-pit" was divided into the fish hold where the catch was carried and the net hold where the long seine nets were carried with a wooden roller athwartships to feed the net in and out.
It was not uncommon for the boats to have a couple of berths in the fore peak cabin.
Sails
The rig was deliberately low as it had to be handled by a small crew in all weathers and they would lie to the nets with mainsail set. However the sail area could be extended by setting a large topsail on a yard making these boats remarkably fast in races on high days and holidays.Moonraker
These boats have excellent sea-keeping capability as witnessed by DrPeter Pye
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
who with his wife sailed his Polperro Gaffer ''Moonraker'' round the world in the 1940s.
References
{{Portal, CornwallA Brief history of the Polperro Gaffer
Economy of Cornwall Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom