Galway hooker

It is identified by its sharp, clean entry, bluff bow, marked tumblehome and raked transom.

These boats were used to carry turf to be used as fuel across Galway Bay from Connemara and County Mayo to the Aran Islands and the Burren.

The boats often brought limestone on the return journeys, to neutralise the acid soils of Connemara and Mayo.

When the Irish settlers at Boston in North America needed fishing craft, they built the hooker that they knew from home.

Cargo throughout this period would usually be held in wooden casks varnished with fish oil for waterproofing.