Shetland boat construction
The Shetland
Times advertised the talk for the evening of
Thursday 14th May 2015. PhD student Marc Chivers, who was introduced
at the event as 'an Essex man,' that is to say, not a native
Shetlander but an 'Englishman'!, (forgiven apparently because of his Shetland
interests),was giving a lecture at the Shetland Museum and Archives
Building in Lerwick on the Shetland boat. The formal title of the
lecture was: "The Shetland boat: history, folklore &
construction." This sounded intriguing. The previous Thursday
talk that we had attended was one by Ian Tait on Shetland baskets,
their origins, development and detail. It was an informative and
interesting presentation that was rooted in simple facts of history,
society, materials, localities, structure, stories, and the changes over time,
including the demise of the craft as cheaper imports became
available from India. The subject was comprehensively covered in an informed,
informal manner. Ian Tait, the Curator of the Shetland Museum, knew
his research subject intimately and spoke directly to the projected images.
There was no reason to believe that the Shetland boat seminar might
not take the same approach. Indeed, the scope of the talk was suggested in the
all-encompassing title that referenced a similar breadth in the
coverage of the subject matter. This appeared to be a good talk to
attend. To listen to a mature student with a background in boat
building, albeit English, who has spent two years researching his
subject in depth with PhD commitment and rigour, would certainly be a
worthwhile presentation, one that should not be missed.
Shetland baskets
We were so enthusiastic about this talk that The Shetland Times said was to be streamed live on the Internet, that we E-mailed a friend in Australia who was building an Iain Oughtred yoal in his garage. This plywood boat is based on the Shetland design in its form, proportion and general structure, giving the lighter vessel a similar performance to the traditional Shetland models. The latest report was that the skeletal construction work has finally started to look like a boat. So keen was our friend to watch the presentation, that he was up early a week before the due date of this talk, at 4:00 in the morning Australian time!
When the day of the occasion
arrived, we planned our trip to Lerwick: detouring to the pottery at
Vidlin; travelling further to the antiques shop at the end of the
Vidlin road, Outrabister House; and driving west across to the
Weisdale Shetland silver workshop on the way south, both to visit
venues on our list and to enjoy the drive, the landscape - the hills,
water, sky, and now the flowers, the daffodils, primroses
(mayflooers), buttercups and irises. It was the month of May. The
journey continued on to Scallaway for lunch. After this sojourn, we
had time, so explored Burra, to be surprised at its residential
density and the closed, refurbished East House, (sadly pompous like
royalty: 'open by appointment only'), until it was time to go to
Lerwick. Has this local historical society now become a private club
after renovating the old cottage complex with public money? After
visiting the Cope store to peruse secondhand goods we approached the
roundabout and drove along the road into town. This 'Alladin's cave'
is always an interesting place to pause, a true voyage of discovery.
Scallaway
East House, Burra
Lerwick
On arriving in mid-afternoon
Lerwick, we checked the Museum noticeboard to confirm the times of
the talk and the restaurant's opening hours, then went on to attend
to the sundry tasks on our list. We had shopping to do, and wanted
tickets to see Bruce Molsky on Friday night at the Baltasound Hall.
There was sufficient time for these tasks to be completed before we
could dine, and then move into the theatre at the museum for the
seminar. The restaurant was conveniently above the venue for the
talk. It is one of the few eating places in Lerwick with water views.
Even though one might be sitting beside the great expanse of glass
overlooking the broad harbour, it is always surprising how a large
ferry can leave without one noticing, even when one is waiting for
the event.
Museum & Archives Shop/Foyer
Museum & Archives Building, Lerwick
After dining, we moved into the theatre
space, unfolded the squeaky seat, sat and waited, watching the
theatre space slowly fill after already observing that there was very
little leg room: this might be an uncomfortable time. An adjacent
seat was kept spare to allow for some leg variations. Right on time
at 7:00pm, Brian Smith, Archivist of the Shetland Museum and Archives
who has studied Shetland history for over forty-five years,
introduced 'the Essex man' Mark Chivers.
