Yoal facts for kids
The yoal, sometimes called the ness yoal, is a special type of boat from Shetland, Scotland. It's built using a method called clinker-built, where wooden planks overlap like roof tiles. Yoals are mostly used for rowing, but they can also sail well with a square sail when the wind is blowing from behind or from the side. The word yoal is another way to say yawl.
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Building a Yoal
From Norway to Shetland
Long ago, until about 1860, yoals were not built in Shetland. Instead, they came all the way from Norway! These traditional wooden boats, like the Strandebarmer or Oselvar from Os, were taken apart and packed flat for shipping. Imagine a boat in a box! To help put them back together, Norwegian boatbuilders would travel to Shetland.
However, taxes on imported goods started to increase. Because of this, builders in Shetland began making their own yoals. They mostly stuck to the original Norwegian designs, which were very good.
Parts of a Yoal
Every part of a yoal has a special name. This might have made it easier to assemble them when they arrived as kits, or to order new parts. Many of these names are actually more like Norwegian words than British ones.
A yoal is built with six main wooden boards, starting from the bottom up:
- gabbard straik
- Hassen Straik
- lower sool
- upper sool
- sand straik
- upper wup
These boards are attached to three main curved frames called baands. These baands stretch across the boat, under the seats. There are also frames near the front (bow) and back (stern) of the boat. The top boards, called upper wups, meet at the very top of the front and back, where they join a strong piece called the horn. This makes the boat extra sturdy.
Interestingly, the baands are not fixed to the very bottom of the boat (the keel). This design helps the yoal be more flexible, especially in rough seas.
Inside the Yoal: Rooms and Tools
The baands divide the yoal into four main sections, like different rooms:
- Fore room: This was at the front, used for storing fishing gear.
- Mid room: This middle section held heavy stones or sand, called ballast, to keep the boat stable.
- Owsin room: This area was kept clear. If any water splashed into the boat, fishermen would use a special scoop called an owsekerri to bail it out here.
- Shot room: This was where the day's catch of fish was stored.
How Yoals are Rowed
Yoals were usually rowed by three people, each using a pair of oars. The rowers sat on wooden seats called tafts. These seats rested on a support beam called the wearin. To push against with their feet, rowers used a wooden bar called a fitlinn. The floorboards of the boat were known as tilfers.
To protect the sides of the boat from wear and tear, a hard wooden block called a routh was fixed where each oar rested. A wooden peg, the kabe, stuck up from the routh, and the oar was rowed against it. A rope loop called a humlieband held the oar in place against the kabe.
One special thing about yoals is that their top edges, called gunwales, stop short at both the front and back. This design helps the boat bend and move with the waves, making it more flexible in big seas.
Sailing with a Square Sail
When the wind was just right, yoals could also sail. They used a square sail hoisted on a wooden mast. This mast went through the middle taft (seat) and was held firmly at its base by the middle baand.
History of the Yoal
Fishing in the Shetland Seas
For a long time, the yoal was the main boat used for haaf fishing. This meant fishing in open waters, usually within sight of land, up to about 10 miles from shore. Fishermen would catch fish like cod, ling, and tusk.
However, towards the end of the 17th century, the big groups of fish started moving further away from the coast. This was probably due to changes in the weather and ocean. Even though yoals were not built for fishing far out at sea, Shetland fishermen continued to use them. This made fishing more challenging and sometimes dangerous.
By the mid-18th century, a new, larger, and stronger boat called the sixareen was introduced. This boat was designed specifically for fishing further offshore, making it safer and more effective for the deeper waters where the fish had moved.
Yoals came in slightly different sizes, but a typical one was about 21 feet 5 inches long overall, with a keel of 15 feet. It was about 21 inches deep inside and 5 feet 5 inches wide.
Famous Yoal Builders
George Johnson, from Skelberry in Dunrossness, was one of the most well-known builders of ness yoals. In his later years, he even built some larger yoals, up to 23 feet 10 inches long. One of his famous creations, which no longer exists, was called the Oceans Gift. It got this name because all the wood used to build it came from driftwood found on the shore! These larger yoals had some differences from the usual ones, like their gunwales extending all the way to the front and back, and some even had a fourth baand.
Yoals Today
Many traditional yoals, built by George Johnson and other builders from his time, are still around throughout Shetland. While very few are used for everyday work now, some are still enjoyed. For example, at the Virkie Marina, there are two yoals used for pleasure fishing.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in yoal rowing races, called regattas. This has led to a new wave of people building these traditional boats again. Today, Ian Best from Fair Isle and Tommy Isbister from Trondra are two of the most active yoal builders.
See also
- Faering
- Oselvar
- Yole (a similar boat found in the Orkney Islands)
