Sixareen

The sixareen or sixern (Norwegian: Seksring meaning "six-oared") is a traditional fishing boat used around the Shetland Islands. It is a clinker-built boat, evolved as a larger version of the yoal, when the need arose for crews to fish further from shore. The first of the sixareens were, like the yoal, imported from Norway in kit form until the mid 19th century, when increasing import duty made it more cost effective to import the raw materials and build the boats in Shetland.

The sixareen was so named because she was crewed by six men, each man rowing a single oar, unlike the yoal where three men rowed a pair of oars each. The size of a sixareen was about 25–30 feet overall, with a beam of 7–8 feet. The boat carried a square sail which was used when the wind was favourable, but often in light winds or in a head wind the crew could row for many hours to complete their journey. Fishing trips usually were over 3 days, with the boats making 2 trips each week when the weather permitted.

As with the yoal, all the parts of a sixareen have names, which are usually found only in the Shetland dialect, although many of the names are derived from the old Norse language. The names of the parts listed here include the English name and where possible, the Norwegian name.

There are six separate rooms, or sections in a sixareen: The fore head where sails and tackle were stored, the fore room, the mid room where stones for ballast were placed, the owsin room which was kept clear for owsin (bailing) out water using an owsekerri, the shot room where the catch was stowed, and the kannie where the skipper sat at the helm.

The compartments in the boat were separated by tafts on which the crew sat, fiskabrods under the tafts which stopped the catch and fishing gear from shifting between rooms, and by baands, the frames to which the boards were fixed.

The boards, named from the keel upwards, were the boddam runner, the hassen, the 1st & 2nd swills, the laands (4 boards), and the reebin, the upper board, inside which the wale or gunwale was fixed. At the bow and stern the boards were fixed to the stammerin before attaching to the fore and aft stems. The reebin was additionally strengthened by the breast hook or hinny spot where it met the horn at the top of the stem.

...
Wikipedia