Shetland boat
Mr. Chivers clicked the lectern to project the first image onto the screen, then picked up
his tablet and started to read. Nothing was said about the live
streaming, and there was no evidence of it occurring. The first image
was a set of four illustrations of boats, each with its own, small
explanatory text. Oddly, the words being read aloud seemed to have
little to do with the images on display that were never fully
explored or explained. Why were they presented? It was an occurrence
that was to be frequently repeated. One started to read the projected
texts only too find that the thread of the read presentation started
to wander; so the attention given to the screen was interrupted,
diverted, to allow one to more carefully listen. It was a bizarre
experience that left one in a muddle, frequently leaving one ignoring
the interesting images on the screen in favour of concentrating on
the rigid rigour of the read text.
Shetland boat
It was the studious PhD-style of
writing being presented, almost turgid; nothing was impromptu. There
were many formal references being quoted and acknowledged in detail.
It seemed that the text was being read complete with footnotes. Even
consultations with his supervisor were mentioned, as well as other
discussions with the head of school, as if this 'proper' academic
form of scholastic communication might be of general interest to all.
The supervisor was Brian Smith who was sitting nearby. This appeared
odd. Slowly one gained the impression that this evening was a part of
the PhD requirements: a formal presentation of the research completed
to date in a public forum - box ticked. Was Brian Smith there to
supervise, to assess, along with Ian Tait? Occasionally the projected
images were addressed, but only obliquely. They appeared to be
secondary, of little importance. The written text on the tablet was
the core and continuous presentation; the illustrations were ad hoc asides. The paper was read carefully, precisely, word by word with no
deviation, by the cautious, almost tentative author who was obviously
not used to these public occasions.
Shetland boat
Sometimes the images
illustrated the 'primary sources,' documents like old shipping schedules, business correspondence and other commercial records. Here
Mark Chivers read the relevant parts of these illustrations in his
text. This format made the night appear like a classic PowerPoint
presentation where images of the spoken presentations are put up as
if for fools to comprehend, idiot-style. The talk became an
interesting accumulation of proven facts and stats, but was somewhat
boring as a presentation for the public. It lacked a vibrancy, that
quiet echo between an image, an idea and a commentary that could be
melded by the gathering as the experience of understanding,
holding a certain memorable necessity in the wholeness of feeling
with the rich resonance between the presenter, his subject and his
audience, a vibrancy that only enhances a story.
Shetland boat
Norwegian boat
The evening laboured on. One
finally quietly agreed to accept this stolid, solid academic style of
presentation with its referencing of quotes and sources, being
willing to wait for the more interesting parts that might give
information about the boats: their folklore and structure as the
title suggested; the analysis of difference; the terms and
techniques. Earlier Mark Chivers had introduced himself with an
apology: he was not good at Shetland dialect, its pronunciation. This
suggested that he might be planning to talk about the specifics of
terminology for parts of the boats and the techniques in local
construction. One kept waiting, sitting patiently through the
arduously trying details of the research expressed in the heavily structured text being read, but the intriguing detail never came.
Shetland boat
Finally after what seemed to
be the statutory - the required? - one hour had passed, Mark Chivers
stood and blandly said "That is all; thanks for your interest."
It was an anticlimax. There was not one Shetland dialect word in the
evening to challenge the speaker or the listener. On reflection, the rigour of
research, its strategies, revelations, rationales, proofs and logic
might have been of academic interest, but this was not an academic
forum - well, it was never promoted as one. These were ordinary
members of the public with an interest in boats who, no doubt, had
been encouraged by the inclusive, poetic title of the talk. What Mark
Chivers had for his presentation was one chapter of his PhD that
could have been summarized into a shorter text presented for a
maximum of fifteen minutes, leaving three quarters of a hour to
explore the true richness of these boats, their folklore, their
making and their structure. This really was the popular story for the
evening. It was a genuine disappointment that these matters were
ignored. The seminar would have gained much if this pattern had been
followed, even if the research has not yet been fully resolved. It
could easily have been promoted as a work in progress, and called for
information from others. It is a model for developing ideas that Ivan
Illich used – see his Medical Nemises published
by Marion Boyers as one of the Ideas in Progress books.
A simple sketch of a boat or a detail would have been interesting,
entertaining; it might even have been exhilarating. We saw very
little like this.
