Findhorn Bay boat graveyard, consisting of a group of at least 29 wooden fishing vessels and ballast mounds. Of the remains, 11 boats have been identified as Zulu sailing drifters, 2 further wooden fishing boats are probably Zulus but can't be definitively identified as such. Sixteen ballast mounds likely mark the location of further boats, and wooden elements probably lie buried under the stones. Of the 11 better-preserved and more visible vessels on the shore keels/keelsons, stem posts, frames, floors, planking, stern posts, rudders, mast steps, boilers and sections of top rail were recorded. Two further Zulus lie on a sandbank slightly offshore and are better-preserved with elements survivng up to deck level.
Historical research indicates that these are the remains of the herring fleet from fishing villages along the Moray coast, mostly from Banff and Buckie districts to the east of Findhorn. The boat graveyard developed over the early years of the 20th century as sailing drifters were superseded by steam and later motor-powered boats, and the start of the First World War disrupted the fishing industry and brought an end to the use of sail power for herring fishing.
This record covers the entire boat graveyard which extends over an area of c.600m by 50m on the shore, centred on these coordinates. See individual site records for specific locations of individual boats.
Updated condition photographs were taken of the individual boats and ballast mounds during the Community Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (CCZAS) in June 2022.
Location
303301.00
863752.00
27700
57.6532555
-3.6220114
Submitted photographs
No images found
Submitted updates
Update id
Date
User
2994
11/07/2015
training1
Proximity to coast edge
Intertidal
Description
Findhorn Bay boat graveyard, consisting of a group of at least 29 wooden fishing vessels and ballast mounds. Of the remains, 11 boats have been identified as Zulu sailing drifters, 2 further wooden fishing boats are probably Zulus but can't be definitively identified as such. Sixteen ballast mounds likely mark the location of further boats, and wooden elements probably lie buried under the stones. Of the 11 better-preserved and more visible vessels on the shore keels/keelsons, stem posts, frames, floors, planking, stern posts, rudders, mast steps and sections of top rail were recorded. Two further Zulus lie on a sandbank slightly offshore and are better-preserved with elements survivng up to deck level.
Historical research indicates that these are the remains of the herring fleet from fishing villages along the Moray coast, mostly from Banff and Buckie districts to the east of Findhorn. The boat graveyard developed over the early years of the 20th century as sailing drifters were superseded by steam and later motor-powered boats, and the start of the First World War disrupted the fishing industry and brought an end to the use of sail power for herring fishing.
Assign priority 2 on basis of rarity of Zulu fishing boats and vulnerability of wooden boats in intertidal zone to deterioration and decay. Surveyed and recorded as part of ShoreDIG project.
