Key details
- Current boat name
- Arthur of Chester
- Boat class
- 6988
- Function
- Fishing and Hunting
- Type
Dimensions and specifications
- Length (m / ft)
- 5.33 / 17ft 6in
- Beam (m / ft)
- 1.9 / 6ft 3in
- Masts
- 1 Wood
- Rig type
- Spritsail Sloop
- Propulsion
- Oar/Sail
Design and build
- Designer
- Howard A
- Date of build
- 1979
- Place of build
- Chester
Current status
- Present use
- Museum/MMM
History
ARTHUR OF CHESTER is a River Dee salmon boat and was commissioned by the Merseyside Maritime Museum in 1979 from the late Arthur Howard of Chester, the last time-served builder of these traditional craft. Similar craft have been used in the Dee estuary for years to catch salmon and sea trout by means of seine nets, locally known as ‘draught’ nets. The nets are operated from the shore by one person holding one end of the net while the boat pays out the net in a big loop across the river, eventually bringing the other end back to the person on the shore. The ends are then hauled in together and the catch dragged into the shore. This type of boat could be rowed by the crew of two or three, or sailed with a small sprit rig. November 2007