Hope Cove Crabber
It is perhaps unfair to call the Hope Cove boats ‘crabbers’ as they were used for all manner of fishing, from pilchard and mackerel seining to potting. The harbour wasn’t built here until 1924 and before that the boats were dragged up the sandy beach. These South Devon boats were sprit-rigged, the Hope boats having two sprits -main and mizzen, and a foresail set on a short bowsprit. They were up to around 18ft overall and were nearly all built by Chant of Salcombe, whose reputation was unsurpassed in the area. They evolved through working off this exposed part of the coast.
Sources: 2, 4
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