Simple, sustainable, and lightweight, the coracle definition is a traditional circular fishing boat designed to carry one and made from natural materials.
In the children’s book The Wind in The Willows, one character says to another, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
Without a doubt, there’s a unique sort of peace to be found when paddling a boat or, more particularly for me, a coracle.
Coracle Definition
Coracles are small fishing vessels designed to carry just one person, and they’re usually made from natural and locally sourced materials. The shape of these tiny boats can vary slightly, depending on local customs and the type of water they’re used on, but one thing all coracles have in common is that they’re easy to transport and are light enough to be carried on a person’s back.
Here in the United Kingdom, we see the coracle as something quintessentially Welsh. (The Welsh name for these little vessels is cwrwgl.) Most Welsh people, like myself, feel the coracle is a unique part of our culture. The tradition of fishing from coracles in Britain goes back to at least the Bronze Age, possibly further.
However, coracles do exist in several other cultures, and little fishing vessels similar to our Welsh coracles can be found throughout the world, including the Middle East, Tibet, India, Vietnam, and North America. Some say that in the Bible, the “basket” Moses was placed in on the Nile was, in fact, a coracle, which makes sense, as a basket won’t float unless it’s coated with something waterproof. Coracles are actually constructed quite similarly to baskets, with the frame made from either split or thinly sawn wood or from thin whips of willow, woven lattice-like into either a bowl or an oval shape. Regardless of material, the frame of the coracle, or “skeleton,” must be as lightweight as possible, because the vessel might have to be carried for some distance on a person’s back. This portable nature is what differentiates a coracle from a boat.
Once the frame was built, a coracle would traditionally be covered with the skin of a large animal, such as a cow or a horse. As soon as tightly woven fabrics, such as calico, became readily available, people began to use those instead, because using them is easier than preparing an animal skin. Calico requires a tar- like substance to be painted on the fabric to waterproof it. Today, bitumen-type paint is commonly used, and it can be purchased in most hardware stores.
Coracles are mainly used for fishing, especially in rivers, lakes, and ponds, where it helps to get into the middle of the body of water and float quietly, waiting for the fish to bite. At one time, coracles were also used to lay out fish traps in rivers. Poachers would often use the lightweight vessels as well, because they could be carried quickly and quietly at night to the river, and a rapid escape could be made should the river bailiff or gamekeeper make an appearance.
Interestingly, each river traditionally has a slightly different style of the craft. A coracle designed for use on the River Towy, for example, will be a different shape than a coracle designed for the River Severn. These differences are partly due to coracle-makers copying a local tried-and-tested style, and partly due to the different qualities of each river. A coracle designed to be used on a shallow, slow-flowing river will be different than one designed for a faster-flowing, turbulent river. By and large, though, all coracles have a flat bottom, which allows them to float in very shallow water.
Slow and Steady Paddling
Coracles are paddled from the front, using a single paddle that’s held upright with both hands and moved in a figure-eight fashion. Paddling a coracle effectively takes a fair bit of practice, and even when the paddler is an old hand at the job, coracles are never fast. They’re designed to be paddled for short distances, and their rounded shape makes them less than aquadynamic. Having said that, there’s the occasional story of someone who paddled their coracle for great distances. For example, Welshman Denzil Davies (below) once paddled his coracle from the U.K. across the English Channel to France. This is certainly not the norm, however, and the sea is something to avoid when using a coracle.
Sometimes, a skilled coracle user will paddle with one hand–an especially important skill to have when fishing and laying out nets. Coracle fishing can be an individual pastime with the use of a rod, but laying nets is traditionally performed by two people working together, each in their own coracle. They lay the net across the river, and when it’s pulled up, the two coracles come together, allowing the net to close on the fish.
Today, fishing is only permitted in Wales on certain rivers at certain times of the year, and you have to have a licence to fish with a coracle. We still see the occasional coracle in use, particularly on rivers like the Teifi, which flows through the picturesque Welsh village of Cenarth. And there are always a few people, like myself, who own a coracle just because they’re a beautiful thing in their own right, and because there’s no nicer feeling than floating around in one of these simple, sustainably made crafts.
