Theyoal, often referred to as theness yoal, is aclinker-built craft used traditionally inShetland, Scotland. It is designed primarily for rowing, but also handles well under its traditional square sail when running before the wind or on a broad reach.
The wordyoal is a variant ofyawl.[1]
Until about 1860, yoals were imported in kit form from the area aroundBergen inNorway. The traditional small wooden boats were known as either Strandebarmer orOselvar fromOs inHordaland, Norway.[2] The wooden boats were taken apart and then 'flat packed' for shipping to the Shetland Islands.[3] Instead of sending complicated assembly instructions, they sent Norwegian boatbuilders to re-build them. However, increasing customs duty meant that Shetland builders took over the building but stayed mostly with the original Norwegian design.[4]
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All the parts of a yoal have a name, perhaps to make assembly easier when they came in kit form, or to make it easier to order spare parts. In many cases, the names of the parts bear a closer relationship toNorwegian thanBritish usage. The descriptive text on this page names most of these parts.
There are six boards to the construction of a yoal, they are from the keel up, thegabbard straik; theHassen Straik; thelower sool; theupper sool; thesand straik, and theupper wup.
The boards were fixed to three main framesbaands which curved across the keel between gunwales, underneath thetafts (seats), and also to thestammerin orcant frame, near both bow and stern, before fixing to the fore and aft stems. Theupper wups were joined by thehinny spot where they met thehorn, at the top of the stem, for added strength.
Thebaands were not fixed to the keel, this again adding to the flexibility of the yoal.
Thebaands divided the boat into four sections: thefore room, for fishing tackle etc.; themid room, for ballast; theowsin room, which was kept clear for bailing,owsin, any water which came aboard, using anowsekerri; and theshot room, which is where the catch was stored.
To save the gunwales from wear, at eachaer, (oar), position a block of hard wood, therouth, was fixed in position with two wooden pegs calledrouth pins. Sticking up from therouth was thekabe, a hardwood peg, against which the oar was rowed. The oar was held in position against thekabe by a loop of rope called thehumlieband.
One notable feature of yoal construction are thegunwales which stop short at both bow and stern leaving several inches of upper board with no gunwale. This is supposed to give the craft more flexibility in heavy seas.
The yoal was rowed by three men with a pair of oars each. The men were seated ontafts, which rested on thewearin (a wooden support which ran across the three mainbaands), and for purchase they could brace their feet against afitlinn, a piece of wood across between thebaands. The floorboards of the boat were calledtilfers.
When wind conditions were suitable, a yoal carried a square sail, hoisted on a wooden mast which was stepped through the midtaft and braced at its base to the midbaand.
The yoal was the main vessel used forhaaf (open water within sight of land, up to 10 miles from shore) fishing for cod, ling and tusk until the fish shoals moved further offshore at the end of the 17th century, probably due to climatic change.[5] Although yoals were not designed for thefar haaf, Shetland fishermen continued to use them for relatively deep sea fishing with attendant accidents and loss of life until the introduction in the mid 18th century of the larger, heavier and deepersixareen designed for fishing further offshore. Although there were some variations in size the yoal was generally 21 ft 5in overall, 15 ft keel, 21in inside depth amidships and 5 ft 5in beam.[6]
George Johnson of Skelberry,Dunrossness, was one of the most prolific builders of ness yoals. Among the yoals built by Johnson, in his later years, were several larger ones up to 23 ft 10in overall. One of these, which has now gone, was theOceans Gift, so named because all the wood for her construction came from driftwood. Unusual features of these larger yoals were that their gunwales did not stop short of the stem and stern like the normal yoals, and some of them had a full fourth 'baand'.[citation needed]
ThroughoutShetland many traditional yoals, built by Johnson, and others of his era, still exist. Very few are still in regular use, although in the Virkie Marina there are 2 which are used for pleasure fishing.
In recent years the advent of yoal rowing regattas[7] has seen an upsurge in the building of these traditional craft.[8]
Ian Best ofFair Isle,[9] and Tommy Isbister ofTrondra, are the most prolific yoal builders today.
This article incorporates text fromthe articleYoal onShetlopedia, which was licensed under theGNU Free Documentation Licence until September 14, 2007.
