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THE CORACLE

EACH RIVER HAS ITS OWN CORACLE.

The shape and detailed construction of coracles varied from river to river. The round, bowl-shaped Servern coracle looked quite different from the squarish blunt-nosed Teifi craft - which was different again from the round-nosed square-sterned Tywi version. Clues to the differences lay between the wrying nature of the rivers - fast running or slow, deep or shallow, smooth or with rough water and rapids. Oars differed too, from broad paddle of the Severn to the thin blade of the Teifi.

FRAMING A CORACLE

Winter-felled pollard willow is used to make the basic frame of Teifi coracle. The poles are split lengthways with a billhook, then, gripped firmly in a 'horse' vice, they are trimmed into laths with a draw-knife. Cut to length and laid flat on the ground, they are then interwoven 1. Laths laid out and interwoven - no fastenings used. The joints are left unfastened to retain flexibility and to avoid nails or bindings chafing the tarred canvas 'skin' later. Heavy stones are used to hold the laths in place while the ends are bent up. Length of string are ties between the bent-up ends. (2) String between bent-up laths gives gunwale lines. To serve as a guide when the builder shapes the gunwales that will hold the craft together.

FITTING THE SEAT AND GUNWALE

The plain plank seat is support by a light framework at gunwale height. the gunwale itself is made of willow rods woven to gether rather like a basket edging. The bent-up ends of the laths are simply tucked into it. A carrying strap of rope or leather is fixed to the seat - then all that remains is to skin the craft.

It would be hard to conceive a less promising fishing boat than the coracle. Bowl shaped without a keel, it looks impossible to propel in a straight line. And surely such a flimsy structure would capsize on the dark swirling waters of a fast-flowing river?

Yet coracles have been around for thousands of years. Julius Caesar described their use in Iron Age Britain, and during the long centuries between they have been the mainstay of salmon and sea-trout fishers on many rivers in Wales, and at one time in the Fens. In 1860 there were 300 coracles in use on the Teifi alone, with between 50 and 60 full-time fishermen on the tiadal reaches of Cardigan. At about the same time, 400 fishermen earned their living on the Tywi.

So there must be more to the coracle than at first meets the eye. Its current decline - and even disappearance on some rivers - is due to ovvicial restrictions on fishing in non-tidal waters rather than to competition from more sophisticated craft. Nowadays, a license is needed for coracle fishing, and new ones are issued sparingly.

The beauty of the coracle lies in its simplicity. The basket-like framework is made from locally grown ash, willow, hazel and even apple. Canvas, coated with pitch, serves for the covering, though until the 17th century coracles were clad with tanned animal hides. In those days the dimersions of a single ox or horse hide governed the size of the finished boat.

Betweem tje 17th and 19th centuries, waterproofed flannel replaced hides as the covering material. The flannel was immersed in a foiler containing a mixture of tar and resin. When saturated, it was lifted out, layed on the upturned coracle frame and tacked into place.

Lightness has always been one of the coracle's virtues. Although the size and weight of these craft vary in different parts of Wales, even the heaviest scales no more than about 40lb. A strap fastend loosely to the seat, or thwart, enables its owner to carry it on his shoulders from cottage to estuary, then back home again after the day's fishing.

In use, a coracle proves a surprisingly handy craft and well suited to river fishing - once the user has gained experience. It will float in only a few inches of water, and in more manoeuverable than boats of conventional shape. Prpulsion is by a single paddle, which is worked in a figure-of-eight action over the prow - the blunt end of the coracle.

In spite of their lightweight construction, coracles are strong enough to give safe, reliable service for perhaps two years of regular use. Costing so little to make, they are considered disposable after this time.

Design has always varied in different parts of Wales, in part to suit the speed, depth and turbulence of the local streams. Individual fishermen have their own preferences, too, some favouring a light craft and others a heavy one. A Teifi coracle, for example , can weigh as little as 25lb. or as much as 36lb., with a length varying from 50 in. to 60 in. On the Dee, two-seater coracles weighing as much as 40lb. were one time commonplace around Llangollen.

Methods of construction, too, vary from river to river. Some coracles, such as those on the Teifi and the Tywi, have gunwales (sides) of plaited willow or hazel. In others, the gunwales are forme of either single or double laths or a curving branch cut from an apple tree. The framework is a sort of basket woven from laths of willow or ash.

For the most part, coracle were made by the fishermen themselves, following the traditional local pattern. But a few villages, such as Cenarth, had specialized coracle makers who were able to make superior boats.

The change from hide to flannel as a covering was triggered by the growth of the woollen industry in West Wales during the 18th and 19th centuries. The canvas used on present-day craft was originally looked down on as a cheap substitute for flannel. A writer in 1805 said that 'flannel is a more durable substance. It may be easier prepared and keeps out the water much longer than canvas.'

Whatever the truth of that, throughout the present century century it has been the practice to cover all coracles with unbleached twill calico. After tacking the material to the frame, 6lb of pitch mixed with half a pint of linseed oil is boiled, allowed to cool and applied to the outside.

It is a far cry from the hayday of coracle fishing in the 17th and 18th centuries to its present diminished state. Until 100 years ago, the fishermen of Teifi, for instance, formed what was virtually a closed community, resenting outside interference on what they regarded as their private territory. The main centre was the village of Cenarth.

Because of diminishing fish stocks, no new licenses for the non-tidal section of the river have been issued since 1935. As a consequence, the use of coracles has declined year by year, and there are none now to be seen at Cenarth. Below Llechryd Bridge, which is regarded as tidal, there are no such restrictions and ten coracles are still licensed to fish in the pituresque Cilgerran Gorge.

On the Twyi, 12 nets are still licensed to fish for salmon in the tidal reaches of the river below the town of Carmarthen. On the Taf, a short, swift river that flows into Carmarthen Bay near Dylan Thomas's village of Laugharne, only two licenses are issued.

These are the only active survivors of a unique craft and a great tradition, although you can see the boats, and learn more about them, in the Welsh Folk Mueseum of English Rural Life at Reading. Yet, even now, if you take a holiday in West Wales and have a good share of luck, there is jus a chance that you may see a pair of these unique boats in action, with a net stung between them to catch the noble salmon on its upstream run.



**Please Note:
This article was taken from a book owned by typist 'Traditional Crafts in Britain')

THE CORACLE