A chap called Tom Edwards contacted me about a boat he has recently acquired, and he wanted to know some more about it. I am pretty certain this is a Jimmy Smith boat, may have even been built by one of his apprentices: Jack Duncan, Robbie Tait or Alan Moncrieff.
So, this is Tom’s story about this boat.
“My brother and I bought a skiff from a man on the Isle of Barra which is marked with a plate ‘Allcraft Lerwick’. The boat is about 16ft long stem to stern and came with a gunter rig and two oars, it’s in pretty poor condition. The boat is now in Edinburgh.
I have been told that the boat, which has no name, was bought in the 60s from Lerwick by an artist couple from London who visited Barra every summer. They used to sail with the local Doctor (Dr Hill) who also had the same type of boat, also bought directly from Lerwick, and were sufficiently impressed that they bought their own. I understand that the doctor’s boat has been restored and is owned by his family on the Isle of Seil. Our boat went through three hands on the Isle of Barra before it came to us. Most of this information came from the widow of Dr Hill who I believe is in her eighties.
We have discovered that it might have been made by Jimmy Smith and would be interested to know more about this boat.”
Tom Edwards, Edinburgh
The Shetland Boat: History; Folklore & Construction. 