Raising a Coracle
Coracle makers don’t say they’re “building” or “making” a coracle. Rather, the term used is “raising” a coracle, because the work is done on the ground, with the structure rising as it’s built. The simplest method of raising a coracle is to use willow rods as the framework; however, a coracle made this way isn’t likely to last as long as one that’s constructed using thinly sawn pieces of wood.
When raising a willow coracle, you can simply insert a number of fresh, flexible willow lengths into the ground in the shape you want the coracle to be. There’s no set method, but when my son and I went on a weekend course for coracle-building, we used 28 lengths. The amount of willow lengths can vary depending on how big you want your coracle to be; the important thing is that you have an even number of lengths.
Once you’ve set your willow lengths in the ground, weave thinner lengths of willow around the willow uprights, using basket-making weaving methods. Again, these methods vary with individual makers. Toward the beginning of the weaving process, add a wooden plank that will serve as the seat. The easiest way to fit a seat is to drill four holes into the plank, two at each end, and then simply slide the seat down over the four willow uprights positioned nearest the center of the coracle. The first weave will form what will ultimately be the top of the coracle, as the coracle is made upside-down. This is actually harder to describe than it is to do, and hopefully the pictures will make it clear.
You won’t need to weave the entire coracle frame, because this would use a lot of willow and increase the weight of the vessel. Instead, leave gaps in the weave. You’ll cover the whole thing with calico at the end, and the idea is to use just enough willow to make the coracle rigid.
Once you’ve woven the sides of the coracle, bend the uprights over and tie each one with string to the upright directly opposite to form the base of the coracle.
Finally, cover the coracle with a large piece of calico that fits over the entire outside of the vessel, with a few inches to fold down the inside. Stitch the calico in place, and then apply several coats of bitumen to waterproof it. At this point, all that remains is to wait for the paint to dry and to make yourself a paddle.
Traditional Workhorses
The simple willow coracle requires very little in the way of tools and skill to make, but other types require more knowledge and training to construct. These coracles usually have a longer life than ones made from willow. In these more elaborate types, the frame is made from very thin strips of wood, or “laths,” woven into a lattice. Those making a more traditional type of coracle might cover them with animal hide rather than calico, which also requires skill and knowledge.
One coracle expert, Quentin Page, raises coracles in this traditional style. As well as producing beautiful, sustainable crafts, Quentin also works as a river keeper for a trout river syndicate, which means he uses his coracle on an almost daily basis. Quentin runs river tours on the Stour River in England, and he also teaches fly fishing. Quentin has been raising coracles since 1976, and he’s been doing it full-time for more than 20 years. “I started using coracles as a youngster in the 1950s for fishing in rivers, and then later, when people saw me with my coracle, they would ask me to make one, and gradually it became a full-time occupation,” Quentin explains.
While the coracle my son and I made is what could be described as a “quick and easy” type, the coracles Quentin makes are works of art, using skills that have taken decades to hone. “When raising a coracle, I fell my own trees,” Quentin says. “I mill and season the timber, and I also de-flesh the hide and cure it myself. All of this takes a lot of time and work, but it means that the coracle will last indefinitely and is durable, strong, and of the very best quality.”
Quentin uses ash and hazel wood in his coracles, and he also uses copper nails and cowhide for the cover, though he does occasionally use canvas covers. The resulting coracle is long-lasting and designed to be used. Quentin says he considers it a real pity to put all the work into a coracle that’s not going to be used for its designed purpose. “Coracles are workhorses,” he says. “And I have seen big coracles that are capable of carrying a cow out to an island, because when properly designed, they can take a huge payload.”
In a world where so much of what we buy is made using materials that have a large carbon footprint, the fruits of Quentin’s work seem refreshingly simple, sustainable, and durable in comparison. Apart from a few nails, all the materials he uses are locally sourced and will biodegrade harmlessly at the end of their life. For Quentin, the satisfaction comes from being able to use all the varied skills that raising a traditional coracle requires — skills that have taken years to acquire, and craftsmanship that’s the very antithesis to what’s usually seen in our fast, throwaway society.
We could learn a lot from people like Quentin, who not only make beautiful working products from the materials around them, but who also understand that there’s little in life more pleasurable than simply messing about in boats.
Josephine Roberts is a freelance heritage writer based in the foothills of Snowdonia, North Wales. She lives on an old-fashioned smallholding (small farm) with chickens, ducks, sheep, and vintage tractors.
