Beyond Endurance

F/v Ability returning to Buckie after seatrials in 1984

(credit: Ally1903, shipspotting)

As I was visiting Hythe shipyard I saw a forlorn fishing vessel bobbing at one of the jetties there. The bow said 'Endurance' but the fishing ident had been painted over, probably after a sale.

Ability in Macduff, I'm guessing late 1980's

(credit: Ally1903, shipspotting)

I noticed she has a special construction, wooden hull, steel decks and aluminium wheelhouse. The guys at the yard told me that when they came to work one Monday, 3-4 years ago, she was there. The crew was Irish and it transpires that they had allegedly been enroute to Ireland when their engine had broken down and stopped, so they were basically adrift. Then it seems they had managed to hail for help and the British coast guard had towed them up the Solent and plonked them at Hythe without further ado. The crew had then been quite sheepish about their presence and gave contacts and subsequently disappeared with a promise to be back (to repair the main engine). 

Here she's as Demares in Lerwick, 2009

(credit: Sydney Sinclair, Shipspotting)

Months went by and a couple of mechanics had turned up to attend to the engine, it appears they took the top off and also disappeared. Could be that they had taken parts to a machining shop for repairs/ inspection at but they never returned to pick up the parts nor bill. Calls and emails to the contacts went unanswered, it seems they were all false. Since then nobody representing the owners came for Endeavour and it has been years since. However, she had raised interest in other instances and been noticed.

Endurance saw better days, in Lerwick 2019

(credit: Sydney Sinclair, Shipspotting)

One day the Border Force had suddenly turned up and said they suspect the vessel had been involved in people smuggling as a sister ship on the Itchen had had children's clothes found in the hold. That's quite another role from the original fishing purpose, one wonders how that came about, fishy business. The men in uniform had a root around and also went away. Since then Endurance has been quietly waiting for her fate. It looks as though better days are not going to materialize and I reckon her next stop is at shipbreakers yard, might be even on Hythe or towed away to some other jetty for demolition. 

Endurance in Hythe

Endurance behind the red fishing boat

Her last option would be an enthusiast with deep pockets wanting a wooden motoryacht with excellent seagoing capabilities, just imagine designers, naval architects, MCA or Class involvement overseeing that the build is according to code, then the appointed contractor building it. One would have to put in grey water, fresh water, sludge tanks, ventilation, etc. to cope with modern rules and requirements. Could work as private leisure yacht perhaps as it could be difficult these days when the cabins are below waterline or design the living quarters on main deck and the galley and messroom down below. Still, the hull is 42 years old, who knows what condition the oak and larch timbers are in? Another option could be for enthusiasts wanting to recondition the old girl.

Anchor on railing

I then asked the yard staff if I could have a gander at her and they told me to go ahead, it's not like there is anyone going to arrest me for it so I did a bit of 'urban exploration'. There was a stepped in ladder on her side and it was just to climb onboard. On the weather deck I was greeted by the wheelhouse and her forward rig of derricks and winches for fishing equipment, also some kind of A-frame that looks from the pictures to be a later add-on, all in pretty dilapidated shape, no surprise. On her bows a rusted anchor hung on the railing. Expired life rafts in front of the wheelhouse, on deck hatches for lowering in the catch to the sorting deck by derrick. 

 

Weather deck

Blocks for running wires aft, maybe to the trawl. I can't say I'm familiar with how to operate a fishing vessel but I can see vaguely how wires were run and operations went. Aft of the wheelhouse was the funnel and access to the brains of the operation, the signal and light mast on top of the wheelhouse had six names painted up there, I'm guessing children. Another manhole went to the aft deck and on the extreme aft sat an articulated crane with a hydraulic head at the end, looked like a mechanic block.

Names on the wheelhouse mast, possibly children or grandchildren of former owner

Wheel house of Endurance

Forward cargo hatch

Weather deck

I then opened the door and stepped into wheelhouse, there was a row of monitors that were dark and below them equally dark openings telling of missing equipment or past modifications. It didn't look like something that I've seen on commercial vessels, perhaps she had another use in the end before she got into fishy business. On the aft bulkhead was an electrical distribution board and the hydraulic rudder mechanism. The old callsign and registry ident FR111 was still posted on the bulkhead. On the forward bulkhead, between the windows, was a horse shoe nailed up. I suspect the luck ran out 3 years ago when the engine gave up, then the Irish leprechauns with lucky clovers got them towed up to Hythe.

