Pioneering The Future: Harker’s Yard Gig

HARKER’S YARD GIG

PIONEERING THE FUTURE

As with many coastal communities that saw many families making a living from or by the sea, whether through fishing or boat building, traditions and skills are slowly being lost in today’s modern world where tourism now dominates the local economy, or tempted by opportunities in the city. Employment opportunities can be limited, especially when skills are lost. Luckily, there are some places that are trying to maintain and bringing skills back to the community. One such place is the Pioneer Sailing Trust based in Brightlingsea, Essex where the next generation get hands-on with real build projects from restorations to new-builds; nurturing the 21st century craftspeople in developing life experiences and learning a vast range of skills thanks to their apprenticeship scheme, where a coastal rowing boat is helping to shape the local scene - the Harker’s Yard Gig.

Boat Building Apprenticeship Opportunities

Harker’s Yard was set up by the Pioneer Sailing Trust, partly-funded from the EU Transcoast Project which aimed to regenerate port areas and help them reintegrate with their local communities.

The building of a Harker’s Yard gig provides a brilliant platform in learning experiences and the development of a variety of different skills as they handcraft the build process, in addition to learning experiences on other boats like the clinker style.

The Harker’s Yard gigs effectively bring employment to young apprentices who are not only building gigs, but are building a gig rowing scene in the community and beyond - a scene they helped craft.

Once the hull has been shaped, it is then lifted out of the mould and flipped upright and placed into a cradle.

Now the fitting out of the boat begins. It begins from the bottom of the boat upwards with the strengthening of the floor, the seats (thwarts), knees – that support the seats, the gunnels – the ‘handrails’ around the topsides.

Origins Of The Harker’s Yard Gig Design

Based on a traditional 19th Century design – the East Coast Gig was originally used to help pilot boats into port. As with many old working traditions, these pastimes have now become leisure and recreational activities. When Pioneer Sailing Trust looked into reintroducing the gig back to the waters off Essex, The Pioneer Sailing Trusts shipwright at the time adapted the design for it to be built to specification, enabling apprentices to handcraft the great rowing racing gigs that we see today beginning with ‘Velocity’ in December 2011. It’s similar to the six-oared 32ft (9.75m) Cornish Pilot Gig, but smaller in size at 24ft (7.31m) for four rowers and a coxswain. The Harker’s Yard Gig now enables people of all ages and abilities with an opportunity to get on the water.

Building The Harkers Yard Gig

The cold moulded construction process of the gig starts with the boat upside down with the backbone (keel). This is then placed onto the upturned mould (plug) where the hull of the boat is skinned (shaped and built) with three layers stripped mahogany wood placed diagonally connected to the backbone. The first layer is stapled; the second is glued - held with battens whilst the glue dries, a third glued layer is also then applied.

Left: The mould in which the boat is skinned to. Right: The diagonally stripped layers applied and attached to the keel – the backbone of the boat. Once the gigs have been fitted out, it then gets moved into the paint container; the process starts with undercoat to effectively protect the timber, it’s usually an epoxy paint which seals it, and then the top coats are applied and can done in various colours.

Though the traditional Harker’s Yard Gig is built from wood, GRP is becoming popular in modern boat building. Working with a local company, the apprentices can now construct GRP versions. This is to enable the apprentices to understand the processes behind GRP builds. For the clubs, it is cheaper and quicker to produce; it becomes an affordable alternative for new and existing clubs, preserving the wooden boats for racing, and making the rowing accessible for more people to enjoy getting on the water.

The Naming Of A Harker’s Yard Gig

The idea is to take the name of an old Smack - a 19th Century 70ft Essex Smack fishing sailing vessel; about 250 were active off the Essex coast. It is encouraged that the names of the Harker’s Yard Gig reuses the name of a Smack, re-living their name in the new gig for example Velocity, Vanduara. Pioneers apprentices have built the boats but now there needed to be clubs and community to row them! Unfortunately, there was very little in the way of coastal rowing clubs in the area… this is where Pioneer Sailing Trust pioneered a plan to change that.

In the local area, there are many sailing clubs dotted along the East of England wide rivers and estuaries including the River Crouch, River Blackwater, River Colne, River Stour and the coast line itself. In the winter, most of the sailing club member’s boats are out of the water for winter maintenance/storage, if only there was something these clubs could offer their members to get on the water, keeping them engaged in those winter months?

Making the Harker’s Yard Gig Oars

Another process to the gig making is to make the oars. It adds another job and another aspect of building the gigs for the apprentices. They’re made of an Obeche wood core, and they’re then sandwiched with Douglas Fir planks, and then shaped.

There are hollow points inside to save weight, the intention is to make competitive oars rather than buying them from a conventional oar maker to try and keep the whole process in-house for the apprentices.

Creating A Scene!

Pioneer Sailing Club needed a way to bring everyone together with their boats and a demand for the boats to keep the apprentices busy! Pioneer Sailing Trust provided the guidance, helped those interested in establishing a rowing division at a sailing club and those wishing to develop a separate rowing club, advice on funding, and giving the newly formed clubs the basis in order to kick-start their journey.

The Harker’s Yard Gig has helped to revolutionise the scene by engaging not only the sailing club members to get back at the helm or grabbing an oar, but brought in the local community too. Its popularity soon exploded with 15 clubs dotted along the coastline with 20 wooden boats and 5 GRP fibreglass to date, all this in the matter of a few years!

Feeding The Need To Race

With a demand now present, there was the need to fuel that competitive spirit within the clubs. These eager rowers needed a league and to keep these sailing club members entertain in the long winter months – the Winter Series was born. Pioneer Sailing Trust met the need and formed the foundations of the Harkers Yard Gig Association to govern the racing rules, league, guidance and advice.

Race Days

Race days can attract over 300 rowers, plus spectators – a lucrative trade for the clubs and sailing clubs in the winter months! Starting in October, the winter series brings the enjoyment of rowing, socialising with new found friends, with a club atmosphere, a community coming together. Due to the demand, there is now a summer series league. In a Sailing Club there’s normally a bar and a place to socialise and it is normally where everyone goes especially when cold outside, therefore the racing needed to be bought to them. With Trackers on the boats, TV Screens displaying the tracker and live drone footage, marques in outdoor areas, the racing can be viewed even when out of sight Felicity at the Pioneer Sailing Trust says that they are always researching ways to involve people who are not actually being there, in turn engaging and making the sport more accessible, and expanding the growing demand further afield helps in creating employment for young workers, developing new skills and experiences, and opening new opportunities for all on and off the water.

Pioneer has been instrumental in leading the way in developing the coastal rowing scene on the East of England coast with the fixed-seat Harker’s Yard Gig. The gigs themselves are popular, sold to local rowing clubs, and can really see why fixed seat four-oared coxed rowing is spreading out across the country. They’re brilliant, they’re affordable, beautifully made, handcrafted, developing skills and employment opportunities, they’re a great size and perfect for small clubs. The future is looking good for Harker’s Yard Rowing Gigs and its skilled apprentices.

For more information on the following, please click on the below:

All pictures and Pioneer Sailing Trust logo © Pioneer Sailing Trust

www.pioneerck18.org

Harker’s Yard Gig

Harker’s Yard Gig Association