The Currach

A traditional Irish boat. A light wooden frame of oak ribs and lengthwise laths, covered in tarred canvas. Earlier versions used cowhide stretched over wickerwork. No keel. The Aran-island build is three-man, around 19 feet long, with 29 oak ribs and 20 laths. The technique is described in medieval sources including Gerald of Wales in 1187, and the construction has not fundamentally changed since. The Aran islanders rowed them out into open Atlantic to fish for mackerel well into the 20th century. Some are still built and rowed in west Kerry today by people who learned from their grandfathers.