The Ness yoal; processing and marketing fish; the rigging of...
Unknown Person
Bairnson, Robert, 1906-1983 (6060)Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1970.301
Original Tape ID
Summary
The Ness yoal; processing and marketing fish; the rigging of the lugsail.
Robert Bairnson describes the Ness yoal, which was 15 feet long in the keel and narrower than a sixareen [six-oared boat]. He also refers to a decked-in sixareen used for fishing herring, which sold for a shilling per wey (hundredweight). He describes the local processing and storing of fish when his family were fishing in the 1890s. They sold the fish to Aberdeen. This differed from the usual practice whereby most people worked for the lairds' agents.
The rigging of the square sail or lugsail on the sixareen is discussed, using cutlery to demonstrate. The sailman was responsible for handling the sail when the vessel was before the wind. There is also discussion of the rakki, a semicircular piece of horn or wood, employed in lowering and raising the lugsail.
Item Location
County - Shetland
Language
English, Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good