Portrait of Robert Robertson of Campbeltown.
Robert Robertson was a pioneer ringnet skipper. He nearly lost a skiff with a big weight of herring on board and to prevent this from happening again, he thought of a canoe-sterned design of boat he had seen successfully fishing in Norway, and he went to James Miller boatyard, St Monans, and ordered two sister ships in this innovative design.
The boats were 50ft 20" long, fully decked with a small wheelhouse aft. The boats were steered by a wheel instead of a tiller, which vastly improved handling and stability when working a ringnet. From these boats developed the distinctive seaworth vesselys which served the industry well for more than 50 years.
Robertson died in January 1940.
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