Loch Fleet boat graveyard, consisting of a group of 17 wooden fishing vessels. Of the remains, 6 boats have been identified as Zulu sailing drifters, 9 further wooden fishing boats are probably Zulus but can't be definitively identified as such, and a spread of remains likely represents at least one further vessel. Visible remains on the shore include keels/keelsons, stem posts, frames, floors, planking, stern posts, rudders, mast steps and and a capstan, some vessels are associated with ballast mounds.
Historical research indicates that these are the remains of the fishing fleet from the village of Embo, which used the south shore of Loch Fleet as a winter haven. The larger boats were probably engaged in the herring fishing, and were abandoned in the early years of the 20th century as the sailing drifters became obsolete and reached the end of their economically viable working lives, while the smaller vessels may have been involved in smaller-scale white fishing, and continued in use until the 1930/40s.
This record covers the entire boat graveyard which extends over an area of c.200m by 80m on the shore, centred on these coordinates. See individual site records for specific locations of individual boats.
Location
279760.00
894968.00
27700
57.9277916
-4.0319176
Submitted photographs
Image
Date
Caption
User
21/06/2018
June 2018: general view across bay and boat graveyard
EllieSCHARP
21/06/2018
June 2018: central area of boat graveyard
EllieSCHARP
21/06/2018
June 2018: View across bay and vessels at east end of bay
EllieSCHARP
Submitted updates
Update id
Date
User
3338
21/06/2018
EllieSCHARP
Description
June 2018: As described. Wooden vessels continue to deteriorate and disintegrate
2995
25/05/2017
training1
Proximity to coast edge
Intertidal
Description
Loch Fleet boat graveyard, consisting of a group of 17 wooden fishing vessels. Of the remains, 6 boats have been identified as Zulu sailing drifters, 9 further wooden fishing boats are probably Zulus but can't be definitively identified as such, and a spread of remains likely represents at least one further vessel. Visible remains on the shore include keels/keelsons, stem posts, frames, floors, planking, stern posts, rudders, mast steps and and a capstan, some vessels are associated with ballast mounds.
Historical research indicates that these are the remains of the fishing fleet from the village of Embo, which used the south shore of Loch Fleet as a winter haven. The larger boats were probably engaged in the herring fishing, and were abandoned in the early years of the 20th century as the sailing drifters became obsolete and reached the end of their economically viable working lives, while the smaller vessels may have been involved in smaller-scale white fishing, and continued in use until the 1930/40s.
This record covers the entire boat graveyard which extends over an area of c.200m by 80m on the shore, centred on these coordinates. See individual site records for specific locations of individual boats.
Assign priority 2 on basis of rarity of Zulu fishing boats and vulnerability of wooden boats in intertidal zone to deterioration and decay. Surveyed and recorded as part of ShoreDIG project.
