The small village of Gorran Haven lies on the south coast of Cornwall, U.K., and has an east-facing drying harbor partly protected by a seawall. Gorran Haven crabbers, the traditional working craft of the harbor, were small boats, usually between 16′ and 18′ long. They were worked by two men, or a man and a boy, and even singlehanded at times, for both crabbing and conventional fishing. They were typically straight-stemmed, with a long keel with much less draft forward to suit the slope of the Gorran Haven beach, hollow waterlines, maximum beam just aft of amidships, and a steeply raked wineglass transom. According to a mid-Victorian letter quoted by Cornish historian James Whetter, “The crab boats of St Gorran Haven are superior to any of the kind in the country, perhaps in the world.”Debbie Purser, co-founder of Classic Sailing in St. Mawes, Cornwall, for several years has owned the 17′ Gorran Haven crabber OUTDOOR GIRL, a 2008 replica of ELLEN, built in 1882 by Dick Pill in Gorran Haven. ELLEN was reputed to be the fastest Gorran Haven crabber ever built and is now owned by the Cornish Maritime Trust. Debbie uses OUTDOOR GIRL commercially, taking guests on sailing and wild-camping trips—complementing the charters she offers on her 44′ LOD pilot cutter TALLULAH. When she decided that a second crabber, to be named WILD BOY, would be a welcome addition to Classic Sailing’s fleet, she was inspired to build a replica of CUCKOO, built by John Pill in 1881. The seams in the traditionally planked carvel hull were caulked with linseed putty and red lead. The jib is hanked to the forestay with traditional bronze spring-clip hanks, and the forestay is shackled to the stemhead while the two shrouds are attached with simple lashings.
Photographs by the author
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Nice looking boats. Was any cotton used in the plank seams?
Yes on Wild Boy the planks had a caulking bevel and cotton was used plus putty and red lead paste.
Not only beautiful, but also the lack of centerboard is a nice feature.