Coracle Making

Coracles have a history dating back thousands of years. The coracle was originally covered with animal skins and in some countries they are still made this way. In Wales they are now skinned with calico which is waterproofed using a bitumastic paint. Whilst their prime use is for the purposes of transport and fishing, it has been recorded that they have been used both militarily and by the security forces.

They weigh between 25 and 40 pounds and so can be carried on the shoulders of the coracle man who frequently, in the case of the fisherman, would walk 5 - 10 miles before drifting down with the current. The user sat facing the blunt end (rather than the narrow curved-up end, as might be expected), describing a figure-of-eight motion with the paddle held continuously in the water over the blunt end. Fishermen use a similar stroke but with one hand only over the side of the craft, permitting the holding of the net in the other.

Coracles were a popular form of transport on the three main rivers of West Wales - the Teifi, Tywi and Cleddau. The coracles used on these rivers varied slightly to accommodate differing conditions and availability of materials.

The Tywi coracle was longer and more elegant than the short, squat Teifi coracle. It also differed by having sawn ash laths rather than cleft willow rods in the framework, a leather carrying strapm, no plaited band to reinforce the after end framing, a more visible plaited gunwale, a band of ash on the outside of the bow to give protection where wear and tear might occur, the seat supported by a solid wood bulkhead and a small wooden club to kill salmon with.

No original Cleddau coracles are known to exist, coracle fishing ending on the eastern branch of the Cleddau in 1939. This is similar in many ways to the Teifi coracle, the forend is more square and their construction more robust. Another unusual feature is that the claw grip at the top of the paddle is at right angles to it.