Fishing & Maritime History of Sheringham.

[Blue Jacket]

Hi.
    As well as researching my family history (the NURSE families from Weybourne & Kelling) I am researching the fishing & maritime history of Sheringham and to a lesser extent North Norfolk. Please may I ask if there are any members who have any information such as vessel's names, date built etc they are willing to pass on to me?

Any information will be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Regards.
Blue Jacket.

[t mo]

hi blue jacket
i,ve googled sheringham fishing boats &quite a few sites came up maybe you,ve already looked if not try it yourself looks interesting info , will go back myself later on some rare characters in the photo,s
yours trevor

[Blue Jacket]

Hi Trevor .
               Thanks for your reply to my request. I have been through the internet a few times looking for Sheringham fishing boats and as you say there were some interesting characters. The information I am really looking for is the large Luggers & Dandies owned at Sheringham in the 1800's
These were large vesels and used to go fishing from ports such as Grimsby, Scarborough & Great Yarmouth etc.

Regards.
Ken Blue Jacket.

[t mo]

hi blue jacket
so the boats your looking for are for deep fishing waters ? ,and what was or is a dandie as a type of craft i,ve heard of luggers didnt smugglers use them? as well  have you thought to look on am---n for books on what your after as it,s surprising what there sellers have in the way of secondhand books also google second hand book shops ,  trevor

[t mo]

blue jacket had a look online have you seen the Wooden boat forum looks like it could be of use to you
trevor

[Blue Jacket]

Hi Trevor.
               Thanks, I will certainly have a look at the wooden boat forum. Smugglers did use luggers. Almost any vessel that was rigged with a dipping lugsail was known as a lugger and required a fairly large crew to work them. The only difference between a smuggling lugger and a fishing lugger was the hull. The smuggling luggers were built light and with clean lean hulls for speed and the fishing lugger were built heavier with hulls a lot broader in the beam and as a result were a lot slower and more steadier in the water.
Dandy refer to the rig of a fishing vessel, the hull were the same as a lugger. In the latter part of the 1800S many lugger were converted to the dandy rig as this required less crew to work them. A dandy rig as it was referred to had a gaff rigged mainsail and a lugsail mizzen sail. The gaff rigged mainsail was loose footed as it is said the fishermen preferred to be clouted round the head with a piece of wet canvas rather than a lump of wood (referring to a boom) while they were working on the deck.

Many thanks for your help.
Regards
Blue Jacket.

[t mo]

hi blue jacket
if the gaff rig was loose footed ,no boom , it must have put a hell of a strain on the mainsail then when in a strong blow although i can see the point of it , i don,t know much about ships and the rigging and there terms but it,s good to learn , i,ve been looking at  a site i use for s/hand books and have found thre that sound interesting they might be of use to you at ABEBOOKS.co.uk  i put in fishing boats as a category . only overall it seems that from hull going north to scotland the fishing ind is well covered for info so is devon & cornwall but not so much for east anglia , do hope you have some luck with this , if i start to bore you with my ramblings tell me it seems i can e mail for england as well !!

trevor

[Blue Jacket]

Hi Trevor.
              I have had a look at ABEBOOKS in the past, there were several books for Norfolk, but unfortunately none about the subject I am interested in. Possibly the next thing to do is go through the early Lloyds Shipping Registers that are online and see if that can throw up a few vessels etc.

Don't worry about rambling, I am also a great rambler once I get started.  People talking is the best way to learn and gather information, so it is not a problem. More people should try it.

Regards
Blue Jacket.

[t mo]

hi blue jacket
i tried googling east anglian bookshops last night but could,nt  find anything that would help it appears if you want info on boats from hull  right up to scotland and round cornwall and the south coast they come up by the trawl ! , just had a thought i wonder if the frances frith site might have photo,s on the subject i,ll go and have a look 
take care , trevor