Yoal

The yoal, often referred to as the ness yoal, is a clinker-built craft used traditionally in Shetland, Scotland. It is designed primarily for rowing, but also handles well under its traditional square sail when running before the wind or on a broad reach.

The word is cognate with yawl and yole.

Construction

Until about 1860, yoals were imported in kit form from the area around Bergen in Norway. The traditional small wooden boats were known as either Strandebarmer or Oselvar from Os, Hordaland, Os in Hordaland, Norway. The wooden boats were taken apart and then 'flat packed' for shipping to the Shetland Islands. Instead of sending complicated assembly instructions, they sent Norwegian boatbuilders to re-build them. However, increasing customs duty meant that Shetland builders took over the building but stayed mostly with the original Norwegian design.

All the parts of a yoal have a name, perhaps to make assembly easier when they came in kit form, or to make it easier to order spare parts. In many cases, the names of the parts bear a closer relationship to Norway, Norwegian than United Kingdom, British usage. The descriptive text on this page names most of these parts.

There are six boards to the construction of a yoal, they are from the keel up, the ''gabbard straik''; the ''Hassen Straik''; the ''lower sool''; the ''upper sool''; the ''sand straik'', and the ''upper wup''.

The boards were fixed to three main frames ''baands'' which curved across the keel between gunwales, underneath the ''tafts'' (seats), and also to the ''stammerin'' or ''cant frame'', near both bow and stern, before fixing to the fore and aft stems. The ''upper wups'' were joined by the ''hinny spot'' where they met the ''horn'', at the top of the stem, for added strength.

The ''baands'' were not fixed to the keel, this again adding to the flexibility of the yoal.

The ''baands'' divided the boat into four sections: the ''fore room'', for fishing tackle etc.; the ''mid room'', for ballast; the ''owsin room'', which was kept clear for bailing, ''owsin'', any water which came aboard, using an ''owsekerri''; and the ''shot room'', which is where the catch was stored.

To save the gunwales from wear, at each ''aer'', (oar), position a block of hard wood, the ''routh'', was fixed in position with two wooden pegs called ''routh pins''. Sticking up from the ''routh'' was the ''kabe'', a hardwood peg, against which the oar was rowed. The oar was held in position against the ''kabe'' by a loop of rope called the ''humlieband''.

One notable feature of yoal construction are the gunwales which stop short at both bow and stern leaving several inches of upper board with no gunwale. This is supposed to give the craft more flexibility in heavy seas.

The yoal was rowed by three men with a pair of oars each. The men were seated on ''tafts'', which rested on the ''wearin'' a wooden support which ran across the three main ''baands'', and for purchase they could brace their feet against a ''fitlinn'', a piece of wood across between the ''baands''. The floorboards of the boat were called ''tilfers''.

When wind conditions were ''baand'' yoal carried a square sail, hoisted on a wooden mast which was stepped through the mid ''taft'' and braced at its base to the mid 'baand'

History

The yoal was the main vessel used for ''haaf'' (open water within sight of land, up to 10 miles from shore) fishing for cod, ling and tusk until the fish shoals moved further offshore at the end of the 17th century, probably due to climatic change. Although yoals were not designed for the ''far haaf'', Shetland fishermen continued to use them for relatively deep sea fishing with attendant accidents and loss of life until the introduction in the mid 18th century of the larger, heavier and deeper sixareen designed for fishing further offshore. Although there were some variations in size the yoal was generally 21 ft 5in overall, 15 ft keel, 21in inside depth amidships and 5 ft 5in beam.

George Johnson of Skelberry, Dunrossness, was one of the most prolific builders of ness yoals. Among the yoals built by Johnson, in his later years, were several larger ones up to 23 ft 10in overall. One of these, which has now gone, was the ''Oceans Gift'', so named because all the wood for her construction came from driftwood. Unusual features of these larger yoals were that their gunwales did not stop short of the stem and stern like the normal yoals, and some of them had a full fourth 'baand'.

Present day

Throughout Shetland many traditional yoals, built by Johnson, and others of his era, still exist. Very few are still in regular use, although in the Virkie Marina there are 2 which are used for pleasure fishing.

In recent years the advent of yoal rowing regattas has seen an upsurge in the building of these traditional craft.

Ian Best of Fair Isle, and Tommy Isbister of Trondra, are the most prolific yoal builders today.

See also

*Faering
*Oselvar

References

*

External links

Ian Best - Boatbuilder
*[http://www.snl.no/oselver Oselver]
Film footage from Oselvar-regatta.Video from sailing the Oselvar at Austevoll, west coast of Norway.Video from sailing Oselvar regatta with "150 Ægir" at the Tysnes island, June 2016, Norway.

{{fisheries and fishing

Fishing history of Shetland
Types of fishing vessels
Scottish design
Fishing in Scotland
Rowing boats