16,901. I suppose boat-builders' wages are considerably less in Shetland and Caithness than here?-Yes; they are from 6s. to 8s. a week less, at any rate. I pay 24s. here, and I should think that 16s. would be about their figure there.
16,902. How long will one of your boats last?-From seventeen to twenty years.
16,903. Is that the ordinary calculation as to the life of a boat?-It depends a great deal upon the kind of work they are put to. In some cases they do not last so long; but if they are preserved from accident, they may last for that time.
16,904. Will a Shetland boat, such as you have seen, last its long as that?-It will not last so long, according to my judgement.
16,905. Suppose it were used only for three or four months in the summer, would it last longer than it would do if it were more used?-Certainly it would.
16,906. But you think it would not last so long in any case its seventeen or eighteen years?-No. The frame is much weaker: there are fewer ribs in it than in our boats; because, while in a Shetland boat there might be a rib every 2 or 3 feet, I might have them 10 or 12 [Page 435] inches apart, and of course the ribs are the strength of the boat.
16,907. Would twelve or fourteen years be the outside of the life of a Shetland boat?-I would suppose that would be about as long as they could run them with safety.
16,908. About how much do you think it takes to keep up a boat of that size?-1s. a day during the time she is at work would keep her up amply.
16,909. Suppose she were at work for 100 days in the year, that would be £5. Do you mean to say that for every year a boat is at work she will require £5 for repairs to keep her up?-The Newhaven fishermen allow that for their 25 feet yawls. A sail is not supposed to last above five years, or not more than three years without repairs; and then they have the chance of breaking oars, or any other accident that may occur. The allowance of 1s. a day may be it little too much to cover all that; but there is an eighth share allowed for the repairs of a boat in the case of the large decked boats.
16,910. Are these the new boats which you have now got at Newhaven?-No, they are the boats which were built in Caithness nine or ten years ago. There is an eighth or a ninth share allowed to the owner to keep them up.