Page 96 - KBHA BULLETIN 4

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Disappearance of the cargo-carrying beach boats

Their hull shape was almost impossible to convert to power. When powered boats were introduced

the beach boats became redundant and they simply rotted away on the beaches.

The wooden trek-fishing boats still seen at a few places around the Peninsula are very different in

hull shape. They are very beamy to carry the seine net and are all less than 16 feet in length. Most

still, however, carry the distinctive hull painting pattern seen in photographs of the Cape beach
boats.

Footnotes on the boat design

General: The hull and rig seen in photographs is undoubtedly British in origin. The use of a spritsail

was common in British beach boats but was also used by the Dutch as seen in 18th century and 17th
century paintings.

Boat shape: A boat of this shape is referred to as a ‘transom boat’. It has a transom stern, flat keel
and slightly raked stem. The hull was of ‘carvel’ construction with planks being butted against each

other rather than overlapping [clinker]. Joints between the planks were caulked with red and white

lead and pitch. The dimensions provided by Wardlaw are those of an ideal pulling boat with some
ability to sail.

Propulsion: The beach boats were ‘pulled’. Oars were single bank with one man per thwart.
Photographs invariably show five oars in use. (Figs. 4.8 & 4.9.) This arrangement could be balanced

by the skipper who knew each man’s strength and weight. Thwart spacing of 0,75m is ideal as it

permits one oar to be pulled and the other to be backed.

Oars were probably made of spruce imported ready-made from Canada where they were mass
produced. They could be stowed across the thwarts in the boat.

Propulsion: The spritsail is the ultimate in simplicity in setting up and handling. It provides a larger
area of sail on a shorter mast (low centre of gravity) than any other rig. It can be ‘brailed’ (folded

back against the mast), unstepped and shipped in minutes. The spars, like the oars, could be stowed

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