Shetland boat
Norwegian boat
What Mark Chivers had to say
was that from as early as 1600's, whole boats were being shipped from
Norway to Shetland, and to Orkney and Scotland. This trade continued
right up to the late 1800's when it suddenly stopped. No one knows
why; maybe the herring steamers eventually took over? In the latter
part of this period, fewer boats were being sent whole. Boats were
made in Norway, perhaps numbered, pulled apart and sent to Shetland
to be 'rebuilt.' This was a term Mark Chivers found in a Gardie
archive letter that he said was the most critical primary source of
his work, in all of his research to date.
Shetland boat
The evening concluded with
the usual questions. What was revealed was just how little was really
known about the process of building and transport apart from the
words. Everyone expressed puzzlement at why a boat would be built and
dismantled, only to be transported to and reconstructed in Shetland.
This strategy appeared strange. There were many questions that needed
to be explored beyond the language of the primary sources, the
general references and other quotes. As well as how and why, one
started to ask about more details that were critically practical,
like: How were the parts numbered? Was this a technique similar to
that used by the medieval carpenters, or was it a matter of chalk
marks? Is there any evidence here? How were the parts collected
together - into sets for various specific boats as related parts that
were assembled and carried together, or as a more loose arrangement
of sundry pieces? Did the parts come with a sheet of instructions?
Fair Isle yoals alongside their noosts c. 1940
A recent experience in his
era, 2014, is of a set of roof trusses for a house that was delivered
as a single package with all that was needed to complete the roof
assembly: trusses, jack rafters, nails, plates, and instructions -
everything that was required to build the specified roof. Was this
how the boats were packaged? The jester might suggest that the
Shetland boat developed from the ad hoc reassembly of the random
parts of many boats into one construction of local invention, Heath
Robinson-like. Was it the classic IKEA problem? The IKEA joke is that
when one has finished with the flat pack assembly, there are always
parts left over. These are usually explained as 'extras' supplied
just 'in case.' Mark Chivers disliked the colloquial term 'flat
pack' because, he suggested, it belittled the skill needed to rebuild
these boats; but one must agree that the term 'flat pack' does seem
to describe not only the IKEA of today but, very likely, the kits or
pieces of boats that were sent to Shetland from Norway. In the end,
one wondered why the name was 'Shetland' boat. They were clearly
Norwegian. The question remains: just what is the difference that
makes these rebuilds specific to Shetland? Nothing was said about
this; indeed, everything pointed to the opposite proposition - that
the Shetland boat was simply the Norwegian boat pieces assembled in
Shetland, as the Gardie archive apparently noted.
Shetland boat
Norwegian boat
There were many questions
left unanswered. The more one thought about the whole process that
had been described, the more questions arose: boats with four, six,
eight oars; orders for very many oars; orders for other accessories -
did these parts not get made in Shetland? Why? What was happening?
How could a Shetland-specific boat come from so many Norwegian
imports over such a long period? There was no suggestion in this talk
to propose an answer, just academic words. One was watching Marc
Chivers read as a performance, while trying to look at the detail
images and their related texts as an aside, in parallel. He performed
as the amateur presenter that he obviously was: so it became a
struggle to avoid disinterest. When the images were returned to,
thinking they might add some variation and information, one then
missed his reading, lost track of the intellectual logic; so one
returned to the struggle of listening. Was the talk of some interest?
Yes. Was it entertaining? No. A good talk needs to do both well. This combination can enliven, stimulate, as well as inform; it can be
really enjoyable and still be 'academic.' This one was not, falling well short of its
Shetland Times promotion:
see article below.
Norwegian boat
The title was misleading:
"The Shetland boat: history, folklore & construction."
The lecture said nothing about folklore or construction; it just
spoke about the past, the history of trade between Norway and
Shetland, and Orkney and Scotland, but there was no specific detailed research
on this trade to the south. The lecture failed to identify how the
boats were 'Shetland' boats and not Norwegian boats reconstructed in
Shetland, perhaps IKEA-style. But Marc Chivers is wrong: skills are
required to assemble an IKEA item. Has he ever attempted the feat
that can so easily become defeat?
