Written by Malcolm F. Fry First published in 2000 in Great Britain in paperback by the Environment and Heritage Service Department of the Environment, 152pp, ISBN 0856406767 Northern Ireland Archaeological Monographs No. 4 Category: Maritime Archaeology Dedicated to the late Bill Seaby, former director of the Ulster Museum, whose considerable archive of published and unpublished materials was made available to the author and which proved essential to the research Further Reading The author recommends that readers of this book also purchase and read (in conjunction with this) Dr. Niall Gregory's doctoral thesis which explores in detail the history of logboats from the whole of Ireland and their relationships with those from Scotland: Gregory, N. T. N (1997). 'A Comparative Study of Scottish and Irish Logboats', 3 vols., Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy for the University of Edinburgh McGrail, Professor Sean. (1978) Logboats of England and Wales with Comparative Material from European and other countries, 2 vols, Oxford, British Archaeological Reports 51 (i) and (ii). This work gives much more indepth insights into the technical aspects of constructing and using a logboat Mowatt, Robert J. C. (1996) The Logboats of Scotland, Oxford, Oxbow About this book/synopsis: This is an in-depth study of the principal recorded discoveries of the dugout boat, or logboat (also known as 'cots' in Ireland) made in the northeastern counties of Northern Ireland from around 1850 onwards. Fresh examples of preserved log boats continue to turn up at a rate of about two a year in rivers, lakes and also around the coast and Northern Ireland has also been the scene of two significant series of experiments with logboats, in 1959 and again in 1994-95.
These were undertaken with the objective of assessing the performance of ancient hulls, particularly regarding safe loading, for which a formula for rough calculation purposes is presented. A detailed inventory, which tries to compare as well as describe, owes much to the fieldwork and research of the late Bill Seaby, former Director of the Ulster Museum, whose labours over 20 years have been amalgamated with records kept over a similar period by the author. Included in the account are 120 craft of all shapes and sizes, including approximate grid references where they were found (and where they are now), no less than 48 of which have been dated. The chronology thus established extends many thousands of years into our past in Northern Europe, from Mesolithic times to the 17th century AD.
The present review contained within this book is not intended as an all-encompassing assessment of what research (particularly over the 20 years prior to publication) has revealed about logboats in Europe; rather it draws chiefly upon discoveries from within a fairly small geographical region on the 'wet fringe' of North-Western Europe (the six counties of Northern Ireland) with its major inland lake and river systems, it's large river estuaries and the odd sea lough. From this, it aims to do three things: 1. Offer a reasonably full inventory of the discoveries made in this region since the middle of the 19th Century 2. Place the dugout boat in the important context of local transport and communications history 3. To shed a little light upon a selection of the principal building and functional aspects relating to it
Contents: Foreword By Jim Lamont, Chief Executive of the Environment and Heritage Service Acknowledgements; General; Illustrations; List of Illustrators
Illustrations List of Line Drawings List of Plates List of Tables List of Geographical Distribution Maps
Introduction Chapter 1. Historiography Chapter 2. Historical Perspectives Water Communications in Ireland Dating and the Bug-Bear of False Stylistic Comparisons Demographic, Environmental and Technological Changes Chapter 3. Aspects of Logboat Building Natural Constraints Self-Righting Constant Mass Hull Features Typological Enigmas Maintenance and Long-Term Serviceability Technology Lag? Chapter 4. Aspects of Logboat Usage Working Methods Speed A Warship? Broad Waters and Little Puddles Sea-Going Possibilities Chapter 5. Safe Loading Minimum Freeboard Theory Experimental Observations Loading Assessment for Ancient Logboats Hull Mass The Unladen Water Line Measurement of Safe Loading Capacity Observations from the Sample Group of Logboats Chapter 6. Discovery and Disposal Chapter 7. Concluding Appraisal Plates; Inventory; Summary Inventory; Tables 1 - 4; Geographical Distribution Maps; Bibliography; Indexes