John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing

Lisa: Can you tell me a bit about the boats in those days, the fishing boats? What were they like?

John L: Pot boats. Everybody had their pot boat, about 15 or 16-foot-long. Originally had sail and rowed, before they had motors, and those pots there you can see in the thing that each boat would hold 50. There’s a picture here John isn’t there? Of a boat with a net in it. There look, like that.

Lisa OK.

John L That’s down the Harbour.

John W That’s the Mercer’s.

Lisa So, what’s this here?

John L That’s the net. They used to row with big long oars.

John W They used to row standing up.

John L No motor.

Lisa So, you’d row … can you just sort of describe the process to me from start to finish? So, you’d row out with your …

John L Net. You’ve got two anchors. You’d chuck one anchor over with a buoy on it so you knew where it was, then one would row and the other one would ease it out over the back, ‘till you got it tight, and then you’d drop the other anchor with a buoy on it and leave it overnight. Normally you’d catch more fish at night time. I could only catch prawns at night time.

Lisa Who built those pot boats?

John L: Well, there was a bloke down Forelands used to build ‘em. Mine, I had two and they were built by Coombs, round the Embankment. I don’t know who else built them.

John W: The Butler brothers at Forelands. They were very good boatbuilders and I know my good friend at Shanklin, they used to get their boats from Mr Butler.

John L: I think that was the main one for pot boats. It was a sort of a standard Bembridge design.