Classnotes
BY VANESSA BIRDN
amed after the Zulu war of
1879, these leviathans of the
North Sea were some of the
most successful fi shing craft ever
built. In 1904, 25 years after the fi rst
Zulu was launched, 480 were
registered at Buckie on the Moray
Firth alone, and their dominance of
the North Sea herring industry is well
documented. At up to 80ft (24.4m)
LOA, and with a massive, yet
inherently aerodynamic and effi cient,
dipping lug rig, these powerful beasts
were capable of speeds of 10kts and
had a huge carrying capacity of up to
80 tons of fi sh. They were
economical and quick to build, too,
which made them a perfect addition
to the 19th-century herring fl eet.
The true story of how the design
came about has been much debated
by historians; some claim it
originated when a Lossiemouth
family ordered a new boat but the
husband and wife couldn’t decide on
her design, while others suggest the
fi rst Zulu, built in 1879, was
launched as a dowry for a fi sherman’s
daughter. There are other theories
too and although Nonesuch’s fi rst
owner is unknown, what is known is
that her designer William ‘Dad’
Campbell picked the best bits of two
existing designs, the fi fi e and the
scaffi e, and amalgamated them to
produce a powerful new fi shing boat.
The straight stem and deep forefoot
came from the fi fi e, giving good grip
on the water, as well as good
windward performance, while the 40
to 45 degree raked sternpost was
infl uenced by the scaffi e, and gave theZulu increased waterline length when
heeled, increased space on deck and
improved handiness.
The success of the Zulu was
instantaneous, and during the 1880s,
most yards on Scotland’s east coast
were building them to order. Initially
construction was clinker, and keel
length limited to 40ft, but after 1885,
carvel-built Zulus were more
common, and their size started to
increase. The biggest Zulu ever built
was Laverack, an 84-footer (25.6m)
built in 1902, but around this time
most were between 70-75ft LOA.
Construction of some of the bigger
Zulus was massive: the hulls were
planked in 2in larch on 4in x 7½ x
9in oak frames, spaced at 12in
centres and fastened with 2,000 4½in
galvanised nails. Floors were 4in
sided by 2ft 6in moulded, while the
keelson was 7in and the oak stem
and sternpost 8in by 14in. They were
rigged as luggers, carrying around
over 3,000sq ft of canvas, set on a
forelug and mizzen, and often with a
jib, too. Masts were usually
Norwegian pine, and, incredibly,
unstayed – the vast rigs relying on
just the halyards and the burton on
the weather side to stay upright.
The hull design, with its steeply
raked sternpost, was totally unsuited
to the age of motorisation and
although some half-Zulus, which had
less rake to their sternposts, were
converted successfully, the last big
Zulu, Winsome, was built in 1906.
Today, just a handful remain in
existence, with the most well known
being the 78ft 7in Research, which
currently resides at the Scottish
Fisheries Museum.THE COST
According to Edgar March in
Sailing Drifters, in 1894 a 50ft
Zulu cost £320, while the biggest
boats cost £500 for hull and
spars. To build a hull usually took
around eight weeks, with the
shipwrights paid 5d an hour.
Larch for the planking cost 1s 10d
a cubic foot, while oak for the
frames, stem and sternpost cost
2s 6d a cubic foot. A mast cost
£15, while the mizzen and
bowsprit cost £8 and £6
respectively. The foreyard on a
50ft Zulu was around 36ft in
length and cost £4. A full suit of
cotton canvas sails cost around
£100. It took 124 hours to make
the forelug, 80 hours for the
mizzen and 50 hours for the jib.ROWING A ZULU
Occasionally an alternative
means of propulsion to sails was
required to manoeuvre the Zulus,
and for this reason six 18ft-long
oars, with 7ft by 5in blades, were
stowed on deck.IRISH ZULUS
Most Zulu fl eets were based on
Scotland’s east coast, but a
number were also based in
Ireland. The fi rst Zulu to go to
Ireland was built in Fraserburgh
in 1896, but in 1897 one was built
in Co Galway. By 1906, 24 had
been built in Galway and Donegal
for the Congested Districts Board
for Ireland. They were smaller
than their Scottish siblings – of
around 50ft LOA – but set the
same dipping lug rig.SCOTTISH FISHERIES MUSEUMVanessa’s book,
Classic Classes, is
a must-buy. Please
bear in mind that
this book provides
only a snapshot of
the myriad classes
in existence.SPECIFICATIONS
LOA
78ft 7in (24m)
BEAM
19ft 8in (6m)
DRAUGHT
7ft 7in (2.3m)
SAIL AREA
3,000sq ft
(278m^2 )
DISPLACEMENT
c80tonsNext month
SALCOMBE YAWLThe Zulu
The 80ft
Muirneag
(SY486), built in
Buckie in 1903,
fi shed under sail
out of Stornoway
until 1936. She
was the last
sailing drifter,
and fi nally ended
her working
career in 1945