Friends and family who helped with December’s ‘Christmas post’ were welcomed to the 26th February club meeting, as a small thank you for their support.

Following a buffet meal, club member Malcolm MacDonald took the floor with a slide show recording the construction of the last Seine-net fishing boat built at the Smith and Sutton yard in Anstruther. Only ghosts of the yard now remain, at the place where the Fisheries Museum now is.

Photographs told the story of the creation of ‘Bydand’, from laying of the keel, to launch and fitting out. ‘Bydand', is a wooden boat built by knowledgeable and highly skilled men using traditional methods and tools. Malcolm commented that, at the time, many fishermen preferred a wooden boat, as it was felt to ‘give’ and ride rough seas better than a steel boat.

We saw the keel laid on blocks, the bow fitted then individually cut and shaped ribs jointed onto the keel. Each rib different in size and shape. After the stern was fitted the hull was planked. Each heavy plank being first steamed in a long steaming box to make it more pliable, before being bent around the ribs and fixed in position - starting from the keel and working upwards.

Steel engine mounts were fixed, the deck planked and engine, propeller and rudder put in place. Gaps between planks were caulked with a hempen material hammered in, holes over fixing bolts were plugged and all made smooth before painting.

After launching down a greased slipway and naming, final fitting out took place with a pre-fabricated wheelhouse, fuel tanks, winch, internal crew quarters and bulkheads.

The ‘Bydand’ fished for eighteen years off Scotland, before being sold to an owner in Ireland - and believed to be still going strong.

We enjoyed a fascinating and historically important story of boat building, now no longer seen in Anstruther. Following questions a vote of thanks was proposed by Club president Derek Mathie.