When you visit the Whaligoe Steps, you might well see a rusty old manual boat winch standing unassumingly near the pebble shore. One thing is for sure, it gets quite a view of the north sea and wildlife activity down there!
They were made with different designs but all had the same motive in mind, to haul a boat from one point to another. The reasons you would want to move a boat are plenty and will be covered over time as this humble tribute to the Whaligoe Steps grows in content.
Here are a couple of photographs showing the boat winch in the state it is in today.
The existing boat winch has certainly seen better days, but worthy of note is that this little robust piece of engineering had a Brother. Alas, the other boat winch is no longer around and back in the day would have been sighted at the base of the steps which zig-zag down the cliff.
There are still old photographs which show the other boat winch in existence down at the Whaligoe Steps. Also available when you go foraging are some interesting insights about the humble boat winch. For example, in the publication known as ‘East of Fife Record’ back in April of 1878, an article proudly proclaimed the boat winch to be “Iron Man” due to the fact it didn’t damage the nets or any other boat-worthy gear, plus it was the easiest to work and the most powerful in comparison to any other methods.
If you take a good look at the concrete base on which this fellow dwells, you may be able to make out a date scribed in it: December the 5th, 1899…
The fishing industry is a fascinating area to explore and when you look at the history of it all, you get a real sense of the development and scope over time. One place I would recommend as a starting point if you have time: Scottish Fisheries Museum – Home Page (scotfishmuseum.org)
Thanks as always for your time, take care and be safe.
