Sixareen

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Sixareen under sail, believed to be 'Industry'. Photograph appeared in Manson's Shetland Almanac 1904 and is courtesy of Attie Williamson.

The Sixareen, (also spelled :Sixern), (Norwegian name : Seksring, which means 'six-oared'), a clinker built boat, evolved as a larger version of the Yoal, when the need arose for crews to fish further from shore. The first of the Sixareens were, like the Yoal imported from Norway, until the mid 19th century when increasing import duty made it more cost effective to import the raw materials and build the boats in Shetland.
The Sixareen was so named because she was crewed by six men, each man rowing a single oar, unlike the Yoal in which 3 men rowed a pair of oars each.
While the Yoal was used for inshore fishing, and seldom ventured more than perhaps 10 miles from land, the Sixareen was used to fish the Far Haaf, up to 40 or 50 miles from Shetland. Because of this, and the unpredictable nature of the weather in northern waters, the loss of boats and lives was extremely high. The worst losses being on the 16th July 1832 when 17 boats and 105 men were lost in a severe gale, and again on the 21st July 1881 when a sudden and violent summer storm, claimed 10 boats and 58 men, mostly from Gloup, in the north of Yell, in what became known as The Gloup Disaster.

An old Sixareen, the "Industry" LK718 (built 1891), at Shetland Museum.The last surviving sixareen from the Haaf Fishing. Her design is being used as the basis for the new Sixareen being built by the Shetland Museum.

The size of a Sixareen varied from about 25 - 30 feet overall, with a beam of 7 - 8 feet. The boat carried a square sail which was used when the wind was favourable, but often in light winds or in a head wind the crew could row for many hours to complete their journey. Fishing trips usually were over 3 days, with the boats making 2 trips each week when the weather permitted. One can only imagine the conditions on board a 30ft open boat in the open sea, even in summer.

As with the Yoal, all the parts of a Sixareen have names, which are mostly unique to the Shetland dialect, although many of the names are derived from the old Norse language. The part names in the text of this page carries links to pictures and descriptions of these boat parts, including the English part name and, where possible, the Norwegian name.

There are six separate rooms, or sections in a Sixareen: The fore head, where sails and tackle were stored; the fore room; the mid room, where stones for ballast were placed; the owsin room which was kept clear for 'owsin' (bailing) out water, using an owsekerri; the shot room where the catch was stowed; and the kannie where the skipper sat at the helm.

Interior of old Sixareen at Shetland Museum.

The 'Rooms' of the boat were seperated by the tafts on which the crew sat, the fiskabrods under the tafts, which stopped the catch and fishing gear from shifting between rooms, and by the baands, the frames to which the boards were fixed.
The boards, named from the keel upwards, were: The boddam runner, the hassen, the 1st & 2nd swills, the laands (4 boards), and the reebin, the upper board, inside which the wale or gunwale was fixed. At the bow and stern the boards were fixed to the stammerin before attaching to the fore and aft stems. The reebin was additionally strengthened by the breast hook, or hinny spot where it met the horn at the top of the stem.

Model Sixareen on display at Shetland Museum, clearly showing the interior layout of the boat.

Although it is not clear when the last Sixareens were built for fishing, it is likely to be not much later than the late 1880's, by which time it was seen that larger boats were the way forward for the local fishing industry.
Having said that, there have been 2 Sixareens built in the 20th century. In the 1980's Duncan Sandison of Unst realised that the Sixareen was very much a boat of the past, as there were none left in Unst. With the help of a group of volunteers, after 800 hours work, the "Far Haaf", a replica Sixareen was completed in 1988, but sadly she was destroyed by a hurricane which swept the isles in 1992. Not to be put off by this loss, another "Far Haaf" was built and launched in 1993. She now has pride of place in a special enclosure outside the Unst Boat Haven.

The Far Haaf at the Unst Boat Haven.

Although the Sixareen is part of the fishing past in Shetland, 2008 is heralding a major revival in the form of a boat building project by the Shetland Museum. From early February, and for an expected build period of about 3 months, a new Sixareen is being built in the boat shed at the museum.
Shetlopedia is documenting this project, in the form of a picture gallery showing every stage of the building process.
To view the building, follow this Link.