At a time when whales were still plentiful as well as fair game, they were hunted in relatively small open rowboats. They approached a whale closely so as not to miss with a toothpick-like harpoon, when comparing it with the bulk of a seventy foot long leviathan sperm whale. The whaleboat rode the waves like an albatross. For lightness, grace and speed it simply had no peer. The buckets held up to a mile of line. The harpooner would stand on the stern holding his harpoon. A successful throw might mean a long chase, the whale taking the boat in tow. The harpoon line would be belayed on a single pollard on the deck.

Our hand built whaleboat is built lapstrake planks-on-frame.      Whaling tools in amazing detail.

Length 92cm (36")     Height 16cm      Width 21cm (8")