Dunfanaghy Curachs
The 16-17ft Dunfanaghy curach from
the Sheephaven area has a 4ft beam and was used for fishing
and transporting material on the Atlantic coast of northwest
Donegal. It is a development of the Downings curach which
uses willow for the stringers and a bow-brace instead of the
seat as a structural member and which could be fitted with
a simple lugsail. Like all Donegal curachs it displays an
archaic construction where coppiced hazel rods in a single
gunwale are lashed to the stringers.
The metal strips on the seat, tensioned like a guitar string,
counteract the pressure of the flexible hazel ribs which tend
to spring back straight. The design of the Dunfanaghy currach
also shows a thorough use of the Golden Section proportion
system in all of its measurements (Open PDF document on the
Golden Section in curachs here;
please note that the page order is back to front in this document).
Description of making a Dunfanaghy
Curach.
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Tory Island Curachs
Tory Island, c. 7mls off the north west
coast of Donegal, has produced an unusual keeled curach. Invented
in the early 20th century and based on small dinghy designs,
it features a shallow keel, stem and stern post and a single
gunwale. The early design, as described by James Hornell in
the 1930s, measured only 12ft with a beam of 42". It
is a development somehow between Bunbeg paddling curachs and
larger Dunfanaghy curachs.
We modified our boats to carry a small lug
sail, leeboard and tiller. These curachs handle well for one
person and are easily carried on a roofrack of a car.
A description of the making is not yet available,
but you can print out a materials list here.
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