The nobby Helen II is being restored at Conwy Harbour

Helen II in her heyday

The nobby, Helen II, is now being restored by craftsmen, volunteers and students at Conwy Harbour in North Wales – see the website here – as part of a project to redevelop the harbour area and to reinforce its connection with the past.

Nobbies are prawners, and Helen II was built in 1910 for the Mersey trade. Strong, seaworthy and fast, they boats have low freeboard and an elegant rounded stern, not for appearance’s sake but to ease the handling of trawl nets. On retiring from fishing some nobbies were converted to become yachts.

My thanks to intheboatshed.net reader Michael Bolton for pointing this one out!