The coble is a type of open

traditional fishing boat Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as fishing boats to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Org ...

which developed on the North East coast of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The southernmost examples occur around Hull (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 ...

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 t ...

— arose to cope with the particular conditions prevalent in this area. Flat bottoms allowed launching from and landing upon shallow, sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es; 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 The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

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 ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

and Montrose in

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

. 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 technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

on Scottish rivers. Local boat-builders constructed the

clinker-built Clinker-built, also known as lapstrake-built, is a method of boat building in which the edges of longitudinal (lengthwise-running) hull (watercraft), hull planks overlap each other. The technique originated in Northern Europe, with the first know ...

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 engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s, removing the need for the distinctively shaped

lug sail The lug sail, or lugsail, is a fore-and-aft, four-cornered sail that is suspended from a spar, called a yard. When raised, the sail area overlaps the mast. For "standing lug" rigs, the sail may remain on the same side of the mast on both the port ...

. In a further concession to comfort, a

tarpaulin A tarpaulin ( , ) or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with polyurethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. Tarpaulins often have reinf ...

shelter often covers the bow. The

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

coastal village of

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located on the North Sea coast. The town is a fishing port and formerly a part of a trade route for shipping grain. Newbiggin Colliery operated from 1908 unti ...

has a pub called "The Coble" named in tribute to these boats. A park, Coble Dene, in nearby

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

is likewise named after the vessel.

References

External links

The Coble and Keelboat Society

World of Boats at Eyemouth ~ Seahouses Coble
br />Example of a Northumberland, Seahouses coble named "Boy's Own" - built for Robert Rutter in 1933.
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
br />Example of Northumbrian coble "Sunshine" from ca 1880
Yacht Design Database
br />NMMC also has an online database list of yacht designs mentioned in yachting magazines which includes several cobles
Portsoy Organisation for Restoration and Training
project to investigate and document the Scottish coble's construction an
video
about the project
Scottish National Dictionary
definitions
Salmon Net Fishing Association of Scotland
regarding the "net and coble" method {{fisheries and fishing Types of fishing vessels Boat types

See also

References

External links