IKEA Flat Pack
Norwegian boat
It seems that one has to
know more about language. The report of Norwegian boats being built
and then pulled apart and 'rebuilt,' a statement that has become the
core of the Chivers' research, needs to be placed into a context of
fact, of practical realities, rather than being left as a cerebral
interpretation. This is, after all, just one old text. Are there
more? Words, expressions, understandings, and meanings can all
change. Are our visions of a completed boat being dismantled for
transport and then reassembled in Shetland correct? What was the reality? This is why issues of numbering, packaging, handling,
transport, kit instructions, fixings and all of the details and
procedures required to be itemized to manage the reconstruction
elsewhere is very important. Is there any evidence of these issues
anywhere beyond isolated reports and surmises?
One must remember that oars
and sundry accessories also came from Norway in separate orders. Was
the 'boat' just the shell? One can recall a television programme
called Coast in which a traditional boat was shown being
constructed. The process of construction was 'freehand.' The boat was
made using simple templates to angle the boards rising from the keel
without any larger pattern or profile. The 'shell' was made and
shaped first, with all of the other internal fittings being assembled
and fitted separately. What other options are there? What other
evidence might there be for the 'Shetland' boat?
One intuitively thinks of
IKEA-styled kits. Here the primary making of the parts uses tested
patterns that have obviously been based on constructed/assembled
units, prototypes. These parts are then reproduced as an array of
separate pieces based on this deconstructed set of parts, with each
item subsequently being numbered to fit the code for relationship in
assembly that is defined in the attached document, the instructions.
The whole set of parts comes with the needed nails, screws, and
special tools too. Is this the model for the production of the
Norwegian boats transported to Britain? Maybe the boat building tools
where selective and special, and were transported too? Or was it that
the Shetland boat builders used their own variety of tools and
processes? Is this where the 'Shetland' variations came in? The
process of making parts copied from templates to create kits to be
transported would have allowed the local builders flexibility to
incorporate their own variations. Mr. Chivers never mentioned this,
but it seems possible, and likely, that as the Shetland craftsmen
grew in confidence, and gained knowledge from local experience, they
made adaptations to the Norwegian plans. Did any of these Shetland
variations, if they occurred, ever modify the original Norwegian
designs to create a distinguishable 'Shetland boat'?
Medieval markings
In our little Shetland
cottage, when we were pulling the place apart to prepare it for
refurbishment, we found timber wall cladding, imported pine, with the
name of the builder in red chalk on the back: 'Chas Thompson' in bold
flowing script. Other original floor boards, the cottage was built in
1852, were similarly marked in blue, but with the owner's name: 'John
Jamieson' in similar bold script. One could envisage bundles of
timber being delivered to a building site marked like this: it still
happens today. How were the boat bundles marked? How were they
packaged? Today the trusses come in plastic wrap just like the
bundles of flooring timber. What did the Norwegians do? Did they use
tarred hessian or something similar? We tend to look at the past with
nostalgic eyes that are willing to believe that anything might be
possible; that things just happened as if by the shear naive beauty of the
circumstance, by the simple innocence of romantic goodness: natural
magic.
One learns that nothing like
this ever happens. Everything occurs and ends as it does still, with
careful facts and necessity being attended to in every aspect in
every detail. There must be some rational arrangements in this
trading of boats beyond that recorded in paper records of
transactions. Organised craft builders would not carefully make
something like a boat and pull it apart, and throw the pieces into a
ship to let someone, another skilled boat builder, sort out the mess
elsewhere. Knowing more about this factual management will tell us
more about the whole process. We should not assume that those in
older times were more igonrant than us, or that we are brighter, more
skilled, more rational than they. The design of the process itself
needs exploration beyond historic records of transactions, no matter
how intriguing these commercial situations might be. The design of
the boat is known. One can assume that the love of the traditional
boat builder for his craft, for his work - his pride in good work -
would not produce a shoddy or unpredictable outcome. The talk of nail
holes needing larger nails, and serious practical matters like this,
all need more consideration. The audience knew this, even if Marc
Chivers had, surprisingly, apparently not yet thought too much about
it.
All matters need
consideration. One needs to ask: How might a boat builder today
undertake such a process? Might he make templates from a dismantled
model and use setout marks for re-assembly? How might he mark the
parts? The sixareen Vaila Mae at the Shetland Museum has floor panels numbered for
installation in the same manner as the medieval carpenter - see below. What could
have been the system used by the Norwegian exporters? What transport
systems were used from boat builder work space to ship; from ship to
wharf; from wharf to boat builder work space storage and work area?
