Coracle

Coracle: Ku-Dru or Kowa of Tibet—Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

A coracle is a primitive type of boat. It is a light boat, oval in shape, and formed of canvas stretched on a framework of split and interwoven rods, and well-coated with tar and pitch to render it water-tight. According to early writers the framework was covered with horse or bullock hide (corium).

These boats are so light and portable that they can easily be carried on the fisherman's shoulders when proceeding to and from his work. Coracle-fishing is performed by two men, each seated in his coracle and with one hand holding the net while with the other he plies his paddle. When a fish is caught, each hauls up his end of the net until the two coracles are brought to touch and the fish is then secured.

Coracles on the River Teifi, Wales 1972

The coracle forms a unique link between the modern life of Wales and its remote past. This primitive type of boat was in existence amongst the Britons at the time of the invasion of Julius Caesar, who has left a description of it, and even employed it in his Spanish campaign. They were historically common in the British Isles, but are now only rarely seen in areas of West Wales and Shropshire, notably on the River Severn. The Welsh Rivers Teifi and Tywi are the best places to find coracles in Wales, although the type of coracle differs depending on the river. On the Teifi they are most frequently seen between Cenarth, and Cilgerran and the village of Llechryd.

There is a Coracle Society based in Shropshire, whose president and founder is Sir Peter Badge. The society was present at the 2005 Shrewsbury River Festival, where they displayed various coracles on the River Severn. There is also an Annual Coracle Regatta held in Ironbridge in August.

A coracle on the River Severn near Ironbridge (August 2002)

The Irish currach or curragh is a similar, but larger, vessel still in use today. Curachs were also used in the west of Scotland:

"The curach or boat of leather and wicker may seem to moderns a very unsafe vehicle, to trust to tempestuous seas, yet our forefathers fearlessly committed themselves in these slight vehicles to the mercy of the most violent weather. They were once much in use in the Western Isles of Scotland, and are still found in Wales. The framework [in Gaelic] is called crannghail, a word now used in Uist to signify a frail boat." (Reference: Dwelly’s [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary: Curach)

The Currachs in the River Spey were particularly similar to coracles.

A public house in Sundorne, Shrewsbury called "The Coracle" has a pub sign featuring a man using a coracle on a river.

Other related craft include the Native American Bullboat, the Iraqi Gufa, the Indian Parisal, Vietnamese Thung-Chai, and the Ku-Dru and Kowas of Tibet.

External links

Historical note from the Coracle Society: [link]

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