The Coble, or more correctly the English Coble as distinct from the Scottish one, is the iconic boat of the North East coast. Traditionally built to work from beaches on a coast short of natural harbours, these boats could be seen from Berwick upon Tweed down to the Hull area. According to G.S.L. Clowes (in 'British Fishing and Coastal Craft', 1937, HMSO) they could be found as far south as Yarmouth (however, these were probably migrants). Many books refer to the Yorkshire Coble and this gives the impression that all of the craft originate from there, however, there is also a Northumberland version. There are those in the know that can tell whether a boat was built in Yorkshire or Northumberland just by looking it. On asking a Newbiggin by the Sea fisherman how to tell the difference he said that the Northumberland coble was a finer and more elegant craft. Just as there is a slight difference between the build of the boats there is a one between how 'coble' is pronounced, generally to the north of the river Tyne it tends to be pronounced co-bul and to the south as cobble.

It was this iconic craft that Grace Darling and her father used to rescue people from the Forfarshire on the Farne Islands off Seahouses.

Cobles where originally designed to be rowed with long sweeps (oars) and a dipping lug sail. However, these were replaced by engines over time and mechanisation also brought in powered pot/net haulers. Along with lobster/crab pots they also used nets and longlines for fishing. Nowadays the number of cobles is in decline. A number of our members own cobles and sail them using both engine and sail, although sail is the usual choice of propulsion when weather and tides are favourable.

One of the questions that the Society is often asked is about plans for building a coble, whether for sailing or as a model. Unfortunately for them there are no real original plans. This is basically because there is not a standard coble as each one is based on the needs of the user, that is salmon fishing, carrying lobster pots, as a pilot or foy boat. In addition, much of the building was down to the builder's eye, skill and experience. Cobles are clinker built and therefore the boat is built by constructing the hull first and then adding the internal frame afterwards. Most of the traditional boats where built using larch on oak, although there are a few examples of steel as well as GRP boats which are often build from moulds of wooden boats. The sailing coble was powered by a dipping lug sail as well as long thin bladed oars. As can be seen the coble does not look like any other boat. Looking at its profile the first thing you notice is the deep forefoot. Unlike other boats, where the lines of the forefoot follow those of the stem and the keel, the forefoot of the coble sweeps down (as pictured above).

The waist is wide in relation to its length and in comparison to it lines at the stem and looks broad in the beam. The lines of the boat widen from the bows and lower planks to give it its characteristic shape. This to, some degree, provides some lift when underway. Although this sounds ungainly it actually adds to the lines of the boat (see right). This picture also shows the depth of the forefoot. Towards the stern the boat has a shallower profile. When beaching the boat, or today using trailers, cobles come in stern first. Doing this the forefoot acts as a fixed rudder. *** This is one of the reasons that cobles are towed backwards.

The stern of the coble is often described as being a raking transom. Viewed from the rear its outline is horseshoe shaped giving the boat a relatively narrow stern. The rake on the stern is another reason why the coble is landed and towed backwards. As the swell or wave hits the stern it lifts the boat in the water, this stops grounding when landing. As can be seen on this picture of the stern, at the base of the transom you can just make out the dark area which is caused by the propeller tunnel. With the installation of engines the boat had to be modified to accommodate both the shaft and propeller. Even with this tunnel, on many boats there is a system where the propeller can be raised and lowered so that it does not catch on launching and landing.The picture below shows the stern of a partially stripped coble and it illustrates how the planks are joined at the rear to form the hull.

If you look closely you will see that there are two pieces of wood under the stern (resting on the plank). These run the length of the flat underside of the hull that starts behind the forefoot. These have two functions: 1) they act as skids/rests when being dragged or sitting on the beach; 2) they help stop sideways drift of the boat. This is best illustrated with the following picture which shows the full profile of a coble.

This shows the lines of the coble and it worth noting the relative depth of the stern to the forefoot. The line formed between the grey and light red paint shows the approximate water line of the coble. Although large amounts of detail have been omitted from this page, for the sake of brevity, one final piece can not be missed out. Many things are unique about cobles, but arguably the rudder is something special. In the piture below can be seen the long, slim rudder resting on the stern and a thwart (bench). The rudder is long so that it can reach deep enough to counter the effect of the deep forefoot. These rudders often have two tillers, short and long, so that the helmsman can have 'remote' control when working towards the centre of the coble. Additionally, the steel T-bar coming up through the thwart is used to lower or raise the propeller.