Threads 77 Summertime and Coracles

A coracle is a small round boat made of wickerwork, covered with a watertight material, and propelled with a paddle.

Coracles were very useful If you lived in Britain in the country a couple of hundred years ago. There were few bridges and if you lived on the  side of a river probably the only way you could visit your friend on the other side would be by boat or paddling.

Coracles were also used for fishing and probably poaching as well.

Not having a center board or rudder, they were very difficult to control in winds or a strong current. They were also very easy to tip over, and difficult to get in and out of in deep water .

Usually there was only one person, sitting in the center of the wooden seat with a paddle facing forward. A useful paddling stroke was a figure 8 stroke. 

Coracles have a very long history. It is believed that originally a cow hide was used as the covering. And the shape has never changed since then.

Making a coracle

The material used for the basket frame is usually two-year-old willow saplings.

The construction of a coracle starts by making an upside down basket on stakes pushed into the ground to set exact measurements. Several rounds of four strands upsetting form the sides of the basket. 

To make the base of the boat, the eight stakes on either side of the ‘basket’, are bent across to meet each other and firmly knotted together. Then the stakes from both ends are bent across and firmly knotted.

The next step is to pull up the stakes and turn the basket over to reveal the boat. The ends of the stakes are cut off in preparation for covering the entire boat. A good cover material is calico cotton or canvas. The material is stitched around the rim. To make it waterproof, the whole boat can be painted twice with black roof paint.

The final job is to make a wooden seat and attach it across the center of the boat by lashing it to the rim.

All you need now is a  calm day and a stream or pond to take it out and give it a try.

P.S. Wear a life jacket!

Next year in 2024, MERA, the community arts group, is planning a 25th anniversary year. During the summer we are thinking about planning another coracle regatta on our local lake. We are also hoping to have a workshop. If you are interested, please let me know as we need to plan to find the Willow.