# Fifie

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{{Short description|Sailing boat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
thumb|250px|right|The ''Reaper'' under full sail.
The '''Fifie''' is a design of [sailing boat](/source/Sailboat) developed on the east coast of [Scotland](/source/Scotland). It was a [traditional fishing boat](/source/traditional_fishing_boat) used by Scottish [fishermen](/source/fishing) from the 1850s until well into the 20th century. These boats were mainly used to fish for [herring](/source/herring) using [drift net](/source/drift_net)s, and along with other designs of boat were known as herring drifters.

==Design==
While the boats varied in design, they can be categorised by their vertical stem and [stern](/source/stern), their long straight [keel](/source/keel) and wide [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)). These attributes made the Fifies very stable in the water and allowed them to carry a very large set of sails. The long keel, however, made them difficult to manoeuvre in small [harbours](/source/Harbor).

{{clear}}
200px|left| A sailing Fifie, showing the main dipping lug and the mizzen standing lug.
Sailing Fifies had two masts with the standard rig consisting of a [main](/source/Mast_(sailing)) dipping [lug sail](/source/lug_sail) and a [mizzen](/source/Mast_(sailing)) standing lug sail.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.historyshelf.org/secf/silver/links/linke.php | title=Scottish Sail powered fishing boats | publisher=Historyshelf.org | access-date=22 March 2011 | archive-date=21 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721133550/http://www.historyshelf.org/secf/silver/links/linke.php | url-status=dead }}</ref> The masts were positioned far forward and aft on the boat to give the maximum clear working space amidships. A large fifie could reach just over {{convert|20|m|ft}} in length. Because of their large sail area they were very fast sailing boats.

Fifies built after 1860 were all decked and from the 1870s onwards the bigger boats were built with carvel planking, i.e. the planks were laid edge to edge instead of the overlapping [clinker style](/source/Clinker_(boat_building)) of previous boats. The introduction of steam powered capstans in the 1890s, to help raising the lugs sails, allowed the size of these vessels to increase from {{convert|30|ft|m|2}} to over {{convert|70|ft|m|2}} in length. From about 1905 onwards sailing Fifies were gradually fitted with engines and converted to motorised vessels.

thumb|Isabella Fortuna 830820There are few surviving examples of this type of fishing boat still in existence. The [Scottish Fisheries Museum](/source/Scottish_Fisheries_Museum) based in [Anstruther](/source/Anstruther), [Fife](/source/Fife) has restored and still sails a classic example of this type of vessel named the ''[Reaper](/source/Reaper_(sailing_vessel))''. The Swan Trust in [Lerwick](/source/Lerwick), [Shetland](/source/Shetland_Islands) have restored and maintain another Fifie, ''The Swan'', as a sail training vessel. She now takes over 1000 trainees each year, and has taken trainees to participate in the ''[Cutty Sark](/source/Cutty_Sark)'' [Tall Ships Races](/source/The_Tall_Ships'_Races) to ports in [France](/source/France), [Denmark](/source/Denmark), the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands), [Ireland](/source/Ireland) as well as around the [UK](/source/United_Kingdom). The ''Isabella Fortuna'' is owned by the Wick Society.

==Gallery==
<gallery class=center>
<!-- Commented out: Image:Harbour027.jpg|A postcard showing the St. Abbs fishing fleet of Fifies putting to sea. -->
<!-- Commented out: Image:Harbour045.jpg| A sailing Fifie, lying in [St. Abbs](/source/St._Abbs) Harbour. This postcard illustrates the vertical stem and stern of the Fifie design. -->
Image:Fifie_drifter_Reaper.JPG| The restored sailing Fifie, ''Reaper'' visiting [St Andrews](/source/St_Andrews) in Fife.
Image:Reaper Anstruther.jpg| ''Reaper'' in her home port of Anstruther
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tomcunliffe.com/television-work/the-boats-that-built-britain/ The Reaper - The Boats that Built Britain - Tom Cunliffe]
* [http://sites.scran.ac.uk/secf_final/silver/index.php The history of herring fishing on the east coast of Scotland]
* [http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/ Scottish Fisheries Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090530040707/http://www.swantrust.org.uk/ The Swan Trust]

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs}}
{{fishing vessel topics}}
{{fisheries and fishing}}

Category:1850s establishments in Scotland
Category:Vehicles introduced in the 1850s
Category:Sailboat types
Category:Types of fishing vessels
Category:Fishing in Scotland
Category:Ships of Scotland
Category:Scottish design
Category:Sailing in Scotland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fifie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifie) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifie?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.