Coracle
Encyclopedia
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
of the sort traditionally used in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(particularly the River Boyne
River Boyne
The River Boyne is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newbury Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through County Meath to reach the Irish Sea between Mornington, County Meath and Baltray, County Louth. Salmon...
), and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(particularly the River Spey
River Spey
The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland...
); the word is also used of similar boats found in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. The word "coracle" comes from the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
cwrwgl, cognate with Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and Scottish Gaelic currach
Currach
A Currach is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "Curragh". The construction and design of the currach is unique to the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, with variations in...
, and is recorded in English as early as the sixteenth century. Other historical English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spellings include corougle, corracle, curricle
Curricle
A curricle was a smart, light two-wheeled chaise or "chariot", large enough for the driver and a passenger and— most unusual for a vehicle with a single axle—usually drawn by a carefully matched pair of horses...
and coricle.
Structure
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
shell, the structure is made of a framework of split and interwoven willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
rods, tied with willow bark. The outer layer was originally an animal skin such as horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
or bullock
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
hide (corium), with a thin layer of tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
to make it fully water proof – today replaced by tarred calico or canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
, or simply fibreglass. The Vietnamese/Asian version of the coracle is made somewhat differently: using interwoven bamboo and waterproofed by using resin and coconut oil. The structure has a keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
-less, flat bottom to evenly spread the weight of the boat and its load across the structure and to reduce the required depth of water — often to only a few inches, making it ideal for use on rivers.
Each coracle is unique in design, as it is tailored to the river conditions where it was built and intended to be used. In general there is one design per river, but this is not always the case. The Teifi coracle, for instance, is flat bottomed, as it is designed to negotiate shallow rapids, common on the river in the summer, while the Carmarthen coracle is rounder and deeper, because it is used in tidal waters on the Tywi, where there are no rapids. Teifi coracles are made from locally harvested wood — willow for the lats (body of the boat), hazel for the weave (Y bleth in Welsh — the bit round the top) — while Tywi coracles have been made from sawn ash for a long time. The working boats tend to be made from fibreglass these days. Teifi coracles use no nails, relying on the interweaving of the lats for structural coherence, whilst the Carmarthen ones use copper nails and no interweaving.
They are an effective fishing vessel because, when powered by a skilled man, they hardly disturb the water or the fish, and they can be easily manoeuvred with one arm, while the other arm tends to the net. Two coracles to a net.
Another important aspect to the Welsh Coracle is that it can be carried on his back by one man. 'Llwyth dyn ei gorwgl' — the load of a man is his coracle. (Welsh saying).
History
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in his invasion of Britain in the mid first century BC, and used in his campaigns in Spain. Remains interpreted as a possible coracle were found in a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
grave from near Dalgety Bay
Dalgety Bay
Dalgety Bay Today, Dalgety Bay functions largely as a dormitory suburb of Edinburgh and to the rest of Fife. While the architecture of the town reflects construction by volume housebuilders, the town is a regular winner of the Best Kept Small Town title...
, and two others have been described, from Corbridge
Corbridge
Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, situated west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages in the vicinity include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.-Roman fort and town:...
and from near Ferriby
Ferriby
Ferriby is the name of two places, on opposite sides of the Humber Estuary*North Ferriby, in the East Riding of Yorkshire*South Ferriby, in North LincolnshireThe two were historically linked by a ferry....
.
According to Ian Harries, coracle fisherman, coracles are so light and portable that they can easily be carried on the fisherman's shoulders when proceeding to and from his work. Coracle fishing is performed by two coraclers. Where fishing is performed by two people, there is one fisherman per coracle. The net is stretched across the river between the two coracles (the coracler will paddle one handed, dragging the net in the other) and drawn downstream. When a fish is caught, each hauls up an end of the net until the two coracles are brought to touch, and the fish is then secured, using a priest
Priest (tool)
A priest is a tool, often resembling a blunt weapon, used for quickly killing fish. Priests usually come in the form of a heavy metal head attached to a metal or wooden stick. The name "priest" comes from the notion of administering the "last rites" to the fish. Anglers often use priests to...
(or knocker – a small block of wood) to stun the fish.
Today
Coracles are now seen regularly only in tourist areas of West Wales, and irregularly in ShropshireShropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
on the River Severn – a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Sundorne
Sundorne
Sundorne is a suburb of the town of Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire. It is located 2 km north of the town centre. The B5062 road begins at Heathgates Roundabout and is called Sundorne Road in the Sundorne area, before crossing the Shrewsbury by-pass at Sundorne Roundabout and heading east...
, Shrewsbury called "The Coracle" has a pub sign featuring a man using a coracle on a river. The Welsh Rivers Teifi and Tywi
River Tywi
With a total length of the River Towy is the longest river flowing entirely within Wales, and is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing.The river rises within of the Teifi on the lower slopes of Crug Gynan in the Cambrian Mountains and, flowing through the Towy Forest, forms the border...
are the best places to find coracles in Wales, although the type of coracle differs depending on the river. On the Teifi they are most frequently seen between Cenarth
Cenarth
Cenarth is a village, parish and community in Carmarthenshire, adjoining the Cenarth Falls, bordering Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, West Wales.- Location :...
