Clydeside Traditional Boatbuilders is one of the few remaining yards in Scotland to create wooden boats in the time-honoured fashion. Headed by expert boatbuilder Peter Matheson, their current project is a traditional Stroma yole, inspired by The Aegre and her voyage from Scotland to the South Pacific.
The company, a non-profit organisation, offers men and women the opportunity to learn one of the world’s oldest crafts at no cost. It is based in Rothesay Dock, Clydeside, Govan, Glasgow.
Visitors and volunteer helpers are welcome.
It all started with Peter Matheson.
Peter Matheson grew up in a croft house in the small village of Bettyhill on the north coast of Scotland. They had no electricity or running water, but he says this didn’t bother them as they had never had such luxuries. They had a good well and a warm peat fire. At 15, he went to sea school in North Wales and then joined the Merchant Navy.
In the Merchant Navy Peter travelled all over the world, to the Far East, China (which, he says, was scary under the Red Guards at that time), Japan, Australia, Indonesia, India, and also to South and North America. He mainly sailed on British ships and also worked on a deep sea trawler around the Faroe Islands and on Norwegian and Danish ships. He ended up on a Norwegian cruise liner in the Caribbean, which docked in Miami, where he met his American wife, forty-six years ago.
When they returned to Scotland, they started a small furniture-making business but then branched into repairing small vessels and then building new vessels for the local fishermen, eventually building trawlers and pleasure boats.
One of these was the schooner ‘Flower of Caithness’ built in Caithness, which they then chartered. She has sailed across the Atlantic more than once.
Following two decades of boat making, during which they made over 150 boats, the Matheson family left their home in Scarfskerry and moved to retire in Glasgow in 1999. Peter’s love affair with the industry, however, was destined to continue. “I’d hardly even arrived here when the guys at Gal Gael asked me if I would help them out and teach boat building for them. It’s in my blood so how could I refuse” said Peter.
Thanks to his connections with the firm and help with funding from a variety of sources, including some Awards, Peter went on to set up Clydeside Traditional Boat Builders to pass on the trade to young, unemployed people.
Peter oversaw the building of a 26-foot ‘Birlin’ for the GalGael Trust. This type of boat would have sailed on the west coast of Scotland just after the Viking times. This was followed by an order for a 30ft ‘Birlin’ for the same organisation. They still sail her today.
Now based at a small shipyard in Govan in Glasgow, Peter and his team of volunteers are among the last few craftsmen in Scotland who are keeping the skills and spirit of this wonderful trade alive. He said: “It’s very satisfying for me to be creating things to my own design and passing the skills on to the younger generation. It’s also great to know that some of my volunteers will move on and continue in the boat trade.”
Unfortunately, in the summer of 2023, a disastrous fire destroyed Peter’s workshop, all his tools, and six boats. He was not insured. However, seven people from France, whom he had never met, came over and designed and built a new workshop for him. They didn’t charge for their labour, and he was able to pay for materials from a ‘crowdfunding’ set up by a friend. All sorts of carpentry tools, both new and old, were donated to him enabling him to carry on.
It was a case of what goes around, comes around. Peter had been teaching French people boat building each summer at no charge…
Over his time, Peter Matheson has built many boats. Below are the ones he can remember:
- First one that I built was the ‘Our Lass’ for an English Railway worker
- Next was the ‘Dunveden’ for Angus
- Next was ‘Isabela’ for Willy the Island
- Then the ‘Sharon Rose’
- Then the ‘Enola Gay’ for an Englishman at Fresick
- Then the ‘Vital Spark’ for Ackergill
- Then The ‘Nordic Bride’
- Then the two boats, ‘Swayns Gally’ and the ‘Companion’.
- Then The ‘Carol Ann’ and the Sarah Louise’
- Then ‘The Fair Maid’
- Then the ‘Strenous’
- Then the big ‘Girl Pat’
- Then The ‘Rachael Clair’
- Then 3 or 4 wee boats for Plocton including the ‘Corusk’ and the ‘Shamal’
- Then a wee yahl for England (took a mould off her for GRP)
- Then a 21 foot boat for Willy Windows Lochinver (Built a GRP boat from it)
- Then the ‘Beryl Rose’
- Then a 21 foot yahl for Dingwall
- Then a similar 21 foot yahl for Shefield
- Then the ‘Blossom’
- Then the ‘Stroma’
- Then the ‘Glen Coul’
- Then the’ Treasure’
- Then ‘The Flower of Caithness’
- Then a 16 foot yahl for an old man of 89 from near Gills
- Then the ‘Boy Peter’
- Then a 24 foot boat for Boby Sandison in Shetland
- Then an 18 foot boat for the Nickalson brothers of Flodigary
- Then the ‘Lottie Rose’
- Then another ‘Girl Pat’
- Then ‘The ‘Norsman’s Bride’
- Then a ten foot boat and an eight foot boat lost in the fire
- Then a 12 foot boat for an English Navy woman
- Then ‘The American Lady’
- And many more boats that I have forgotten the names of.
For more information and many more pictures, see the Clydeside Traditional Boatbuilders website and Facebook page.
Follow Clydeside Traditional Boatbuilders progress on the building of the yole inspired by The Aegre
Learn about the GalGael Trust here.
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