Steadfast Boats and Fisher-People

The introduction of the transom stern into the seiner-trawler fleet in the mid-twentieth century was one of the most radical departures in Scottish wooden fishing craft design since the development of the cruiser stern after the First World War. During the 1970s there also grew a colossal demand for steel boats, particularly among the herring trawling and purse seining fleets of north-east Scotland. By 1973 more than 15 British firms were building steel boats for Scottish owners. Based on her original fieldwork and using her own photographs, Gloria Wilson traces these developments and their links to economic and social trends in the fishing industry, both ashore and afloat. This fascinating book charts the tragedies and bizarre twists of fate that characterised this turbulent era, including the boats that were lost with all hands, and the boatyards forced to close, leaving half-built vessels on their slipways.