How was this all organised? Carrying the pieces for a sixareen, e.g.,
is no simple task: look at the Vaila Mae. Apparently Shetland boats
were traditionally constructed outside. Exactly how did things occur
once boats began to be transported in pieces?
Sixern 'Industry' racing off Walls
Shetland Museum and Archives
Maybe the remainder of Marc
Chivers' PhD research will expand on these issues? How many years has
he to go? I guess it will depend on Mr. Smith. One cannot assume that
folk of other past times were different, backward, lesss skilled,
less crafty, more naive, or more stupid than us. They were just as
proud, clever, contented and satisfied as were, are, or are not. The
idea that we have 'progressed' into a brave new and better world is
blindly optimistic. Seen as a living whole, those in the past were just as
excited with life and participation in it as we are or are not today.
Perhaps we are worse off? When looking at the past, we are really
looking at ouselves. This is why an understanding of history is
critical; why getting it right is crucial, because if we get it
wrong, we are truly fooling no one but ourselves. Remembrance is
important: see -
http://voussoirs.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/shetland-remembrance-place-and-past.html
and
http://voussoirs.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/remembering-landscape-spirit-of-place.html
Facts must never be ignored or idealised in favour of a preferred
phamtom, a figment of the imagination.
Norwegian boat
P.S.
It turned out that the event was not broadcast over the Internet. I told my friend that he didn't miss out on much. He would have been interested in the matters that were promoted but ignored: the folklore and the construction. No doubt many in the audience would have been more interested in these matters too. The turnout for the evening suggested this: the lecture theatre was full, but not full of academics. One can only wish Mr. Chivers well in his research. It is a wonderful subject. It needs to be thoroughly analysed and reveiwed, even if the answers might prove to be other than expected. Too often today we allow our charismatic vision of the past to frame and form our hopeful perceptions. One must not forget that the Shetland boat has a future too.
Shetland boat
THE ARTICLE
The Shetland
Times Friday 1 May 2015
Museum
lecture will be all about the history of isles boats.
A PhD student who is
researching the history, folklore and construction of Shetland boats
will give a lecture that will be broadcast on the internet.
Marc Chivers' talk, "The
Shetland boat: history, folklore & construction" will be the
first to be live streamed by the Shetland Museum.Viewers worldwide
will be able to join him, thanks to technical support from the
Promote Shetland broadcast team. The lecture is also free to attend
in person.:-) :-)
The subject matter is likely
to be of particular interest to historians, boat builders and
mariners. The ninety century traditional, double-ended, and clinker
constructed open four and six-oared boats are unique to
Shetland.These boats share similarities with our four and six-oared
boats in Norway, both in terms of boat naming convention, boat
construction, and boat shape - but there are some differences as
well.
Marc's seminar will examine
the evidence for the boat trade with Norway and attempt to determine
when Shetland began to build Shetland specific boats. He said:
"Shetland's boats it must be remembered existed because there
was a need for them, they were the cars and lorries of their day, and
sea and voes were the roads upon which people transported themselves,
their goods, livestock, and by which they also earned a living
through fishing.
"Like all
everyday objects the value of these boats was not recognised until
they, and the people who used and built them began to disappear. The
boats as objects are of huge cultural importance, as are the people
who built and used them."
Marc has spent a
considerable amount of time in the Shetland archives examining the
Bruce of Symbister collection of papers, and has found a number of
interesting things during his research. This includes a discovery
that boat building in Shetland began earlier than previously thought.
The lecture is free to
attend in the auditorium. Doors will open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start
on Thursday 14th May. Those who want to tune in online can view the
lecture at http://60n.tv
Shetland boat
THE NORWEGIAN BOAT
Rowing a Norwegian færing off North Ness, Shetland, c. 1904
Shetland Museum and Archives
SHETLAND MUSEUM BOATS
VAILA MAE
Sixareen
SHETLAND MUSEUM BOATS
VAILA MAE
Sixareen
Notice the numbering of the flooring pieces - 'VI' and 'VII'
FAIR ISLE
Yoal
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