Wheel house aft bulkhead

On the window sill I saw a book by David M Cowe 'At what cost' published in 2019. On the inner page before the printed dedication there was a personal one written by hand, dedicated to Trevor Summers, signed by the author, also dated in 2019. Mr Cowe is a family historian and whilst doing research he amassed a lot of material from his 9 generations of fishermen that he then published via AuthorHouse UK with the explicit goal of creating a permanent record of Scotland's fishing community roots so that this heritage would not be lost to time. The book starts in the mid-1600s, tracing a fishing family right up to 1947, including hardships, disasters, tragedies, WWI, and WWII. I might have a read myself. 

Wheelhouse with a lot of empty slots

As I have a curious nature I also checked Mr Trevor Summers on the interwebs and it looks like he was the ex Owner and skipper of Endurance. He must've forgotten his book after he left or he wasn't much for keeping a library or maybe he left it for the next guy that took Endurance. I think it was not much use as the work they looked to do didn't involve fish in the sea but sharks on the land.

Personalized dedication

Skipper Trevor Summers appears to be a highly respected, veteran figure in the Scottish fishing industry. Unlike many modern corporate ship operations, his connection with Endurance was tied to the common Scottish co-ownership model that Captain Summers was not just an employee; he was an equity partner. Under the traditional Scottish system, large fleet managers team up with individual skippers. He operated through Trevor Summers Ltd, a private joint venture established directly with the Don Fishing Co. Ltd, based at Peterhead, all meant to own and run Endurance.

Aft articulated crane with special head

In 2001, Captain Summers was featured by the BBC as a primary voice highlighting major environmental shifts and fishing quota crises affecting the Scottish fleet, demonstrating his standing in the local fishing community. Trevor Summers has been a skipper for decades, with records showing him commanding commercial vessels in the North Sea and West of Scotland as far back as the 1990s and early 2000s. He's today in his early 60's so probably close to being retired by now.

Weather deck hatch to aft

Wire drums on aft

I then clambered down to the aft deck and there was not much space, just 2 huge drums for wires/ nets I assume. On the starboard side was access into the vessel, it looked like the changing room for the crew before coming into the accommodation. There also was a large chest freezer, I didn't look in fearing what I might find. There were cupboards of safety gear and room for wet weather clothes. 

Hydraulic wire drum and changing room

Sorting area

More winches under weather deck

Ladder down to the fish holds

I continued then to the mess room and galley that was a right 'mess'. The accommodation was smelling  like stale seawater and mold, it felt very humid after years of no heating. Behind the mess there was a bog and in between another staircase down, and a door into the sorting deck, there I discovered the current crews living quarters. I disturbed them and they were flapping all over, 4-5 pigeons had made it their home, now they escaped from a freeing hatch in the shipside as I moved about. Droppings were everywhere and it was dark, I could make out more wire/ net drums on the forward end and an open hatch, a dark hole to the fish holds. The lower deck looked dry and had a ladder down but I did not descend there as it looked empty. On the starboard side was somekind of sorting/ gutting table as well.

The galley corner

Having seen the money making side I retreated back into the accommodation and descended with the light of my mobile phone to the engine room and crew quarters, it was pitch black in there otherwise. I looked into the engine room and the top of the main engine was missing, on the starboard side was electric installations on top of perhaps a fuel tank. On the port was a genset on the ship side and a hydraulic power plant. I'm guessing it's a central unit to run all hydraulic gear on deck, the winches, the cranes and drums. The bilge was full of water and just an inch from pouring over the door sill into the crew quarters. On the other end the crew quarters were of an equal mess, 3 bunks to the side, more like boxes than beds, thinking they must be snug otherwise you won't stay put during bad weather. Drawers were open with old DVD's and playstation games and a miscellaneous set of literature and discarded clothes and bedding. Walls and furniture was of laminated 80's marine ply I assume, didn't look very classy. I think there was a shower forward of the quarters but there was too much debris so I did not bother climbing in it.