, and Cilgerran
Cilgerran
Cilgerran is a town in the Hundred of Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Teifi. It is the site of Cilgerran Castle, built in 1100, from which Owain of Powys is said to have abducted Nest in 1109. It is first mentioned by name in 1164...
and the village of Llechryd
Llechryd
Llechryd is a village lying on the A484 road approximately from Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales.-Etymology:The name Llechryd derives from the Welsh for "Slate Ford" , as slate was once extracted from nearby quarries. The canal was used to transport fresh water to a tin works which used to stand...
.
In 1974 a Welsh coracle piloted by Bernard Thomas of Llechryd crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to France in 13½ hours. The journey was undertaken to demonstrate how the Bull Boat
Bull Boat
A Bull Boat is a small boat, usually made by American Indians and frontiersmen, made by covering a skeletal wooden frame with a buffalo hide.When traders of Hudson's Bay Company first visited the Mandan Indians in 1790 they found that tribe possessed of tublike boats with framework of willow poles,...
s of the Mandan Indians of North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
could have been copied from coracles introduced by Prince Madog in the 12th century.
For many years until 1979, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
coracle maker Fred Davies achieved some notability amongst football fans; he would sit in his coracle during Shrewsbury Town FC home matches at Gay Meadow, and retrieve stray balls from the River Severn. Although Davies died in 1994, his legend is still associated with the club.
The Coracle Society
The Coracle Society is a UK based organisation, founded by president Sir Peter Badge in 1990. The five founding aims of the Society were:- To promote the knowledge of coracles, curraghs and allied craft, their making and use, and also their study and collection,
- To take all reasonable steps to support the continuance of fishing involving the use of coracles and to encourage the holding of coracle regattas, races and the like,
- To publish a newsletter as a means of communication between all those interested in coracles,
- To use its best endeavours to obtain supplies of materials for the construction of coracles, and
- To promote demonstrations, courses, exhibitions, discussions and lectures relating to coracles.
There are many Society members across the country who demonstrate at events and/or run coracle building courses. Terry Kenny, the current chairman of the Society, runs several courses each year at the Green Wood Centre
Green Wood Centre
Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, is a national centre for the revival of the coppice industry in the United Kingdom. It aims to support native broadleaved woodlands through the teaching of traditional woodland management skills and greenwood crafts.It is a venture of the Small Woods...
. This year, the Society will be represented at over thirty events and courses – a list of some of this year's events can be found on the official Coracle Society website.
The Society was present at the 2005 Shrewsbury River Festival, where they displayed various coracles on the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. There is also an Annual Coracle Regatta held in Ironbridge
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
on the August Bank Holiday Monday every year. It is organised by the Green Wood Centre
Green Wood Centre
Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, is a national centre for the revival of the coppice industry in the United Kingdom. It aims to support native broadleaved woodlands through the teaching of traditional woodland management skills and greenwood crafts.It is a venture of the Small Woods...
and is run on an informal basis whereby anyone with a coracle can take part in the event. Each year new entrants come with coracles made on the Bank Holiday weekend at the Green Wood Centre with local coracle maker Terry Kenny.
The third Coracle Challenge, which raises funds in support of Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer....
took place in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
on 19 May 2009, with Terry Kenny participating on behalf of the Society.
In 2010, the Society will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a number of events planned to recognise this important milestone.
Safety
The design of the craft, as explained above, makes the coracle an unstable craft. Because it sits "on" the water, rather than "in" it, they can easily be carried by currents and the wind. The Coracle Society has published guidelines for safely using coracles.Similar craft
The earliest known written evidence of a coracle-type boat (quffa), still in use today, is in the Bible, Exodus 2:3.
The Irish curach (also currach or curragh) is a similar, but larger, vessel still in use today. Curachs were also used in the west of Scotland:
- "The curach or boat of leather and wicker may seem to moderns a very unsafe vehicle, to trust to tempestuous seas, yet our forefathers fearlessly committed themselves in these slight vehicles to the mercy of the most violent weather. They were once much in use in the Western Isles of Scotland, and are still found in Wales. The framework [in Gaelic] is called crannghail, a word now used in UistUistUist or The Uists are the central group of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.North Uist and South Uist are linked by causeways running via Benbecula and Grimsay, and the entire group is sometimes known as the Uists....
to signify a frail boat." DwellyEdward DwellyEdward Dwelly was a Scottish Gaelic lexicographer. He is generally believed to have created the authoritative dictionary in that language, and his work, although arguably never bettered in Scotland has been an immense influence on Irish lexicography....
's [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary
The currachs in the River Spey were particularly similar to Welsh coracles. Other related craft include:
- IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
– parisal - IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
– gufa or quffa - Native American societiesNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
– bull boatBull BoatA Bull Boat is a small boat, usually made by American Indians and frontiersmen, made by covering a skeletal wooden frame with a buffalo hide.When traders of Hudson's Bay Company first visited the Mandan Indians in 1790 they found that tribe possessed of tublike boats with framework of willow poles,... - TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
– ku-dru and kowas - VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
– thung-chai
External links
- The official website of The Coracle Society
- The National Coracle Centre at Cenarth Falls
- The Coracle Maker – website of coracle maker Terry Kenny
- World of Coracles website
- BBC Legacies – Coracles article
- World of Boats (EISCA) Collection ~ Parisal from Tamil Nadu, Southern India
- Coracle ferries in Hampi
- Historical note from the Coracle Society of Wales
- Brief history and design principles
- Coracle making courses at Green Wood Centre
- The Welsh Coracle
- Coracle-making courses at Assington Mill, Suffolk
- Annual Coracle Regatta