Bast: the inner bark of a tree.
Bole: the main stem or trunk of a tree.
Carvel-built: based on the skeleton principle, the keel and stems of the boat are assembled and a skeleton frame is bolted to the keel. When the ribs are in place they are covered with planks which lie edge to edge.
Caulking: to insert material between two members and thus make the joint watertight.
Cleat: is the projection to which other fittings may be fastened.
Clinker-built: a form of boat building in which the strakes are placed so that they partly overlap one another – usually upper strake outboard of lower strake, but occasionally the reverse arrangement is found.
Cran: is the Scottish measure of herring as opposed to the Irish measure of a mease.
Double-ended: a boat, which is (nearly) symmetrical about the transverse axis. Pointed at both ends.
Drift-net fishing: or drifting, involved the deployment of a long drifting barrier of net in the path of the moving shoals at the time the fish were most active.
Farlans: gutting troughs.
Frame: a transverse member made up of more than one piece of timber, usually extending from sheer to sheer or set against the planking.
Frys: baby fish.
Keel: the main longitudinal strength member, scarfed to the stempost forward and sternpost aft.
Kelp: seaweed.
Mease: a measurement of fish by number rather than weight. There were 635 fish in a mease.
Pitch: see oakum.
Roused: the procedure of sprinkling herrings with salt for the purpose of curing.
Share: the share system allocated half the total value of a catch to the boat with the other half divided between the crew.
Shell construction: a method of boat building in which the shell (i.e. the watertight envelope of stems, keel and planking) is built or partly built before the ribs and other internal strengthening members are fitted.
Skeleton construction: a method of boat building in which a framework of stems, keel and ribs is first erected, or partly erected. This skeleton is then clothed in a ‘skin’ of planking.