Mess room in a mess

Stairs down to engine room and crew quarters

Engine room, hydraulics and tanks

Crew quarters, 3 bunks, cupboard and drawers

Crew quarters, 3 bunks and a cupboard

Old publications

All in all I could see she has a very well thought out workflow, even for a not a large vessel, probably a result from years of experience in building fishing boats for fishermen and the feedback they must've given. With a bit of research I found out that Scottish commercial yards are no longer actively building large commercial wooden fishing boats. However, traditional wooden boatbuilding survives through specialized non-profit groups, historical trusts, and niche craftspeople. 

Commercial yards have switched to steel construction in the 1980s and now focus on steel trawlers, fish-farming support, and wind-farm vessels. Groups like Clydeside Traditional Boat Builders continue to build and craft traditional wooden and historic-style boats by hand.

Yards such as the Scottish Fisheries Museum Boatyard in Anstruther (Fife, the Shangri-La of Scotland) and various small independent shipwrights focus on the careful restoration and maintenance of historic wooden fishing craft (like Fifie drifters and clinker skiffs) rather than commercial production.

Some locales have seen community and private revivals (such as W & B Boatbuilding Yard), though these largely target heritage builds, community projects, and specialty craft rather than modern commercial fishing vessels.

Old admin

With my shipspotting round done I clambered up the stairs into the wheelhouse and got out on the weather deck for fresh air. I had my last look around the deck and then climbed down on to the jetty and made my way to my car. I saw the familiar faces from the yard and advised them that the engine room was about to flood over, maybe empty it before the ship sinks where she is and loses even more scrap value. Endurance has endured many years of work and the suffered the indignities of becoming obsolete and to be used for the shadier purposes and might still have a bit to go until the final stage, whatever it might be. 

* * * * *

Specifications of Endurance fishing vessel IMO no 8773184 are detailed below as found on the interwebs, one good source is the Clyde Ships website:

Builder: Jones Buckie Slip & Shipyard Ltd.

Yard Number: 183

Type: Wood hull motor vessel

Completed: March 1984

Identity & Name History

1984 – 1998: Ability (Registry: Buckie – BCK 47)

1998 – 2011: Demares (Registry: Peterhead – PD 959)

2011 – 2012: Endurance (Registry: Fraserburgh – FR 112)

2012 – Present: Endurance (Registry: Fraserburgh – FR 111)

Dimensions & Tonnage

Length: 23.23 meters

Beam: 6.92 meters

Draft: 3.14 meters

Original gross tonnage: 81 GT

Modified gross tonnage: 171 GT (Updated in 1989 following fleet registry changes)

Net Tonnage: 81 NRT

Propulsion & Engine Setup

Engine (1984): Bergius-Kelvin Co. Ltd. (Glasgow), Kelvin TBSC8, 369 kW

Re-engined in 2005: Volvo-Penta, 415 kW

Propulsion: Single screw (1 fixed-pitch propeller)

Having looked into the yard that built Endurance, Jones Buckie Slip & Shipyard, a historic boatbuilding and ship repair yard located in Buckie, Banffshire (Moray Firth), Scotland. I also came across the Scottish fisheries museum that yielded 3 pictures of Endurance, the first one being of her under construction (remarkable find!), then she's on the hard and the third I assume after launch. The pictures have a watermark but they can be purchased from the website for a fee. Jones Buckie yard operated from 1908 to 1995. After 1995 the Buckie Shipyard was created when the associated Jones and Herd & Mackenzie yards in the town were saved from closure following their sale to the Renfrew-based Lithgows group. They also closed doors in 2013 when business dried up as per the article from the Scotsman.

Map showing the different registries she had in Scotland

(credit: Google maps)

Endurance must be on to the last of the all wood fishing boats built at the yard. Each boat would have used considerable amounts of Scottish timber – oak for the frames and larch for the hull cladding which was pinned to the frames with large wooden dowels.

(credit: J Palmer)

(credit: J Palmer)

(credit: J Palmer)