Wooden Fishing Boats of Scotland

With the gradual phasing out of wooden fishing boats in Scotland it is timely to record some of these handsome vessels. The general opinion is that in the era 1960-80 builders produced some of the most shapely and graceful craft, a testament to the skill of the boat builders and designers. Initially the designs were a collaboration of builders and skippers, but later the implementation of statutory rules demanded a more structural approach by qualified naval architects which inevitably resulted in a certain degree of standarisation. In contrast to James A Pottinger's earlier books which included all types of Scottish fishing boats, large and small, this new illustrated volume concentrates solely on the graceful wooden boats, regarded by many to be the best looking boats of all, with some images of initial keel and backbone construction through to the melancholy sight of beautiful craft being cut up. In early days such boats were scrapped only due to old age, but sadly political factors now often dictate the destruction of classic wooden craft.

Résumé
With the gradual phasing out of wooden fishing boats of Scotland it is timely to record some of these handsome vessels. In the years from 196080 boat builders produced some of their most shapely and graceful craft, a testament to the skill of both the builders and designers. Initially the designs were a collaboration of builders and skippers, but later the implementation of statutory rules demanded a more structured approach by qualified naval architects, which inevitably resulted in a certain degree of standardisation. James A. Pottinger's new illustrated volume concentrates solely on the graceful wooden boats, large and small, regarded by many to be the best looking boats of all. Many boats are photographed at sea, while other views range from repairs being carried out to the more melancholy sight of beautiful craft being cut up. Boats were once scrapped only due to old age, but sadly political factors now often dictate the destruction of the classic wooden craft included here.