The
cobles of the Cullercoats fishing fleet were the
original motivation for the founding of the lifeboat
station here. By 1880, there were 80 based in
the harbour, with the open area to the south of
the bay being known as the Boat Field.
Here
the fishermen hauled their boats from the water
during bad weather and set out their nets and
gear for repair.
The
boats themselves were mostly built at Hartlepool
where the firm of Cambridge Brothers had a fine
reputation. The cobles were painted a variety
of colours, the usual combinations being blue
and white, blue and green or pink, and black and
white.
These
were medium-sized cobles, about 27 to 32 feet
long and 6 to 8 feet in the beam; open boats of
graceful outline, they were clinker-built, the
material used being larch. Flat-bottomed with
2 bilge keels running fore and aft about 2 feet
apart, often made of oak then shod with iron like
2 deep sledge runners, they were designed for
running in and beaching.
At
this size, they offered some seasonal versatility
so that the fishermen could long-line from October
to February, then work the lobster pots until
May, then drift for herring with nets.
On
the service boards in the Lifeboathouse at Cullercoats,
many of the entries in the 19th and early part
of the 20th centuries refer to "Gave aid
to fishing cobles".
An
interesting feature of the bows of the coble is
the deep and sharp forefoot which has developed.
This is invaluable in beaching the boats stern-first,
as the following diagram demonstrates.
The
owners of the cobles were often pilots for the
River Tyne, who would make their way south to
the Yorkshire coast to find a ship in need of
their services. The coble would then be towed
stern-first and the deep bow acted as a fixed
rudder and prevented the coble yawing behind the
towing vessel. Towing a coble bow-first,
when the rudder is damaged or missing, is an invitation
for trouble, since the fore-foot then acts as
a rudder and will flip the coble over quite quickly.
The
coble below belongs to Cullercoats' Leading Helmsman,
Robert Oliver.
