Paul L Arro reports on the major refit that is taking place on the historic Bridlington sailing coble The Three Brothers.
That once familiar sight of big 40ft sailing cobles literally packing the north end of Bridlington harbour in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is today maintained by just one survivor – The Three Brothers.
Those big cobles were built by either the Siddall or Hopwood boatbuilding families specifically for the port and over generations they were renown for their craft.
Flagship of the Bridlington Sailing Coble Preservation Society (BSCPS) the Three Brothers is the very last still sailing and listed on the National Historic Ship Register.
Built in 1912 by Baker and Percy Siddall in their Bow Street workshop for Robert Crawford of Bridlington she cost £70.
After spending time at Whitby and on the River Tees she returned to the town in 1961 as an angling charter boat taking rod and line fishermen out to Flamborough Head. The Bridlington Harbour Commissioners bought the then motorised coble in 1983 to restore back to sail and she has been maintained and regularly sailed by members of BSCPS since that time.
Being refitted by local coble builders John Clarkson and Joe Gelsthorpe during 2012-13 to celebrate her 100th anniversary her upper strakes (planks) were renewed along with ‘new thofts and for’ard cuddy.’
Whether her bottom planks had ever been replaced since she was built 112 years ago is indeed a matter of conjecture and it is just possible that part of her hull is original.
Though still in full sailing condition it was determined at a recent survey that those planks are now in need of replacement.
She was lifted out of the harbour on Thursday 11th July and, after being pressure washed off, placed in the Harbour Commissioners’ Vessel Maintenance Facility (VMF) on the harbourside. All moveable gear was taken out, including ballast, in preparation for work to commence. Woodworking machines and equipment were moved into the VMF from the Society’s Beck Hill workshop on Monday 15th and the oak timber arrived from the Westtec Forestry sawmill.
John Clarkson will head a team of volunteers from the BSCPS who will set about the task necessary and gain valuable experience in boatbuilding skills from the professional. The project is being funded by the UK Government under the Shared Prosperity Fund.
The work involved is a major project and will take a number of weeks to complete. Old oak floor timbers having to be taken out before the old bottom planks are stripped and replacement can begin.
Anyone interested in getting involved with this important project can contact the BSCPS Secretary on threebrotherscoble@gmail.com for further information.
Once all the work has been completed Three Brothers will be in excellent trim for another one hundred years of sailing.
She will once again rekindle those images of a bygone era when sailing cobles were the mainstay of the inshore fishing industry on the north east coast of England.
