A distinguished history of boatbuilding

THE NEWS Scotland hosted the International Canals Conference last weekend brought the Highland canals into sharp focus. Built to service commercial shipping, the canals cater almost entirely to leisure traffic. It is worth remembering that among the community plans for this and that along their banks, the primary function of canals is the navigation of boats.

Nothing shouts boat quite as loudly as traditional wooden craft, and there is a strong local tradition of building and sailing all manner of vessels from fishing boats to elegant yachts. Some of the great names in boatbuilding have local connections, and today a heroic group of dedicated craftspeople keep traditional skills alive.

McGruer and Company is world famous. Records show that McGruer built men- o-war as early as the late 13th century, but the company is best remembered for seven decades of production of a bewildering array of vessels at yards on the Rosneath peninsula near Helensburgh. The build register includes classics like the Gareloch One Design Class, eight-metre cruiser-racers and more recent cold-moulded racing yachts built to the International Offshore Rule. Production finally ended in 2000, when the company moved to survey and consultancy services.

Nearby, James A Silver served an apprenticeship under local boatbuilder Peter McLean in the 1880s. By 1910, the famous Silvers motor yachts were in production and remained so for 60 years. D M Russell acquired the business in the mid-1970s and focused on production of Jura- class motor-sailors until 1982. The business was sold the following year and renamed Silvers Marine, and now provides storage and maintenance facilities.

Archibald Dickie moved to Tarbert, Loch Fyne, in 1885 and started building fishing boats for the herring fleet. By the 1920s, A M Dickie and Sons employed 10 men on the design and production of commercial boats known for their sea-keeping abilities as well as a few specially-ordered leisure craft, including Quest III, Morna, Moonshine and Mouse. The great Scottish yacht designers J A MacCallum, William Fife and GL Watson insisted Dickie build some of their boats, many of which are still sailing. Business dwindled after the war and the yard closed in the early 1980s.

Ardrishaig, being at the eastern terminus of the Crinan Canal, has a long and continuing tradition of boatbuilding, repair and restoration. There is now no trace of Munro’s boatyard between locks three and four, but descendants of the original owner still live and work in Mid Argyll today. Ardrishaig Boatyard has been run by Jackie Kay for nearly four decades and he shows no sign of slowing down or giving up. In the 1980s, Malcolm Elliot had a yard and slip on the other side of Pier Square and specialised in the repair of fishing boats.

At the other end of the canal, Crinan Boatyard has a team dedicated to wooden boat repairs, at one time headed by the famous Ronnie Gilbert, and there are specialist services available at the majority of marinas and yards up and down in the region: Ardfern Yacht Centre, Craobh Haven, Melfort Yacht Haven, Ardoran Marine, Melfort Yacht Haven, Dunstaffnage Marina, Portavadie, Ardmaleish and Barcaldine. Sailmaker W B Leitch and Son was established in Tarbert generations ago, and today the sail loft overlooks the marina.

A and R Way represent the new wave of traditional boatbuilding. From their base in Lochgilphead, they have undertaken repairs and restorations of all sizes of wooden boats, and shared their skills with the Tiree Maritime Trust and a number of coastal rowing groups who have built their own skiffs. Mobile wooden boat repair services were also provided by Howie Nixon in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and there are amateur enthusiasts who spend countless hours and endless amounts of money on keeping their own traditional boats afloat.

Up and down the country, there are wooden boats in sheds, under tarpaulins and even exposed to the elements, each of them undergoing active restoration, a pipe dream or an abandoned project. Many of these examples will be important examples of our rich maritime history and deserve their chance of immortality. I know of a local sailing boat that was built for Colonel Duncan Neil, Sir Thomas Lipton’s adviser on the Shamrock series of America’s Cup challengers. She is undergoing her second restoration in her 81-year history and is bound for the Scottish Maritime Museum – but that’s another story.